Under the existing Broadcasting Act, the CRTC has the authority to oversee all aspects of the broadcasting industry, and the CRTC's powers are technologically neutral. Bill C-10 will change this. The CRTC's authority to oversee companies that use the Internet to distribute programming services will be stripped away.
What does this mean in practical terms? First, Canada's cable satellite and IPTV distributors are all moving to Internet-based distribution. Once these established distributors move to the Internet, the foundation for the existing CRTC rules will be gone. This includes the foundation for rules that ensure Canadians have access to Canadian services and the rules that protect consumers, such as those that require advance notice of service changes.
Second, new global web giants are entering the Canadian market with their own distribution platforms. This includes making apps and services available through services like Amazon's Fire TV Stick and Apple TV, and also on set-top boxes like Roku and other Android devices.
Canadian programming services are already in a battle for visibility and fair access on all these platforms and others. No one knows what the future holds, but the Internet is not immune to consolidation and market abuses. Some elements of the emerging Internet of 20 years ago are now dominated by a few web giants. Governments around the world are awake to the potential harms this can cause, but Bill C-10 is not.
The CRTC needs the basic authority to oversee how Canadian services are treated and to make sure we have fair access to our own market, including on Internet platforms.
IBG has proposed simple changes to Bill C-10 to preserve the CRTC's authority over Internet distribution: first, to ensure that Canadian services are visible to consumers; second, if necessary, to require designated Canadian services to be offered on Internet platforms; third, to make regulations regarding the distribution of programming services, regardless of the technology used; and fourth, to resolve disputes between different types of broadcasting undertakings.
The act must also include related policy objectives for Internet distribution, which we propose.
Lastly, Bill C-10 removes the objective of Canadians' having any ownership interest in our own broadcasting system. We have proposed updated language that safeguards this objective while recognizing the importance of diverse and independent media ownership.
We have tabled our proposed amendments with the committee.
Incidentally, if the committee is concerned regarding how consumers are treated by Internet distributors, you may also wish to look at new paragraph 9.1(1)(f), introduced in clause 7 of Bill C-10, to make sure that it does not exclude the Internet, which it currently does.
Thank you for the opportunity to make these remarks. We greatly appreciate the committee's invitation to appear before you today.