44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 20, 2022 11:00AM
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Calgary Skyview for sharing his time with me.
I respectfully acknowledge the Anishinabe people as I join the debate from the national capital region located on the unceded traditional territory of the Algonquin nation.
It is an honour to rise in the House today to speak in support of Bill C-11, the online streaming act. This bill represents an important milestone in supporting Canadian culture, both today and into the future. Some critics of the bill have questioned the need to safeguard Canadian culture, and I would like to take the opportunity today to talk about some of the unique benefits provided by the Canadian broadcasting system.
While online broadcasters are an important element of the Canadian system in this day and age, some genres like sports remain the mainstay of traditional broadcasters. With this legislation, the sports programs that Canadians currently enjoy would remain available in the future as technologies evolve and business models change.
Canada has a rich history of athletic excellence, and Canadian broadcasters have been there to capture these moments and share them with our fellow Canadians. In the earliest days of radio, Foster Hewitt would welcome fans to hockey broadcasts on Saturday nights with his iconic sign-on: “Hello, Canada, and hockey fans in the United States and Newfoundland.”
Broadcasting helped inspire a love of one of our national sports for generations of Canadians. Broadcasters have covered innumerable Stanley Cups, the historic summit series between Canada and the U.S.S.R. at the height of the Cold War, and both our men's and women's national teams winning gold medals on home soil in the 2010 Winter Olympics, hosted by Vancouver. Moments like these bring Canadians of all backgrounds together. They are fun, entertaining and dramatic. Such experiences strengthen the cultural fabric and sense of sovereignty of our country.
It is not just hockey that broadcasters showcase for Canadians. Through the small screen, Canadians have seen numerous remarkable athletic achievements. Television and radio have chronicled the Toronto Blue Jays, first in 1992 then again in 1993, and the Toronto Raptors in 2019, becoming the first champions from outside the United States in professional baseball and basketball respectively.
We watched as Mike Weir became both the first Canadian and the first left-handed golfer to win the Masters in 2003. Similarly, Georges St-Pierre won two UFC welterweight championships, cementing his reputation as a renowned athlete and possibly the best MMA fighter ever. Traditional broadcasters, through a range of offerings like basic cable and pay-per-view television, have allowed us to follow these careers and share in these exciting moments.
We saw Donovan Bailey go down in history as the fastest man in the world when he won Olympic gold in 1996. We marvelled when Bianca Andreescu captured the first tennis singles major in Canadian history by winning the 2019 U.S. Open.
The country was captivated by one of the most inspiring athletic achievements in history when Terry Fox ran 5,300 kilometres across Canada in 143 days to raise money for cancer research during the Marathon of Hope.
Sports and athletic achievements are without a doubt an important part of Canadian culture. Canadian athletes set records and break ground. They reflect the diversity of our country, and we can celebrate their athletic accomplishments in real time, in part because these sports programs are made available through our broadcasting system.
Cross-country skier and biathlete Brian McKeever has a career total of 17 medals and is now Canada's most decorated winter Paralympic athlete, an honour previously held by the late Lana Spreeman. The Paralympic Games raise the profile of accessible sports with coverage by CBC and by other broadcasters. In the recent winter 2022 Paralympic Games, Canada ranked third as a country, bringing home 25 medals.
As a particular point of pride, Canada is a leader in women's sports and making strides toward gender equity in the field. For instance, when Christine Sinclair scored her 185th international goal, she broke the scoring record for both men's and women's international soccer. Quinn became the first transgender, non-binary athlete to earn a medal when the Canadian women's soccer team won gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Moments like these inspire Canadians and create a shared sense of national pride and unity. Canadian broadcasters have played a key role in sharing these events with Canadians. That is why Bill C-11—
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Mr. Speaker, sports and broadcasting have a strong relation. They go together, and that is the history I am talking about. Bill C-11 is important because broadcasters are directly related with this and sports history is really important to tell to Canadians.
Just as a level playing field is vital for sports, it is equally important in broadcasting. Requiring online broadcasters to contribute to the broadcasting system in an equitable manner will help ensure that significant sports moments continue to be broadcast to all Canadians.
In conclusion, without a doubt our culture includes sports teams and leagues, big and small, that we follow as aspiring players ourselves. Whether fair-weather fans or steadfast fans , we are fans across the country.
Bill C-11 is important for many reasons. I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak today on how modernizing the legislation would level the playing field between traditional and online broadcasters so that both can compete in a fair manner that is sporting after all.
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Mr. Speaker, absolutely, yes, I would.
This bill explicitly excludes all user-created content on social media platforms and streaming services. These exclusions mean that the experience for users creating, hosting and interacting with other user-generated content will not be impacted whatsoever, while the treatment of commercial content such as TV shows and all songs across all platforms will still be standardized.
This bill tells the CRTC to work with platforms to ensure a certain amount of Canadian content is showcased on platforms in both official languages as well as indigenous languages. Clause 12 of the online streaming act explicitly states that any regulation that CRTC imposes on platforms through the Broadcasting Act cannot infringe on Canadians' freedom of expression on social media.
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Mr. Speaker, this bill updates CRTC guidelines that will increase the proportion of French language content to be supported through the Canada Media Fund and other streams. For example, clause 6 of the online streaming act specifies that all new requirements for platforms must work to support and enhance French and English minority language communities across the country.
With regard to minority languages in the North American media landscape, we are taking action to protect and promote francophone creators and storytellers. This is a part of the Government of Canada's larger commitment to ensure the vitality of French language and minority language communities.
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Mr. Speaker, for decades Canadian broadcasters have given us incredible Canadian content through television and radio. That was not an accident. We have chosen to be different from the cultural juggernaut of the United States. We care about our cultural sovereignty. We believe our diversity should be celebrated. Our culture is who we are as Canadians.
I am sorry, but English is not my mother language, just to let the hon. member know.
It is our past, our present and our future. It is how we tell our stories to each other. As a condition of their licences, television and radio broadcasters have had to invest in our culture and our artists.
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