Netflix's Canadian category. Aleah Jacobson, CMRU.ca
Bill C-11 is causing a lot of debate.
Will it force Canadians to watch bad content, will it hurt already established content creators, will it help Canada’s media industry grow?
First step to answering all this is to give you a glimpse of what Bill C-11 is.
What is Bill C-11?
Bill C-11 or the Online Streaming Act is a modernization of the Broadcasting Act. It provides rules, regulations, and guidelines to broadcasters on how they handle Canadian Content (CanCon).
The Bill wants broadcasters to promote CanCon; specifically content with diversity, content in English, French and/or Indigenous languages and content created by Indigenous Peoples.
It’s undergone multiple amendments to be where it is now, and it’s been passed over to the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to enact as they see fit.
So, how will this impact you?
Streaming services would have to show you more Canadian options.
Depending on how the CRTC enacts these promotions, you might see little ads on your screen of CanCon or you might see it on your ‘For You’ lists.
Broadcasters would be required to contribute to CanCon productions in some way, which could result in economic growth in Canada’s media industry.
So, there may be more jobs available, more CanCon to watch and more time spent searching for non-CanCon…
Is all of this actually a good thing?
Now this is where it gets tricky.
There are so many unknowns because streaming services haven’t had this type of regulation before.
Content creators have been afraid it will hurt them, others say this will add to censorship and the government’s control over what we can see.
But there’s also the argument that this will promote CanCon creators, make broadcasters help produce CanCon, and will make it easier to find good CanCon that would otherwise get lost in the throng.
The CRTC announced social media is not subjected to the Act. So YouTube creators will not be penalized or promoted for not having/making CanCon videos.
The rest of these scenarios could happen; both the bad and the good. But, in my opinion, there need to be few more changes.
The government shouldn’t be able to pick and choose which CanCon to promote. What’s promoted should be based on whether it’s CanCon and its popularity among the public.
I also believe what’s considered CanCon needs to change. There are many things I would consider CanCon that don’t meet CRTC requirements, so under this Bill they wouldn’t be promoted.
If you look at The Handmaid’s Tale for example, a TV show based on a Canadian book, it isn’t CanCon.
It can be argued that since the Bill went through many adjustments and the CRTC’s clarification is enough. I understand this point, and do believe they are on the right track but more changes need to be made.
I’m sure there will be plenty more adjustments CRTC will make as discussions continue on how the Bill will be enacted, but making these changes now allows for fewer critics and bypasses the issues that may come should these topics not be brought up during the CRTC’s discussions in these coming weeks.
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