Thanks for that.
The way the law works, generally, is that it has two major parts. There are the policy objectives set out in section 3, and then there are the powers. You have to have both elements. You have to have policy objectives, and you have to have the power. You can have all the noble policy objectives in the world, but if there's no power to back them up, they don't help. Similarly, you can have all the powers in the world, but if there's no object in the act, it can easily be challenged.
In the case of ownership, first on the policy level, it would be incredible to me if we didn't have the support of Canadian ownership in our system as an objective. This is not to say that the ownership language shouldn't be amended; perhaps it should be. However, we've proposed an amendment that I think takes into account global platforms while also preserving the space for Canadian broadcasters.
Why do we want that? We don't want Canadian broadcasters just to be branch plants of foreign platforms. I'd refer this committee to the excellent Lincoln report from 2003, which said exactly that: “...the best interests of Canadian citizens...and fostering...our own talents and imaginations cannot be left to foreign interests.”
Legally, the direction exists under the existing act, which includes a requirement that the broadcasting system be effectively owned and controlled by Canadians. That policy direction speaks directly to that object. If you have no object about Canadian ownership, what's the authority for making that direction? It's certainly open for the direction to be challenged at law that it's no longer valid, given the change in the policy and the act. That's the concern there.