The Senate approved a new law by a vote of 52 to 16 on Thursday. This law introduces the first-ever federal rules that regulate legal internet content in Canada.. Internet .“I am excited,” Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez told reporters..“It is a bill that’s been well studied in the House and the Senate,” said Rodriguez..“It is a very important bill.”.Bill C-11 An Act to Amend the Broadcasting Act would grant the Canadian Radio Television and Telecommunications Commission new powers to regulate “commercial” internet video and music content on services like YouTube. “Commercial” is not defined..“We fought tooth and nail every step of the way,” Sen. Leo Housakos (QC), chair of the Senate Transport and Communications committee, said in the Third Reading debate..“This particular bill is the most egregious we’ve seen in the seven and a half years of this government.”.“Digital platforms are not broadcasters, not even close,” said Housakos..“They are only platforms that provide free, open opportunities for people to communicate. It doesn’t matter if it’s independent journalists, media, senators, politicians, local hockey teams or organizations — Google, Facebook and all of these platforms have given all of us an opportunity to expand our horizons, to reach out to people and to sell whatever it is that we’re selling.”.“Some of us sell our political views,” said Housakos..“Others may sell cosmetics. Whatever the case may be, it’s an open, free opportunity for discussion and debate.”.Timothy Denton, a former CRTC commissioner, in testimony last Sept. 14 at Senate committee hearings, said the bill would see “the tiny Canadian broadcasting system take on the world of the internet by the mere trick of redefining ‘broadcasting.’” .The bill was “absurd,” said Denton..“The internet does not really need regulatory treatment,” said Denton..“The broadcasting system needs to adapt to the internet, not the internet to the Broadcasting Act.”.Artists’ groups supported the bill on the promise it would compel services like Netflix and Disney Plus to contribute to Canadian programming, according to Blacklock’s Reporter..“Bill C-11 is based on the idea that Canadian culture, and minority and francophone culture in particular, is not just another commodity that can be subjected to the law of supply and demand,” said Sen. Julie Miville-Dechene (QC)..“Our songs, our television programs, cannot be treated like tires or toothpaste, regardless of whether it is disseminated through traditional means or new online platforms,” said Miville-Dechene..“All governments have the right to protect and promote their culture, heritage, identity and artists by removing them, at least in part, from the ruthless logic of the marketplace.”
