A government-appointed panel is calling for the end of advertising on the CBC while also recommending streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon be mandated to contribute to creating Canadian content.
The Broadcasting and Telecommunications Legislative Review Panel, appointed in June 2018, released 97 recommendations calling for a wholesale overhaul of the broadcasting and telecommunications industry. It includes giving the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission a mandate to look at the affordability of services, efforts to support the expansion of 5G services, and pushing companies to expand broadband internet services to rural and remote communities.
The panel’s call for an end to CBC’s advertising dollars was accompanied by a recommendation for more stable funding, with the government making five year monetary commitments. The panel wants to see the elimination of ads begin with the CBC’s news programming.
We have seen instances where CBC particularly on their digital sites, have pushed into the advertising market
Janet Yale, the panel’s chair, said on the scripted side of the CBC’s programming, eliminating the advertising dollars would free the CBC to take more risks and worry less about the commercial success of its programming.
She said the CBC is also an important backstop for news gathering in Canada, especially with the news industry under financial stress.
“We believe that the best way to address misinformation and fake news is to have accurate and reliable sources of news.”
Yale said the public broadcaster should be a leader in local, regional and national news. She said having to chase advertising dollars and commercial success forces the CBC to stray from those goals.
The CBC receives approximately $1.1 billion in government revenue, with approximately $250 million more coming in advertising. She stopped short of calling for a funding boost, but Yale said compared to other public broadcasters the CBC is underfunded.
“We did not make a specific recommendation but we were conscious of the fact that in other OECD countries the public media institution has higher funding on a dollars per capita basis.”
Janet Yale
Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
John Hinds, president of News Media Canada, an industry lobby group of which the National Post is a member, said the CBC isn’t a player on the scale of Google and Facebook when it comes to digital ads, but it’s not a small player either.
“Nothing is going to be a silver bullet, but I think every little bit helps. We have seen instances where CBC particularly on their digital sites, have pushed into the advertising market and they have disrupted advertising markets.”
The panel also called for Netflix and other streaming giants to be mandated to create Canadian content for their platforms and ensure that Canadians can find it easily.
“If you benefit from operating in the Canadian system you should contribute. We really believe these are responsible enterprises that will understand that standards of fairness should apply,” said Yale.
Yale said the government has to move fast on the recommendations, because Canada’s rules haven’t kept pace with the industry.
“This marks the first time these decades old laws have been reviewed in such a comprehensive and integrated manner and the need for this work has never been greater.”
Netflix said in a statement, “The local industry is flourishing; we will continue investing in made-in-Canada productions and stories, bringing them to the world.”
In the company’s written submission to the panel they said they invest heavily in Canada already and don’t see the need for regulation.
“We do not subscribe to the theory that a “regulated investment” is more valuable than a consumer and market-driven one.”
They also said rules and regulations could break a system that is working. “We urge the Panel to recognize that market forces are driving significant growth both in production in Canada, and production of Canadian content, for worldwide markets; that these outcomes represent a substantive contribution to Canada’s cultural policy goals.”
Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault said the government will move quickly and pledged legislation would be in place by the end of the year.
If you benefit from operating in the Canadian system you should contribute
He said they want a system that is fair to all players.
“Our goal is simple, to make the system more equitable than it is right now,” he said. “It is not fair to many distributors who fall under a system that is regulated, as opposed to those other distributors who are not.”
On the CBC, Guilbeault said only that he was committed to looking at what the panel had to say.
The Conservatives said the panel had done good work, but had been limited to looking at the existing system rather than abolishing it and creating something new.
“We are not talking about the fact that we have a regulatory structure that is propping up a system that is out of date,” said the party’s industry critic Michelle Rempel Garner.
She said talking about more regulations and rules is the wrong direction.
“We are saying the system needs broader disruption,” she said. “We have to have a broader conversation about what Canadians want.”
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. says it has signed a deal that will result in the creation of its first eyewear collection.
The deal announced on Thursday by the Toronto-based luxury apparel company comes in the form of an exclusive, long-term global licensing agreement with Marchon Eyewear Inc.
The terms and value of the agreement were not disclosed, but Marchon produces eyewear for brands including Lacoste, Nike, Calvin Klein, Ferragamo, Longchamp and Zeiss.
Marchon plans to roll out both sunglasses and optical wear under the Canada Goose name next spring, starting in North America.
Canada Goose says the eyewear will be sold through optical retailers, department stores, Canada Goose shops and its website.
Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss told The Canadian Press in August that he envisioned his company eventually expanding into eyewear and luggage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Almost seven years since news broke of an alleged conspiracy to fix the price of packaged bread across Canada, the saga isn’t over: the Competition Bureau continues to investigate the companies that may have been involved, and two class-action lawsuits continue to work their way through the courts.
Here’s a timeline of key events in the bread price-fixing case.
Oct. 31, 2017: The Competition Bureau says it’s investigating allegations of bread price-fixing and that it was granted search warrants in the case. Several grocers confirm they are co-operating in the probe.
Dec. 19, 2017: Loblaw and George Weston say they participated in an “industry-wide price-fixing arrangement” to raise the price of packaged bread. The companies say they have been co-operating in the Competition Bureau’s investigation since March 2015, when they self-reported to the bureau upon discovering anti-competitive behaviour, and are receiving immunity from prosecution. They announce they are offering $25 gift cards to customers amid the ongoing investigation into alleged bread price-fixing.
Jan. 31, 2018: In court documents, the Competition Bureau says at least $1.50 was added to the price of a loaf of bread between about 2001 and 2016.
Dec. 20, 2019: A class-action lawsuit in a Quebec court against multiple grocers and food companies is certified against a number of companies allegedly involved in bread price-fixing, including Loblaw, George Weston, Metro, Sobeys, Walmart Canada, Canada Bread and Giant Tiger (which have all denied involvement, except for Loblaw and George Weston, which later settled with the plaintiffs).
Dec. 31, 2021: A class-action lawsuit in an Ontario court covering all Canadian residents except those in Quebec who bought packaged bread from a company named in the suit is certified against roughly the same group of companies.
June 21, 2023: Bakery giant Canada Bread Co. is fined $50 million after pleading guilty to four counts of price-fixing under the Competition Act as part of the Competition Bureau’s ongoing investigation.
Oct. 25 2023: Canada Bread files a statement of defence in the Ontario class action denying participating in the alleged conspiracy and saying any anti-competitive behaviour it participated in was at the direction and to the benefit of its then-majority owner Maple Leaf Foods, which is not a defendant in the case (neither is its current owner Grupo Bimbo). Maple Leaf calls Canada Bread’s accusations “baseless.”
Dec. 20, 2023: Metro files new documents in the Ontario class action accusing Loblaw and its parent company George Weston of conspiring to implicate it in the alleged scheme, denying involvement. Sobeys has made a similar claim. The two companies deny the allegations.
July 25, 2024: Loblaw and George Weston say they agreed to pay a combined $500 million to settle both the Ontario and Quebec class-action lawsuits. Loblaw’s share of the settlement includes a $96-million credit for the gift cards it gave out years earlier.
Sept. 12, 2024: Canada Bread files new documents in Ontario court as part of the class action, claiming Maple Leaf used it as a “shield” to avoid liability in the alleged scheme. Maple Leaf was a majority shareholder of Canada Bread until 2014, and the company claims it’s liable for any price-fixing activity. Maple Leaf refutes the claims.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:L, TSX:MFI, TSX:MRU, TSX:EMP.A, TSX:WN)
TORONTO – TD Bank Group, which is mired in a money laundering scandal in the U.S., says chief executive Bharat Masrani will retire next year.
Masrani, who will retire officially on April 10, 2025, says the bank’s, “anti-money laundering challenges,” took place on his watch and he takes full responsibility.
The bank named Raymond Chun, TD’s group head, Canadian personal banking, as his successor.
As part of a transition plan, Chun will become chief operating officer on Nov. 1 before taking over the top job when Masrani steps down at the bank’s annual meeting next year.
TD also announced that Riaz Ahmed, group head, wholesale banking and president and CEO of TD Securities, will retire at the end of January 2025.
TD has taken billions in charges related to ongoing U.S. investigations into the failure of its anti-money laundering program.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
