QUESTION PERIOD — Canadian Heritage
Legislation on Online Streaming Services
February 7, 2023
My question is for the government leader in the Senate.
Senator Gold, we just completed a marathon study of a piece of legislation overhauling the Broadcasting Act in what the Trudeau government stated was an effort to bring online streamers in line with Canadian broadcasters, including the public broadcaster, the CBC.
This morning, there was an interview featuring the head of the network who stated that CBC is getting out of the broadcasting business and moving its operations entirely online. She proudly boasted about the CBC’s efforts thus far toward that goal which, by the way, would be in violation of the CBC’s broadcasting licence that requires that they provide service to all Canadians and to all regions.
Essentially, government leader, the head of the CBC is acknowledging that traditional broadcasting is dying.
How much of the CBC’s current funding is being inappropriately allocated toward these efforts to circumvent the conditions of the very licence that provides that public funding? Will your government do the right thing and freeze funding until this practice ceases by the CBC?
Thank you for the question. It’s very nice to be back in the saddle.
As we know from reading the report this morning, colleagues, the CBC has no plans to move to full streaming any time in the near future. It’s simply beginning to speculate as to what the future will bring and it’s trying to anticipate the changes that are under way given the proliferation and ubiquitousness of digital technology. Right now, there are lots of Canadians and communities who rely upon traditional broadcasting and radio, and they can continue to rely on the CBC and others in that regard.
This is a conversation about the future of broadcasting and the CBC that the government expects to have in the years to come. But for the time being, the government will continue to ensure that the CBC/Radio-Canada maintains its reputation as a world-class national broadcaster and that it continues to serve Canadians.
Government leader, your answer does not correlate with the facts. Over the last decade, we’ve seen the CBC reducing regional service to an enormous degree, simultaneously spending millions of dollars toward the digital platforms, and that is a fact. The only thing we can’t really determine is how much of taxpayers’ money they are actually spending to convert to digital.
Let’s try another question. Senator Gold, the minister responsible for your government’s online censorship bill, Bill C-11, has written a letter to the chair of the CRTC, whom the minister himself had just appointed, expressing concerns that his bill could be used to infringe on freedom of expression. Shocking. The bill is still before Parliament, so I’m not so sure why the minister would write a letter instead of just writing something in the actual bill to protect against the very thing we have been raising concerns about all along, which is the trampling of the freedom of expression.
Senator Gold, are the members of your government, the Trudeau government, unaware that they are in government and that it’s not being done to them, but it’s being done to Canadians by them? Why is the minister sending a letter to his appointee?
I guess Bill C-11 is the gift that keeps on giving, doesn’t it, Senator Housakos?
Look, the question of how any legislation affects our fundamental rights and freedoms is a serious one, so I will answer seriously. I’m not aware of the letter, so I can’t comment on that, but it’s sufficient to say and it’s the responsible thing for any government to ensure that those who are charged with enforcing the law — once this law does come into force — understand their obligations to respect our fundamental freedoms as guaranteed by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In that regard, there is no need to do anything further in the law.
The government’s position has always been that the law is not a censorship bill, despite how many times you keep repeating it, senator. Moreover, anything that we pass in Parliament is subject to the terms of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. There has been no “notwithstanding” clause invoked in Bill C-11 or in any other bill this government has introduced.
