Rodriguez promises CanCon rules for ‘web giants’

Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said in a social media post Wednesday that the Liberal government plans to force large online services to make and promote Canadian content on their platforms. “Everyone has to contribute to our culture. That’s why we’ll require web giants to create Canadian content + promote it on their platforms,” he wrote, following the Wednesday morning release of the interim “what we heard” report from the expert panel in charge of reviewing the broadcasting and telecom acts. The final report, which will contain the panel’s recommendations, is due in January. “Pablo Rodriguez’s tweet effectively is an election campaign promise since it can only be acted on if re-elected,” independent broadcasting consultant Kelly Lynne Ashton said in an email. The federal election will take place in October. Indeed, Rodriguez said in his tweet that the government would be “ready to legislate once we receive recommendations.” On Thursday, Heritage press secretary Simon Ross doubled-down on the tweet's contents in an emailed statement. “It’s 2019, enough of the two-tier system," he said. "We need rules that are fair for everybody. If you participate in our culture, you have to contribute to our culture, end of the story. We will make web giants contribute to the creation of Canadian content, offer good levels of it on their platforms, promote it and make it easily accessible. We will also continue to work to review our laws. We thank the panel for its work and look forward to its final recommendations.” The tweet is a departure from the Liberal government’s position on the issue of regulating online services. Thus far, since Rodriguez’s predecessor Mélanie Joly, the Heritage minister’s position on the issue has been that all companies have to pay their fair share -- but that any details beyond that would be worked out at a later date. Joly said in 2017 that it would specifically be the job of the broadcast and telecom expert panel to find solutions. Ashton noted that Rodriguez’s tweet “also signals that the government has made a decision on one of the issues before seeing the panel’s report and recommendations.” That drew criticism from some on Wednesday. Marie Aspiazu, a campaigner for internet advocacy group OpenMedia, said that was “extremely concerning” in a press release. “If the outcome is already predetermined, how can we be expected to trust the legitimacy of this consultation? The government must respect its own process if it wants to maintain any credibility on these issues,” she said. The Liberals, like the Conservatives, haven’t yet released their platform for this year’s federal election. NDP Heritage critic Pierre Nantel, who has consistently attacked the government for putting off any legislative change regarding streaming and online services until after the election, was equally critical of Rodriguez’s statement on Thursday. “Quel bullshittage,” he said on Twitter Wednesday afternoon. Nantel said the government has been promising to make services like Netflix Inc.’s streaming platform contribute for years, and that it’s difficult to believe their promises anymore. As an election strategy, Rodriguez’ statement is likely aimed at Quebec, where attitudes toward protecting cultural content and digital giants differ from much of the rest of Canada. Joly was fiercely criticised in Quebec for declining to take any action on foreign online services in her 2017 Creative Canada document, and the Quebec government imposed sales tax on digital services in January. Similarly, when the NDP unveiled its election promise to require foreign over-the-top (OTT) services to collect and remit sales tax on revenues earned in Canada, it held a press conference in Montreal to do so. MP Alexandre Boulerice said at the time the party would be “open” to adding other requirements on online platforms, such as Canadian content requirements and contributions in the future. Rodriguez’s tweet did garner praise from independent producers, with the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) saying on social media: “We couldn’t agree more, Minister...The CMPA shares the federal government’s vision for a new legislative framework in which all those who benefit from the Canadian broadcasting system are required to contribute to it.” Netflix representatives declined to comment on Rodriguez’s statement Wednesday. A spokesperson for the broadcast and telecom review panel didn’t respond to a request for comment. — With reporting by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca and editing by Michael Lee-Murphy at mleemurphy@thewirereport.ca

Rodriguez promises CanCon rules for ‘web giants’

News | 06/26/2019 5:53 pm EDT

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