By Bill Roberts
THE BANFF WORLD MEDIA Festival, a month-long virtual event running online from June 14th to July 16th thanks to the pandemic, kicked off Monday morning with a timely conversation with Ian Scott, CRTC chair and CEO.
Scott and his interviewer, journalist Jason Pinto, expressed the importance of the cultural industries regarding political, social, and environmental progress; and being a force for good. Pinto’s enquiries focused on Bill C-10 (the bill to amend the Broadcasting Act) and the past, current, and future efficacy of our broadcasting regulatory framework.
There was general consensus that, “drilling down” and given the pandemic and legislative review over the past year, the weather wasn’t the only “stormy” phenomena in Ottawa these days.
Scott was categoric that over the last 50 years, and despite having less than 10% of the U.S. population and cohabitating alongside the Hollywood behemoth, we’ve managed to be unique when it comes to our music, stories, bilingualism, Indigenous reflection, multi-cultural and multi-ethnic portrayal… all of which is not just for domestic consumption but “sent around the world”.
And this thanks to regulation.
Pinto pushed back that C-10 is seen by Google and others as compromising the freedom of Canadian content and Scott deferred that we “should allow Parliamentarians to do their work” and assured the BWMF audience Canadians will continue to find Canadian stories.
Those stories will be produced and distributed by Canadians, and “I don’t see this as a major change, or a change at all” for broadcasters and OTT players.
Taking a different tack, Pinto wondered about regulating Big Tech’s algorithms. To which the CRTC chair replied: “we’re not talking about toying with someone’s algorithms, but about showcasing Canadian stories,” for example. on YouTube.
When asked about the Commission’s most pressing challenges, Scott offered that the CRTC’s Harnessing Change: The Future of Programming Distribution in Canada report of three years ago offered the best insights. The CRTC was asked by the federal government to examine that future and provided an empirical research-based picture of where we’re heading as a prelude to items like C-10.
And what about the feds getting in the way of free speech and those algorithms? “That too is for the politicians… and you don’t want to see either sausages of legislation being made… it put me off sausages,” said Scott.
However, there’s an incredible amount of diverse, global content said Scott, and “the old walled-garden regulatory model” isn’t necessarily up to the task anymore. We live in a time where we’re seeing the instability of the old model, and “we need new tools to deal with this new environment… which is the stated intention of Bill C-10,” Scott said.
Specifically, the CRTC needs clarity about jurisdiction, access to data, and adequate tools to assure enforcement. “We need to modernize enforcement powers like we have with anti-spam and on the telecom side… this means fines like binding speeding tickets (for automobiles) not just license revocation… that’s too draconian… we need to incent proper behaviour, and monetary penalties (would do that).”
But what if digital players remain reluctant to release that data? Well, they will just “have to trust the system… we’re highly experienced in dealing with confidential, protected and confidential information… which is only disclosed when it’s clearly in the public interest to do so.”
“Yes, we have tools, but it will be challenging… we don’t have data gathering tools, we don’t have enforcement tools… we have a limited deck of cards to deal with it.” – Ian Scott, CRTC
And if Bill C-10 fails? Well, said Scott, with a hint of apprehension: “We can still get the job done (in a streaming world) absent legislative reform. Yes, we have tools, but it will be challenging… we don’t have data gathering tools, we don’t have enforcement tools… we have a limited deck of cards to deal with it.”
Regarding Canadian intellectual property ownership and the current absence of terms of trade between producers and broadcasters and streamers, Scott suggested “it depends on what goes into a policy directive… larger producers are better positioned to negotiate terms… but smaller producers or players will have to be addressed in future proceedings.”
(In April, 2011, the CRTC, CMPA and five of Canada’s largest private television broadcasters concluded a Terms of Trade Agreement; with a major goal of restoring a measure of balance between the signing parties. That framework for economic relationships between producers and content commissioners ended in 2016 as a result of decisions emanating from the CRTC’s “Let’s Talk TV” hearings.)
Pinto then poked the bear a tad with a few “et après toi le deluge” queries. Given that Scott’s five-year term as chair will expire in September 2022, and the rarity of Commission chairs being renewed, what happens to big issues, long processes, and critical hearings in any leadership transition?
“The CRTC deals with incoming chairs every five years and Commission staff does a great job… it can create some complications with the ‘he/she who hears decides’ principle, but it is manageable.” Indeed, “the Bill C-10 implementation process of nine months (by policy directive to speed up the process) won’t be easy, but that passage has been anticipated by staff and they’re up to the job.”
Scott also spoke to the matter of diversity of voices, noting the Commission’s summit regarding women in production held in December 2018, Bill C-10 language, and the CRTC’s Indigenous Broadcasting Policy Review… the latter held up somewhat due to Covid-19 (especially when it comes to visiting remote communities to listen to Elders et al).
Near the end, chairman Ian reiterated the Canadian TV market has been upended by non-Canadian giants, and by technology operating with global scale and reach – and, bluntly, said those who make money from Canada need to contribute to Canadian content.
Plus, on the production side, there’s good and bad news… both of which refer to our domestic production facilities being full and booked to capacity.
In closing, Ian Scott was focused on how hard CRTC staff work and how the Commission “takes that work earnestly in the pursuit of decisions made on the basis of the record of proceedings…and always with the best intentions and public interest in mind.”
The opening of the 2021 BWMF was preceded by an Indigenous land acknowledgment and Prayer Song on behalf of Treaty 7 Nations; as well as by welcoming remarks from Randy Lennox (a celebrated executive in Canada’s music and media world) and Jenn Kusmyk (Executive Director of the BWMF).
Lennox and Kusmyk underscored that this was BWMF’s 42nd year, second year as a virtual gathering due to the pandemic, was offering 100-plus sessions as well as the 2021 Rockie Awards, and that more than 20 countries were represented in this year’s event.
Kusmyk noted that she was joining the festival “from my daughter’s bedroom” and was anxious to welcome everyone to an in-person festival in 2022.
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