Bill C-11 Promises Big Changes to Canadian Broadcasting Law

Berk Berkeliev

The Online Streaming Act, also known as Bill C-11, was introduced to the House of Commons by Pablo Rodriguez, the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism, on February 22, 2022. The Online Streaming Act has recently made news after being passed through its third reading in the Senate with 26 amendments added. It now awaits the House of Commons to decide which of those changes to keep before passing the bill into law.

of “Canadian Content.” Rodriguez says that the Bill is intended to ensure the inclusion of all Canadian talent in the Canadian media and promote French, Indigenous, and Black culture on all platforms.

“The Online Streaming Act will help make sure that our cultural sector works for Canadians and supports the next generation of artists and creators in this country,” Rodriguez said in a press release from February 2022.

watch. “The CRTC is not, has not, and will not be trying to direct what consumers watch,” Scott said in November 2022 to the CBC. “The CRTC’s objective is to ensure that Canadians are made aware of Canadian content and that they can find it. It is not about manipulating algorithms.”

If passed, C-11 would amend the current Broadcasting Act and give authority over Canada’s online media to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). The CRTC would be given full control over what is shown to Canadians on platforms like YouTube, Netflix, Disney+, and Spotify to make sure that they are meeting set quotas

Although Bill C-11 is intended to support Canadian content makers and be more inclusive of minority cultures, it has not come without controversy and backlash, as many politicians and media personalities have called this bill a government overreach. Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre said that it is not the government’s role “to dictate from above what the people think, see, and hear.” Canadian author and poet Margaret Atwood said that C-11 could lead to “creeping totalitarianism.” The Online Streaming Act has also received criticism for its vagueness and its lack of a clear definition as to what classifies under “Canadian Content.” For example, the 2010 movie Scott Pilgrim vs. the World was filmed almost exclusively in Toronto and featured Brampton, Ontario native Michael Cera as the leading actor, but was deemed not Canadian.

Ian Scott, chair of the CRTC, has clarified that Bill C-11

The CRTC has held authority over Canada’s radio and television since the passing of the Broadcasting Act in 1991. The Broadcasting Act primarily addresses radio-based content. The aim of Bill C-11 is to update it for the digital age as online content becomes the primary way Canadians access news, music, and many other forms of media.