This bill is from the 43rd Parliament, 2nd session, which ended in August 2021.
Steven Guilbeault Liberal
In committee (Senate), as of June 29, 2021
(This bill did not become law.)
This is from the published bill. The Library of Parliament has also written a full legislative summary of the bill.
This enactment amends the Broadcasting Act to, among other things,
(a) add online undertakings — undertakings for the transmission or retransmission of programs over the Internet — as a distinct class of broadcasting undertakings;
(b) update the broadcasting policy for Canada set out in section 3 of that Act by, among other things, providing that the Canadian broadcasting system should serve the needs and interests of all Canadians — including Canadians from racialized communities and Canadians of diverse ethnocultural backgrounds — and should provide opportunities for Indigenous persons, programming that reflects Indigenous cultures and that is in Indigenous languages, and programming that is accessible without barriers to persons with disabilities;
(c) specify that the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (the “Commission”) must regulate and supervise the Canadian broadcasting system in a manner that
(i) takes into account the different characteristics of Indigenous language broadcasting and the different conditions under which broadcasting undertakings that provide Indigenous language programming operate,
(ii) is fair and equitable as between broadcasting undertakings providing similar services,
(iii) facilitates the provision of programs that are accessible without barriers to persons with disabilities, and
(iv) takes into account the variety of broadcasting undertakings to which that Act applies and avoids imposing obligations on a class of broadcasting undertakings if doing so will not contribute in a material manner to the implementation of the broadcasting policy;
(d) amend the procedure relating to the issuance by the Governor in Council of policy directions to the Commission;
(e) replace the Commission’s power to impose conditions on a licence with a power to make orders imposing conditions on the carrying on of broadcasting undertakings;
(f) provide the Commission with the power to require that persons carrying on broadcasting undertakings make expenditures to support the Canadian broadcasting system;
(g) authorize the Commission to provide information to the Minister responsible for that Act, the Chief Statistician of Canada and the Commissioner of Competition, and set out in that Act a process by which a person who submits certain types of information to the Commission may designate the information as confidential;
(h) amend the procedure by which the Governor in Council may, under section 28 of that Act, set aside a decision of the Commission to issue, amend or renew a licence or refer such a decision back to the Commission for reconsideration and hearing;
(i) specify that a person shall not carry on a broadcasting undertaking, other than an online undertaking, unless they do so in accordance with a licence or they are exempt from the requirement to hold a licence;
(j) harmonize the punishments for offences under Part II of that Act and clarify that a due diligence defence applies to the existing offences set out in that Act; and
(k) allow for the imposition of administrative monetary penalties for violations of certain provisions of that Act or of the Accessible Canada Act.
The enactment also makes related and consequential amendments to other Acts.
All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.
Bill numbers are reused for different bills each new session. Perhaps you were looking for one of these other C-10s:
Erin O'Toole ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, maybe I better share the reviews on the minister's law before he pulls the comments off-line.
The Globe and Mail called the minister's performance “amateur hour” on Bill C-10. OpenMedia has said that the Prime Minister and that minister have lost the plot with this law. Michael Geist, the leading expert, said, “Bill C-10 represents an unconscionable attack on the free expression rights.”
When is the government and that minister going to listen to Canadians and scrap Bill C-10?
Steven Guilbeault LiberalMinister of Canadian Heritage
Mr. Speaker, our artists and creators are among the Canadians who have been hit the hardest by the pandemic. They are suffering financially and mentally. Bill C-10 brought them the hope that things would get better soon, with the promise of forcing web giants to invest in stories and music from Quebec and Canada.
Today, the Conservatives are stalling Bill C-10, siding with web giants against Canadian artists and creators who are deprived of hundreds of millions of dollars. The real question is why the Conservative Party is siding with Google, one of the wealthiest companies in the world, instead of our artists.
Erin O'Toole ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, the Globe and Mail called the minister's performance “amateur hour” on Bill C-10. OpenMedia said that the Prime Minister has lost the plot with this bill. Michael Geist said that this legislation is an attack on freedom of expression.
This bill is a threat to Canadians' freedom. When will the Liberal government scrap Bill C-10?
Gary Vidal Conservative Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK
Mr. Speaker, after losing their majority and finishing second in popular vote in the last election, one would think the Liberals would have sought to govern for all Canadians.
Instead, the Prime Minister is using a pandemic as an opportunity to bypass Parliament. Let us not forget move one was the Liberals proposing legislation that would give themselves power to tax and spend with no parliamentary oversight for 21 months. Although that blatant attempt at a power grab failed, the disregard for responsible government has continued. They had no budget for 25 months, proroguing Parliament to avoid the WE scandal investigation, shutting down committees and continuous filibustering to impede evidence of corruption from becoming public. Finally, they introduced Bill C-10 that would allow them to police what Canadians post on their social media accounts.
It is time for a responsible, ethical government. The Conservative Party is ready, willing and able.
Michael Barrett Conservative Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON
Mr. Speaker, anytime anyone asks a tough question of the Prime Minister, he says it is a personal attack. That is why when the questions got really tough and heated for the Prime Minister, when he was trying to cover up his conflict of interest in the WE scandal, he shut down Parliament during a pandemic. Now his attacks on democracy have gotten more brazen.
That is what the Prime Minister is trying to do by silencing Canadians online with Bill C-10. Will the Prime Minister tell us how long it will be before every aspect of Canadian life must conform to his Liberal vision of Canadian society?
Michael Barrett Conservative Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON
Mr. Speaker, is the root of the problem with Bill C-10 that the Prime Minister cannot show leadership on questions of ethics?
He could not deal with sexual misconduct allegations against the former chief of the defence staff because he was dealing with the revelations of assaults he had committed. He fired his attorney general when she tried to stop him from interfering in the prosecution of his friends at SNC-Lavalin.
Instead of the Prime Minister fixing his own ethical problems, is the real plan to silence his critics online?
Rachael Thomas Conservative Lethbridge, AB
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is so unfamiliar with the content of the bill that he has to read talking points. Yesterday, I was on a talk radio panel. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage said it is crystal clear that Bill C-10 does not target individuals. A few minutes later, however, she said that the minister is going to bring forward amendments to make sure it is crystal clear. They cannot have it both ways. The bill cannot already be crystal clear and still need amendments.
Which is it? Is the bill already perfect, or does it infringe on Canadians' charter rights and therefore need to be amended?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, let me be absolutely clear. Bill C-10 is not about restricting content or freedom of speech, but about making Canadian music more discoverable and more available to the general public. Freedom of speech is explicitly protected under this act and in our Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It is not negotiable by this government, and we will continue to abide by it, protect it and uphold it.
The Conservatives are yet again deliberately misleading Canadians and obstructing the study of this important bill by siding with web giants against Canadian creators.
Rachael Thomas Conservative Lethbridge, AB
Mr. Speaker, in a democracy, it is the government's job to defend people's right to speak freely, yet the Liberal government is doing the exact opposite with Bill C-10. It edited its very own bill to remove the protections that were once in place for the content that Canadians post online. Bizarrely, it is justifying this alarming move by saying that it is to protect art, music and culture.
If the Prime Minister is so obsessed with protecting culture, could he perhaps start by protecting Canada's long-standing commitment to free speech?
Alain Rayes Conservative Richmond—Arthabaska, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is the one misleading Canadians by trying to convince them that we are against culture.
For his information, we have received letters from thousands of Canadians, as well as former CRTC commissioner Peter Menzies, University of Ottawa emeritus law professor Michael Geist, University of Calgary law professor Emily Laidlaw, and Carleton University professor Dwayne Winseck. They all denounced the Liberals' direct attack on the freedom of expression we hold so dear.
Why is the Prime Minister ignoring them all by deleting the clause in Bill C-10 that protected our freedom of expression? Why?
Alain Rayes Conservative Richmond—Arthabaska, QC
Mr. Speaker, Bill C-10 originally stated that the act does not apply to users who transmit and receive programs through an online undertaking that provides a social media service, such as YouTube, Facebook or TikTok.
One Friday afternoon, without warning, the Liberals surprised us by deleting this entire clause of the bill, thereby attacking Canadians' freedom of expression. Why did the Prime Minister do this?
Erin O'Toole ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, freedom of expression is fundamental. It is not a privilege, but a right.
The Prime Minister thinks this freedom should be free provided it is in line with his expression, but last year he said that freedom of expression has limits.
Why is this government once again attacking Canadian freedom of expression with Bill C-10?
Justin Trudeau LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, unlike what the Leader of the Opposition is trying to pretend, Bill C-10 is not about what Canadians do online. It is about what web giants do not do, which is to support Canadian-made stories and music. That is why we made sure the bill covers professional, profitable content while explicitly exempting regular users from contribution requirements. We have improved, and we will continue to improve, this bill so it truly reflects its initial objective, which is to serve Canadian creators without hindering free expression in this country.
Erin O'Toole ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister knows this is not about cultural content. It is about the everyday content Canadians put on their social media. The Prime Minister, last fall, mused about placing limits on free speech. He then backtracked and told this House he would “unequivocally defend freedom of expression.”
Will he make good on that promise and withdraw Bill C-10, or will this broken promise to defend the free speech rights of Canadians just be added to the list of broken promises from the Prime Minister?
Erin O'Toole ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
It is very interesting, Mr. Speaker. That Reuters headline I was talking about was actually referencing new legislation being introduced in Hong Kong. It should worry Canadians that the Prime Minister could not tell the difference between what is happening in Hong Kong and his own bill, Bill C-10. Of course, we should not be surprised, because last fall he told Canadians that free speech has limits.
Why is the government using Bill C-10 to crack down on the free speech rights of everyday Canadians on the Internet?