Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez is set to review what qualifies as a Canadian film or TV program as part of a move to modernize the country’s broadcast laws.
The definition of Canadian content is at the heart of a bill before Parliament that would make streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+ feature a certain amount of Canadian programs and invest in “Canadian stories,” as traditional broadcasters must do.
Critics say the current rules need updating and some programs about Canadian issues — including Amazon’s series on the Toronto Maple Leafs — have not ticked enough boxes to be counted as Canadian.
Disney’s “Turning Red,” which tells the story of growing up as a Chinese-Canadian teen in Toronto and stars Ottawa-born Sandra Oh, did not count as Canadian under the rules. Nor did the much-feted adaptation of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” based on the novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood.
But the Canadian Media Producers Association says the rules must ensure that Canadians continue to own the intellectual property rights to their work.
It also wants streaming platforms to be required to give Canadian film and TV makers a greater slice of profits if their work is a success.
“Our Broadcasting Act must ensure that Canada’s independent producers have a fair opportunity to negotiate with content buyers, including streamers, to own, control and monetize the intellectual property that they develop and produce,” said Reynolds Mastin, president and CEO.
In an interview at the National Arts and Culture summit in Ottawa, Rodriguez said “we have to modernize” the definition of Canadian content and he is “open to all kinds of suggestions and ideas.”
The minister said he is speaking to arts and culture ministers in other countries “to look at what they do, and of course we have to adapt it to our country.”
“I will be meeting with the minister of culture of Germany Thursday and this is one of the things I will be discussing and I will do the same with other counterparts,” Rodriguez said.
Advancing Canadian stories
The United Kingdom has a broader definition of British film which includes works focusing on British themes, such as the life of William Shakespeare.
Some experts warn that if the definition of Canadian content is not broadened, it could create a disincentive for studios to invest in Canadian talent if their work doesn’t officially qualify as Canadian.
Michael Geist, the University of Ottawa’s Canada Research Chair in internet law, said “the current rules are woefully outdated, resulting in policies that do little to truly ‘advance Canadian stories.'”
Geist said the current system was “little more than a tick-box exercise” which meant that “works by Canadian authors may not count as certified Cancon, whereas productions with little connection to Canada such as ‘Gotta Love Trump’ somehow count as Canadian.”
“Gotta Love Trump” is a film in support of former U.S. president Donald Trump, featuring an ex-photographer for the president and a former contestant on “The Apprentice.”
Bills moving through Parliament
Marvel’s “Deadpool” starred Canadian A-lister Ryan Reynolds and was filmed in Vancouver. Canadian Paul Wernick co-wrote the screenplay based on a Canadian comic book character.
Yet the film did not qualify as Canadian under the rules of the Canadian Audio-Visual Certification Office.
Those rules require a Canadian producer and a Canadian director or screenwriter. Points are awarded for the number of Canadians in leading roles or other key creative positions. Canadians must also feature prominently in production and post-production.
Once the online streaming bill passes through Parliament, the heritage minister plans to give a “policy direction” to the broadcast regulator, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, indicating how to modernize the definition of Canadian content.
Rodriguez said at the summit he plans to equip the CRTC with more tools to regulate online streaming platforms and digital platforms such as Twitter. He said a “priority” is to “make sure we have a modern regulator.”
The minister is shepherding two bills through Parliament which would see the CRTC play a key role as a regulator. The online streaming bill, known as C-11 in Parliament, would modernize the broadcast laws to regulate streaming platforms, including Amazon Prime.
The online news bill, C-18, would make tech giants such as Facebook and Google pay for reusing news produced by professional Canadian news organizations.
“Some critics argue that the CRTC is not responsive to consumers and creators, that it lacks the expertise and resources to deal with the new legislation. Basically, they say that the CRTC doesn’t get the internet,” Rodriguez told the summit. “I hear these concerns.”
“Government and technology haven’t always worked together so well. But let’s not forget that the CRTC has a long history of supporting Canadian culture,” he added.
He said in an interview he did not think there was a better body than the CRTC to do the job.
“Do they have all the tools they need? Probably not,” he said.
“And that’s our job, to provide them with the tools and resources they need.”
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
