Canada is one of Netflix Inc.’s top three locations for original productions, and while the company doesn’t play a part in the official Canadian content system, the dollars invested in productions classified as CanCon serve to “multiply the impact of public support,” according to a submission from the company to Canadian Heritage’s sweeping cultural review. In a document filed with the department on Thursday, Netflix said that CanCon producers receive...
OTTAWA — The Canadian government should review its mandate for CBC/Radio-Canada in light of the national broadcaster and foreign digital competitors taking away ad dollars from local newspapers, individuals representing the latter told the House of Commons standing committee on Canadian Heritage Thursday. The committee heard from four different local newspapers and groups, including the Aboriginal Multi-Media Society of Alberta, the Neepawa Banner, Northern...
OTTAWA — Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly said Thursday that imposing a tax on Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to fund cultural content remains a possible outcome of her sweeping review of Canadian...
TORONTO — The heritage ministry and the CRTC should engage in a more balanced discussion on what to do about taxes in support of cultural content, as both seem to be moving in...
The creation of a new federal agency to handle government funding for Canadian content could help the heritage minister’s goal of boosting exports of domestic cultural products, according to a report sponsored by Rogers...
Industry watchers said last week’s announcement by the federal government that it was loosening foreign ownership rules for Canadian airlines probably isn’t indicative of a coming shift...
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) is suggesting Netflix Inc. be taxed, as it calls on the government to take action. Netflix is benefiting from Canadian tax exemptions and a lack of regulation, while the CRTC stands idle as the American media giant does business “without contributing to the funding of Canadian programming or being required to offer a minimum amount of made-in-Canada content,” the union said in an Oct. 20 press release. It is asking the government and the CRTC to look into this lack of regulation on global digital players and for the government to “level the playing field.” The release noted that Netflix has 5.2 million Canadian subscribers and has generated revenues upwards of $620 million from Canada. A July report by think tank Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives said...
OTTAWA — CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais defended the rationale and timing of the regulator’s controversial decision to change the eligibility requirements to access certified independent...
OTTAWA — Raising the level of broadband Internet service for Canadians would go far in levelling the playing field for both media producers and consumers, a House of Commons committee...
The Association québécoise de l'industrie du disque, du spectacle et de la video (ADISQ) is asking for regulatory action to help support the music industry as it deals with the...
The department of Canadian Heritage will have to disclose who sat down with Minister Mélanie Joly as she fleshed out the consultation plan for her Canadian content review, following a query by NDP MP Pierre Nantel....
The federal government will unveil a new consultation process for appointing members to the CBC/Radio-Canada board of directors “in the next few weeks,” Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly...
After 13 weeks off from the Parliament Hill routine, MPs returned en masse to Ottawa Monday for the start of the House of Commons’ fall session, where the stage is set for forward...
MONTREAL — As technological change accelerates, CBC/Radio-Canada has to keep pace, according to CEO Hubert Lacroix, who said Thursday “we can’t think of the...
Members of the public and cultural stakeholders don’t see eye to eye when it comes to identifying the biggest challenges facing the country’s cultural sector, according to info released...
The Urban Alliance on Race Relations (UARR) and the Community Media Advocacy Centre (CMAC) have written to Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly to ask her to look into allegations of racism at the CRTC that surfaced this summer. In a Sept. 6 letter, the groups asked that “a transparent and accountable thirdparty process be initiated to investigate and address allegations of systemic and overt racism within the Commission.” Those allegations emerged in court documents related to the dismissal of former Ontario...
The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA)’s Toronto branch is asking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly to “call on...
OTTAWA — Last week’s decision from a Federal Court judge setting aside an investigation and decision that former CRTC commissioner Raj Shoan committed workplace harassment should weigh heavily in his favour for...
The CRTC has admitted it made an error in a recent decision by attributing an argument made by Rogers Communication Inc.’s group of funds to the Canada Media Fund (CMF). In a press release Thursday, the...
A CRTC commissioner is refuting allegations of inappropriate conduct and racism levied by a former colleague, Raj Shoan, the recently fired representative for Ontario. Included in documents filed...
Fired CRTC commissioner Raj Shoan is asking the Federal Court to “urgently” intervene in the order-in-council issued last month that ended his appointment with the regulator. On Tuesday, lawyers for Shoan filed a motion asking for a stay of the governor-in-council’s decision to remove him from his post two years before the end of his five-year term. Shoan was fired as the Ontario regional CRTC commissioner on June 24 after more than a year of legal wrangling with the commission and, particularly, chairman Jean-Pierre Blais, over the regulator’s policies and...
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says Canada should follow the example of the European Union and countries like New Zealand and Australia in requiring over-the-top (OTT) services to pay...
Heritage Canada’s announcement of an expert advisory panel for its review of Canadian content in a digital age, which includes representatives from a number of broadcasters, was met with both praise and...
In a “highly unusual” move, Raj Shoan, the CRTC commissioner representing Ontario, was removed from his post by the federal government on Friday, capping off a 14-month period of legal strife between Shoan and the...
When Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly said “there will be no Netflix tax,” at the end of her department’s review of cultural institutions, that leaves both the taxation of...
New Quebec legislation forcing Internet service providers (ISPs) to block certain online gambling websites from being accessed in the province could put smaller ISPs out of business, industry reps...
OTTAWA — It wasn’t a hard sell for David Graham to recruit Liberal colleagues for a new Parliament Hill research body. “[I said] ‘I want to talk about digital issues....
OTTAWA — The results of the sweeping review of Canadian content in a digital age announced by Heritage Canada last week could take 10 years to materialize, University of Ottawa law professor...
OTTAWA — Former BlackBerry Ltd. co-CEO Jim Balsillie doubled down on his dire warnings against the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and what he calls its failure to support Canadian...
Industry insiders and observers are calling Canadian Heritage’s impending study of Canadian content in the digital age — which could potentially affect CBC/Radio-Canada, legislation like the broadcasting, telecom and CRTC acts, and Canadian content rules for TV and radio — long overdue. Ken Engelhart, former Rogers Communications Inc. senior vice-president and principal of Engelhart Law, said in a phone interview that he hasn’t seen a review like this during...
In response to a question about the federal government’s position on a Quebec bill that would lead to the blocking of gambling websites, Heritage Minister Melanie Joly said “we believe in...
The federal government will hold a consultation on the Internet's effect on Canada’s media industry. According to a transcript, Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly said in question period...
OTTAWA — Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly told a Senate committee Wednesday evening that the government aims to have a gender-balanced board of directors for CBC/Radio-Canada, as part of review of the governance...
Heritage Minister Melanie Joly is refusing to specify that the CBC will receive the $150 million in extra funding the Liberal government promised during last year’s election, despite receiving questions on the subject from...
Leslie Church, head of communications and public affairs at Google Inc.’s Canadian division, is Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly’s new chief of staff. She said on Twitter Thursday that she was “very excited” to join Joly “to serve Canadians and our new [government].” Prior to working at Google, Church served as communications director for former Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff....
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has directed Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains to increase “high-speed broadband coverage and work to support competition, choice and availability of...
Navdeep Bains, MP for the Ontario riding of Mississauga-Malton, was named minister of innovation, science and economic development on Wednesday, a post intended to replace what was previously the...