Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge said Bill C-11 the Online Streaming Act needs to be enacted quickly. St-Onge stated Canada's broadcasting system and workers require immediate assistance and there's no time to wait.The federal government recently released its last set of guidelines to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). These guidelines tell the CRTC how the government wants the law to be understood and highlights the importance of supporting French programming.The Online Streaming Act updates Canada's broadcasting regulations. It aims to ensure foreign-owned platforms such as Spotify, Netflix and YouTube promote Canadian movies, music and shows and contribute financially to their production, including content in French.Broadcasters such as Bell Media, in a recent submission sent to the CRTC, urged the commission to swiftly implement the Online Streaming Act, which was granted royal assent in June.They argue the lack of regulations for streaming services has placed traditional broadcasters, who are subject to regulations, at a competitive disadvantage.Multiple interested parties, including traditional broadcasters and streaming platforms, will start sharing their opinions on the bill during a series of CRTC hearings set to begin this month.St-Onge pointed fingers at the Conservatives, accusing them of using parliamentary tactics to slow down the bill's progress towards becoming a law.“We’re seeing the price that all of us are paying because of the games and the obstruction that the Conservatives played in the House,” said St-Onge.St-Onge's policy guidance requests the CRTC to, when suitable, reduce the regulatory load on the Canadian broadcasting system and create a flexible and adaptable framework, even for American streaming giants such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.The policy direction instructs the CRTC not to oversee content created by individual social media creators or podcasts.The policy direction emphasizes the significance of providing consistent support for Canada's entire broadcasting system, including current affairs and news, as well as local and community news.
