By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – We criticize our politicians a lot and for various reasons – and often for good reasons – but after watching the hours of often tedious discussion on the myriad amendments to Bill C-10 which members of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage painstakingly went through on Friday and Monday, we probably owe them thanks this time.
Friday, April 16th was the first day where the committee studying the bill which will amend our Broadcasting Act went through it clause-by-clause and examined amendments brought forward. This stage was supposed to have started on the previous Monday, but we were told the sheer volume of amendments presented by MPs was such that staff needed a little more time to get ready.
Because we do not have access to the amendments themselves, from an observer’s standpoint, it can be monotonous. The amendments are tagged to a specific party: So Lib 1 is the first amendment from the Liberals, and so on including from the Green Party even though they do not have party status. Its amendments, which focused on community broadcasters, were called “PV” for some reason. The government also introduced amendments.
Where we get to get a little more clarity is when sub-amendments were proposed and discussed.
The process was slow but not because of any deliberate attempts at bogging down the process, instead because of the volume and the relative complexity of going through it all remotely.
Monday’s second meeting was a little more organized with the Liberals on the Committee already having sub-amendments ready and generally, everyone was better coordinated.
The main takeaway from the many hours of work is one new amendment reinstated the wording where Canadian broadcasting undertakings must be Canadian owned, which was adopted on division, the Liberals opposing it. So, now 3.1.a now reads, “The Canadian Broadcasting system shall be effectively owned and controlled by Canadians and foreign broadcast undertakings may also programming to Canadians.”
(Correction: This story originally stated the amendment was passed unanimously. but we have corrected it and regret the error.)
It was proposed by the Bloc Quebecois, amended by the Liberals and both the NDP and the Conservatives had proposed similar amendments and withdrew theirs. This issue was one many had flagged as a serious problem.
A few attempts were made to include social media in the scope of the new Broadcasting Act which it was argued that it should be done in C-10 not in a future bill which has not yet been tabled. But Conservatives joined the Liberals in defeating that amendment.
For clarity there are 13 members on the Committee and the Liberals have six seats, including the chair who only votes to break a tie, the Conservatives, four, the Bloc and the NDP one each, so if they all vote along party lines, the opposition has the majority.
Once the committee votes all the clauses of the bill, it is then sent back to the House for third reading, then it goes to the Senate.
The next meeting will be held on Friday for three hours.
