CanCon rules need to be updated for new media landscape, conference hears

Canadian content should be better defined as we advance to a greater reliance on digital programming, according to a prominent communications lawyer. Ken Engelhart, the former regulatory head at Rogers Communications Inc. currently in private practice, made the remarks at a web conference in Ottawa on Nov. 3. The conference, called C-10 The Legal Issues, was organized by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre and the Forum for Research and Policy in Communications (FRPC). The afternoon session looked at whether the granting of discretion to the CRTC would ensure implementation of broadcasting policy. Engelhart, a one-time senior VP at Rogers, said the government has not defined CanCon and lets the CRTC decide. That doesn’t work for the new landscape. “C-10 has the effect of shoring up the current system,” he said. No one has asked if that system is serving Canadians, he said, citing ratings figures for the week of Oct. 11 to show that foreign programming is still dominant with Canadian viewers. Of the top 10 shows for the week, the only domestic program in the mix was the CTV National News. Looking at shows in the top 20, the only addition was a hockey game. Further expanding to the top 30, the CanCon list was joined by three broadcasts of CTV News and one of Hockey Night in Canada. Not enough drama programming is being produced in this country, he added. American companies spend more on using Canadian facilities for their shows than Canadian producers do. Engelhart suggested moving to a hybrid CanCon system, employing the current six of 10 regime in place versus a points system such as that employed by the British. Jay Thomson, CEO of the Canadian Communication Systems Alliance, argued that C10 restricts CRTC discretion and increases power in the cabinet, a move which he termed “dangerous”. The commission no longer imposes conditions of licence on broadcasters with CRTC orders replacing them. C10 would have provided more guidance in regards to the Broadcast Policy Objectives. According to Bram Abramson of law firm 32M, this is all the continuation of the 50-year debate. “Canada’s Broadcast Policy isn’t coherent,” he offered. Parliament started in the wrong place, Abramson said, suggesting tweaks to the commission such as requiring panel members to sign their decisions and making commissioners public officers. The Broadcast Act should mirror the Telecom Act to protect privacy and the commission should consult more often with the Privacy Commissioner. Such moves would shore up trust in the CRTC, he added. Monica Song, a lawyer with Dentons, noted the Broadcast Act is primarily cultural and discussed the limits of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms on the CRTC. Those include freedom of expression, equality rights and multiculturalism. “Freedom of expression is not an unqualified right,” she noted. In the discussion portion of the presentation, the panelists were asked about news deserts. Moderator Jeffrey Dvorkin, a CBC and NPR alumnus now at Massey College, suggested material from CBC.ca could be offered to other media outlets free of charge with attribution. “I know the CBC would resist,” he laughed. Thomson pointed out that news does not appear in the wording of the current Broadcasting Act but was listed as a policy objective in C10. C10 passed in the House of Commons but died in the Senate when the election was called. A new version is expected to be introduced in the upcoming session of Parliament. -- Reporting by Paul Park at ppark@thewirereport.ca and editing by Michael Lee-Murphy at mleemurphy@thewirereport.ca. UPDATE: A previous version of the story described the conference as solely a PIAC event. It was organized by PIAC and the FRPC.

CanCon rules need to be updated for new media landscape, conference hears

News | November 3, 2021

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CanCon rules need to be updated for new media landscape, conference hears

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