Mr. Chair, honourable committee members, it is a pleasure to be with you today.
You already know that Friends of Canadian Broadcasting is a Canada-wide non-partisan group dedicated to defending Canadian culture on the air and online.
Here are the choices before you as Friends sees them.
One, should streaming companies like Netflix be required to finance original Canadian content in exchange for the right to make billions here?
Two, should newer broadcasting formats, including user-generated content, be regulated, not just with respect to the content but also to the distribution platforms themselves?
Three, how can we ensure a future for Canadian stories and talent, when the industry is increasingly dominated by American behemoths? Facebook, YouTube, Netflix, and now the Ministry of Heritage, all give the same answer to these questions: “Don't worry. Just trust us. Everything will be fine.”
Netflix wants lower obligations than its Canadian competitors, and this bill would, in fact, allow it to remain entirely unregulated, as it is today. Facebook and YouTube say that users are solely responsible for user-generated content. This bill seemingly agrees, exempting social media, not just for the content but for any regulation of their distribution infrastructure as well. What of the need for thriving Canadian media, telling local Canadian stories? Well, Bill C-10 removes Canadian ownership as a policy objective and waters down key provisions supporting Canadian talent. Further, it does nothing to reinforce the CBC.
Meanwhile, Canadian media continue to bleed. Bell Media has laid off more than 400 people this year, by my counting anyway. Huffington Post shut down its Canadian and Quebec operations this month, and the proposed acquisition of Shaw by Rogers poses a real risk of further closures.
The question before you is really quite simple: Will you pass the law that Facebook, YouTube and Netflix want, or are you on Canada's side? If you're on Canada's side, then you cannot trust the department to fix all of the problems it has created. You must fix the bill yourselves, and the ambiguity around whether Netflix and company should contribute less than Canadian broadcasters, or not at all. Just write it into the bill, if for no other reason than to put the parliamentary secretary at ease. As you know, her riding is home to Canada's major production facilities. For her constituents, lost investment or underinvestment is not just a problem of GDP but actually income taken from their pockets.
You must be more involved further because the minister and the department don't appear to properly understand the reality they are tasked with regulating. Case in point, during his last committee appearance Minister Guilbeault said that YouTube and the like should not be subject to the Broadcasting Act, because government has no place regulating your uncle's cat videos. Minister Guilbeault, have you been on YouTube in the last 10 years?
YouTube is full of professional creators with major production budgets, millions of followers, and hundreds of millions of views. In fact, speaking of cats, how about Grumpy Cat, who has more than 12 million followers on social media, has appeared in Cheerios commercials, and has been profiled on all of the major U.S. networks. The U.K. publication Express estimates that Grumpy Cat, or its owners rather, earned nearly $100 million from these cat videos. That's more than major Hollywood stars.
At the same time, the minister and Mr. Ripley said that Facebook and YouTube were not exempted from the bill, but that they would be regulated only once they behaved as broadcasters. That is a very misleading statement. Social media platforms, especially YouTube, are broadcasters under the legislation. If they were not, it would not be necessary to give them an exemption.
Furthermore, the promise of additional legislation to combat illegal content online is a complete distraction. What about broadcasting standards, the fair allocation of political advertising space, discoverability rules, or requirements to have French user interfaces? Exempting social media from the act will make it impossible for the CRTC to address these culturally important issues.
In closing, your task is simple: Ensure a future for Canadian culture. Don't trust the department to just make it all okay after the fact. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity, and as it stands right now, the bill before you is Facebook's bill. Netflix's CEO told The Canadian Press he loved Bill C-10. YouTube must also be thrilled. Will you pass Silicon Valley's bill, or will you pass a bill that serves Canada's interests?
It's up to you to make the right choice, and I'm hoping you will.
Thank you.