By Pierre Karl Peladeau, president and CEO of Quebecor
The Online Streaming Act (bill C-11) has been passed. This means foreign streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon and YouTube will be subject to Canadian law and will be required to pay their fair share, just as Canada’s private broadcasters have always done. For too long, Canadian broadcasters, who have been operating in a rigid, highly regulated environment for decades, have had to contend with unfair competition from the web giants.
On the day the bill received Royal Assent, the Minister of Canadian Heritage said, “We are standing up for our stories, our artists, our producers and our creators.” It’s a pity he didn’t mention local broadcasters. Without these broadcasters, there would be no one to bring the work of our artists, producers and creators to Canadian audiences.
Private broadcasters are the drivers of our culture
Canadian broadcasting enterprises such as TVA and Videotron drive our television culture, pouring millions into content production. For example, Quebecor spent more than $400 million on programming for its various platforms in 2022.
However, our industry faces daunting challenges that threaten the viability of Canadian companies and undermine their ability to continue spending on original productions and news coverage.
The new broadcasting legislation is a step in the right path, but the federal government must also issue a clear direction to the CRTC to support Canada’s private broadcasting enterprises and allow them to compete successfully. And it must do so soon.
Flexible regulation
The real solution is less and more flexible regulation that allows Canadian broadcasters and cable companies to compete effectively with their foreign rivals. Is it not counterproductive to force a company like Quebecor to devote time and resources to proving to the CRTC that it is indeed broadcasting Canadian content, which is its very raison d’être?
The core mission of Canadian programming undertakings is to provide news and content produced in Canada, content that reflects who we are and tells our stories. This is what makes Canadian broadcasting enterprises unique and enables them to compete. This mission must not be assigned to American tech giants. It would be disastrous if the government forced foreign platforms to broadcast Canadian content instead of requiring them to contribute to a dedicated Canadian production fund.
A clear direction is in the public interest
Realistically, without a sustained effort and effective action to create an environment in which Canada’s cultural industries can survive and thrive in a broadcasting system designed by and for Canadians, our businesses will die out. They won’t have the resources to compete with the foreign platforms. Only the foreign tech giants and CBC/Radio-Canada, which receives more than $1.2 billion per year in parliamentary appropriations, will remain. In fact, one of the first things that should be done is to immediately eliminate advertising from all CBC/Radio-Canada’s platforms in order to curb the public broadcaster’s race for ratings and its unfair competitive practices.
The ministerial direction, which is the next stage in the process, will be critical to the future of private broadcasters. To protect the public interest, the federal government must stand up for Canadian enterprises, support them, and rein in the foreign companies that are threatening to bring down our entire ecosystem. We all need to be pulling in the same direction. Without real and pragmatic action, the financial losses will pile up and so will the job losses. Let’s choose to be something other than subcontractors for the American online giants.
