(Ottawa) We must give time to modernize the Broadcasting Act and the implementation of the Online News Act to act, according to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Pascale St-Onge. She hopes that these two laws, better known under the names C-11 and C-18, will succeed in giving a second wind to the media stifled by web giants and digital broadcasting platforms.
What there is to know
Pierre Karl Péladeau recently announced the dismissal of 547 TVA Group employees, or nearly a third of the workforce.
These cuts highlighted the broadcaster’s difficult competition with web giants.
With the aim of “turning the tide”, Bill C-11 intends to force digital platforms to finance local productions, while C-18 must force web giants to conclude remuneration agreements with local media. ‘information.
“I think that we must give the modernization of laws a chance, but that, yes, we will have to continue to look into the question of the future of the media as long as we are not reassured about the viability and to the success of the news media because it is fundamental in our democracy,” she admits in an interview.
However, there is no question of holding a general meeting on their future in the wake of the TVA cuts, as requested by the Bloc Québécois. The minister responds that there will be “opportunities to have very in-depth discussions” before the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) during the development of the regulations that will accompany C-11 and C-18.
On the other hand, it does not close the door to the creation of an Emergency Fund for the news media. “I share the sense of urgency of the Bloc and of all those who care about what is happening at the moment in the media landscape,” she said. There have been many closures, there have been announcements of layoffs, we know that our news rooms are weakened.
So, I am listening to all the proposals and solutions, but the path we will choose will always be that of preserving the independence of the media.
Pascale St-Onge, Minister of Canadian Heritage
“Turn the tide”
Recent cuts at TVA have highlighted the broadcaster’s difficult competition with web giants, both for the production of entertainment programs and news bulletins. The president and CEO of Quebecor, Pierre Karl Péladeau, recently announced the dismissal of 547 TVA employees to save the television network. It ends in-house production of entertainment shows and makes cuts to regional news stations.
Negotiations continue with Google in anticipation of the entry into force of C-18 on online news on December 19. The web giant threatens to block news articles to evade the law as Meta has already done. It would thus avoid entering into remuneration agreements with the news media in exchange for their content. Minister St-Onge remains optimistic that she will be able to “respond to the concerns” that were raised with the final regulations.
She recalls that the objective of C-18 is to “turn the tide” so that newsrooms regain their financial viability while preserving their independence and “having as little government intervention as possible”. This is why the government has chosen to “create a more equitable trading relationship” through this legislation.
“In this regard, I would say that the public also has a role to play,” she emphasizes. It’s not true that the content is free even if that’s the impression we get thanks to digital platforms. »
Netflix’s turn
Bill C-11, which amended the Broadcasting Act, will also take a new step soon. It forces digital platforms like Netflix to invest in Canadian and Quebec content. The instructions to the CRTC will be made public this Tuesday in anticipation of the start of consultations, and Minister St-Onge will mark the occasion at a press conference in Montreal.
The CRTC will have to impose financial requirements on these platforms so that they support local programming, use our creative resources and promote series produced in Quebec and Canada.
What we did was to give them flexibility so that the platforms could evaluate, based on their business model and the reality of each, what is the best way for them to contribute to the Canadian content and its influence too.
Pascale St-Onge, Minister of Canadian Heritage
The development of the regulations will take place over several months. The minister believes that an earlier entry into force of the law “could really have changed everything” for a broadcaster like TVA. “We see that more and more people are unsubscribing from cable,” she notes. Increasingly, consumers are finding what they are looking for online rather than on television and radio. So, it is certain that with the regulatory framework which is not adapted to this modernity – we saw it with the VAT cuts – our broadcasters are asking that there be this sense of urgency there. in the transformation. »
She deplores “the constant obstruction of the conservatives” in this matter since the start of the first consultations in 2016. They have cried censorship and promised to repeal the legislation if they form the next government.