The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has delayed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s controversial move to amend the Broadcasting Act until late 2025. Bill C-11: The Online Streaming Act, initially scheduled for implementation in 2024, would require media giants like Netflix, Amazon Prime and Spotify to promote Canadian content and contribute financially to its production. The CRTC, which is responsible for coming up with a workable framework to implement the policy, said by late next year it will have determined exactly how much streaming services will have to pay to share Canadian and Indigenous content. Consultations on inclusion and diversity will carry over into March 2026, the Globe and Mail reported. One of the CRTC’s responsibilities is to workshop a modern definition of what constitutes a Canadian movie, television program, or song. “With the revised timeline on the implementation of the act, there is a renewed opportunity for the CRTC to proceed in the right order and prioritize updating the definition of Canadian Content to include all Canadian and Indigenous music, as it was directed by the Trudeau government,” said Spotify Director of Global Music Policy Xenia Manning.Forum for Research and Policy in Communications Executive Director Monica Auer said she could see why many organizations might be confused by CRTC having “dropped several key proceedings” and is “postponing others for a year or more.”“The CRTC told parliament and Canadians in May, 2023, that it would be implementing Canada’s new broadcasting legislation by the end of this year,” said Auer.Auer noted many cultural organizations and broadcasting companies were “counting on the CRTC to complete its important work.".The new regulatory framework will be ready more than one year later than its original goal. By spring 2026, the legislation’s rules governing the CRTC will undergo further consultation so make sure they are clear and straightforward for people to understand. The Conservatives earlier attempted to filibuster the passing of Bill C-11. It was ushered through the House of Commons by former heritage minister Pablo Rodriguez and was slammed by YouTube and a litany of digital creators. Despite opposition, it gained royal assent in 2023. Broadcasters such as CBC welcomed Bill C-11, because foreign streaming entities with fewer regulations were gaining ground in the competition for Canadians’ attention. “The Online Streaming Act and the Policy Direction are both complex and multi-faceted, and we have announced an ambitious set of public hearings and proceedings to address all of the elements they contain,” said CRTC spokesperson Leigh Cameron.“The CRTC anticipates that by 2026, it will have both had the opportunity to consult widely with Canadians and to have put in place the key elements of the new broadcasting framework.”
