The United States Embassy in Ottawa says it has concerns that the federal Liberals’ controversial online streaming act could discriminate against American companies.
In a statement to The Canadian Press, an embassy spokesperson said U.S. officials are holding consultations with businesses about how Bill C-11 could affect their operations.
“We have … concerns it could impact digital streaming services and discriminate against U.S. businesses,” Molly Sanchez Crowe said in the statement.
The bill aims to update Canada’s broadcasting law so it reflects the advent of online streaming platforms such as YouTube, Spotify and Netflix. If the bill passes, such platforms would be required to contribute to the creation of Canadian content and make it accessible to users in Canada — or face steep penalties.
The proposed law has come under intense scrutiny amid accusations from companies and critics who said it left too much room for government control over user-generated content and social-media algorithms.
The chair of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), which would be given new enforcement powers under the bill, disputed those concerns during a Senate committee hearing last month, though some lawmakers said they were still concerned about vagueness in the bill’s wording.
YouTube, which is owned by Google, has said it’s not concerned about being regulated further. But it has maintained that the bill would engage in artificial promotion of certain content and give the government control over what users see.
Potential trade dispute
Under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement on trade, or CUSMA, a country can challenge a law when it feels it is being discriminated against.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai has previously expressed concern about the proposed law, but has not said whether her country would launch a trade dispute.
International Trade Minister Mary Ng has insisted that the online streaming act in is line with Canada’s trade obligations.
Marc Froese, a political science professor at Burman University in Alberta, said it’s possible a dispute could be launched against Canada.
“Is it inevitable? No,” he said in an interview Tuesday.
He pointed to a cross-border dispute Canada faced 25 years ago over “split-run” magazines, or American magazines that were sold in Canada with the same content but with Canadian advertising. The percentage of Canadian ads they could include had already been strictly limited since the ’60s, and in 1994, the government added a hefty excise tax to the equation.
Bill awaiting final Senate vote
Ottawa saw the policy as a way to prevent cultural swamping by the Americans, Froese said.
But the U.S. disputed the policy via the World Trade Organization and threatened retaliation under the then-North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA.
“We played hardball. The Americans sued us,” Froese said. “And we lost.”
Jean Chretien’s Liberal government was forced to back down, though some restrictions on imported magazines remained. Since then, Froese said Canada has learned a lot about trade disputes and cultural exemptions, and it has become a leading user of dispute resolution mechanisms on the global stage.
“We’re not a babe in the woods when it comes to dealing with litigation. Canadians get afraid of that: ‘The Americans might sue us. They won’t like what we’re doing.’ Yeah, so what?” Froese said.
Even so, the updated broadcasting rules could be protected from trade violations by cultural exemptions written into trade agreements, he said.
Toronto-based trade lawyer Lawrence Herman, of Herman & Associates, said he doesn’t think the bill will face many more hurdles.
“The Canadian government will do whatever is necessary to make sure that these measures are implemented in a perfectly legitimate way,” Herman said. “To avoid any suggestion that our trade commitments are not right.”
The bill passed in the House of Commons last June and is awaiting a final vote in the Senate.
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
