Between Quebec and the Trudeau government, it’s not always easy.
The beginning of winter was laborious with the dissensions about the Official Languages Actthe appointment of Amira Elghawaby as representative of the fight against Islamophobia, health transfers and the debate on the notwithstanding provision which protects the CAQ laws on French and secularism against the essence of legal proceedings.
All of this was widely publicized. But at the same time, the Liberals are leading an important fight to protect Francophone culture. Their Bill C-11 would force web giants to fund and promote Canadian culture, including in French.
Mr. Trudeau’s troops are not getting the recognition they deserve. The subject goes a little unnoticed. Probably because it’s been dragging on for so long it feels like it’s said it all. Yet it is fundamental.
The term “identity” is sometimes used to talk about secularism, but the link is indirect. The main identity issues are language and culture, and they are directly affected by C-11.
Two decades ago, PQ Minister of Culture Louise Beaudoin led an avant-garde fight for cultural diversity. But since then, technology has continued to push in the opposite direction.
In just a few clicks, the Internet provides access to a dizzying cultural offer. It is both a blessing and a threat. Because in this ocean, the culture here is diluted. For example, the Quebec Association of the Record, Entertainment and Video Industry (ADISQ) indicates that the online listening share of French-speaking Quebec artists is only 5.1%. More anecdotally, a survey of 600 students at Cégep de Jonquière reports that barely 23% of them watch a Quebec TV series weekly, while 85% and 87% respectively watch Netflix and YouTube. . And these respondents were enrolled in the Media Art and Technology program…
According to current regulations, TV distributors must finance local productions and respect quotas. On the radio, a minimum percentage of songs must be in French. This guarantees money and visibility for the artists.
On the web, however, there is nothing. In 1999, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) exempted the internet. In 2009, it maintained this exemption. The web giants of Silicon Valley thus have an advantage over local broadcasters.
In cultivation, a pipe economy has developed. We pay for our internet and our subscription to the platforms. The money goes to these giants. For artists, there are few left. And this, even if the whole system is based on their work.
During its first mandate, the Trudeau government commissioned an expert report to adapt our regulations to the 21e century.
A first bill was presented by Steven Guilbeault in 2020. He died on the order paper. His successor at the Ministry of Heritage, Pablo Rodriguez, filed an improved version.
Under Bill C-11, Netflix, Spotify, YouTube and other digital broadcasters would have to donate a small portion of their revenues to a fund for Canadian creators. There would be no quota imposed on them, an inapplicable formula for them. Instead, they should make Canadian works more visible on their homepage.
The Bloc and the New Democrats are in favor of it. It is also thanks to them that YouTube was added to the first version of the bill.
The Conservatives are crying foul. Their deputies and senators did everything to delay the study of the bill. In the upper chamber, a record for slowness has been reached.
Influenced by a handful of libertarian experts, the conservatives warn against an authoritarian drift. According to them, the state should not control content on the web. For them, culture is content, nothing more.
But the Liberals, the Bloc and the New Democrats point out that culture has a special value. For reasons of fairness, they want to put an end to the exemption which favors foreign multinationals vis-à-vis Quebecor and Radio-Canada in particular. And for identity reasons, they want to protect our culture.
This regulation would be managed by the CRTC. Dystopian scenarios were relayed by Margaret Atwood, much to the delight of the curators. Bureaucrats would like to control Internet users’ online videos. As if the CRTC’s secret ambition is to control your chat videos.
To this, we can answer two things.
First, the status quo is not neutral. Currently, these platforms decide what they present with opaque algorithms designed to make brains available to advertisers. All while diluting the culture here.
Second, the CRTC already operates a similar system. Since the beginning of the 1990s, a provision has forced him to respect freedom of expression, which is done without national drama.
Minister Rodriguez will soon have to vote on the Senate amendments. Some deserve careful consideration. Although she agrees with the objective of the law, independent senator Julie Miville-Dechêne is concerned about the scope of certain articles. She would like it to be clarified that the regulations only apply to professional recordings, and not to amateur videos.
Should we clarify what is already implicit in the law? Maybe. But it will also end up moving.
After years of waiting, here is a rare chance to submit the giants of the web to modest constraints so that French-speaking and Canadian culture floats in the digital ocean. If they materialize this gain, the Liberals will be able to boast of having this time contributed to protecting Quebec’s identity, just like that of the rest of the country.