By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – The CRTC communicated with Canadian Heritage over months about the information it was going use in its messaging about the Online Streaming Act, but that was not for soliciting comment or approval, the regulator told Cartt.
Earlier this year, Conservative member of Parliament Martin Shields of Bow River, Alberta, tabled a request for the government to provide detailed communications between the regulator and the department about the legislation that requires online streaming services to contribute to Canadian content.
The Conservatives have accused the independent regulator of parroting government talking points about the legislation after a CRTC webpage about the “Myths and Facts” about the bill emerged that allegedly aligned with Heritage’s attempts to allay fears about its perceived regulation of social media users. (Heritage and the CRTC explicitly said it will not regulate users.)
Members of the official opposition were also concerned that the CRTC was rushing the consultation phase of the legislation’s implementation before Heritage released its policy direction for it, allegedly suggesting some type of coordination.
The government responded to the MP’s request this week with a table of dates, types of documents, summary of their contents, and the sender and receiver of that information.
The table reveals that a manager at Canadian Heritage sent to the chief of the CRTC’s Consumer, Research and Communications division a placemat “showing the Policy Directions implementation” on October 21, 2022.
“The placemat was a version of the Regulatory Plan, showing the broad phases the CRTC was considering to implement the Online Streaming Act, which was published in its final form on May 8, 2023,” a CRTC spokesperson told Cartt, emphasizing that the regulator operates at arm’s length from the government.
“It was shared for information, and not for comment or approval,” the spokesperson said, adding the “Myths and Facts” page was not part of the placemat.
The table also shows that the director general of strategic policy at the CRTC sent some senior officials at Heritage a “copy of CRTC media lines and questions and answers” on April 29, 2022.
On April 27, 2023, the CRTC’s director of communications sent the Heritage communications director a “copy of final CRTC Chairperson and CEO statement.” The same CRTC employee sent Heritage policy advisors on May 8, 2023 a “copy of final CRTC news release.”
Four days later, the same CRTC employee sent the communications manager at Heritage a “copies of final CRTC news release, media lines and questions and answers.”
The title and summary of contents for the remaining three communications were withheld due to “Cabinet confidence and or solicitor-client privilege,” the table said.
For those, it lists on March 13, 2023 a “correspondence” and a “regulations” document sent from the Heritage deputy minister to the CRTC chair. It also shows a letter was sent on March 24, 2023 from the CRTC head to the Heritage deputy minister.
The table does not show a communications involving former Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez, who denied having any such conversation with the regulator during a House committee hearing.
“The CRTC is the independent public authority responsible for regulating and supervising Canada’s broadcasting system in the public interest,” a Canadian Heritage spokesperson told Cartt on Friday. “The CRTC operates at arm’s length from government to protect the integrity of its regulatory processes and ensure the autonomy of its decision-making powers. The Department of Canadian Heritage is always mindful of respecting the CRTC’s independence.
“The Department was not involved in developing the CRTC’s “Myths and Facts” webpage,” the spokesperson added. “The document in question provided the CRTC with information on the expected timelines for issuing the policy direction following Royal Assent of the Online Streaming Act. This information was to help the CRTC plan its future work related to the implementation of the Act.”
MP Shields and Conservative Heritage critic Rachael Thomas did not respond in time for publication.
The CRTC is very early in the long road to implementing the legislation, which Canadian broadcasters have said will usher in some needed reprieve from what they call onerous regulations to support content development in the country.
Former Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez at House hearing earlier this year.
