Thank you, Madam Chair, vice-chairs and members of the committee.
My name is Warren Sonoda. I'm the national president of the Directors Guild of Canada. With me today is Dave Forget, the DGC's national executive director. We appreciate the committee's invitation to present DGC's comments on Bill C-11, the online streaming act.
The DGC is a national labour organization representing key creative and logistical professionals in the film, television and digital media industries. Today we have over 6,000 members covering all areas of direction, design, production, logistics and editing. Bill C-11 represents the realization of a very historic opportunity to modernize Canada's broadcasting system, ultimately serving the interests of all Canadians by supporting the creative community and Canadian audiences alike.
Growing from 132,000 jobs in 2011 to 216,000 jobs in 2021, Canada's film, television and digital media sector is thriving, but it is primarily driven by the foreign service production side of our industry. As audiences and revenues migrate to online broadcasting platforms, funding contributions to Canadian programming have steadily diminished. The new act will level the playing field for all broadcasters, whether the program delivery is mostly to Canadian homes via online, cable or over the air.
Historically, Canadian broadcasting public policy shared both economic and cultural goals, building a robust domestic production industry while ensuring the future of our artists and creators. This is the fine equilibrium that Bill C-11 proposes to restore.
The economic growth of an industry can be defined by various metrics, but too often the intangible, long-term impact of cultural policy is not fully valued. It contributes to the development of a national identity, shared consciousness and successful careers. More precisely, we know that there is no better tool than scripted content and documentary filmmaking to illustrate what cultural policy does.
Shows like Schitt's Creek and Transplant, films like Scarborough and Beans and documentaries like Our People Will Be Healed and Anthropocene share the uniquely personal point of view of their Canadian creators.
The decision to safeguard the future and livelihood of Canadian creatives and storytellers rests in your hands, committee. Getting this right ensures diverse, original, high-quality Canadian programming for Canadian and international audiences for decades to come. In the absence of a rapid intervention to create an environment where Canadian artists and creators can flourish, the current ecosystem will remain unsustainable, leading over time to fewer opportunities and eventually the loss of our culture and identity.
The DGC is aligned with Canadian broadcasters as well as the production and creative communities to urge the adoption of this legislation without delay, with one caveat. Please amend the bill to strengthen requirements for the use of Canadian talent.
Going back to first principles, Canadian content is not just about who commissions it, who owns it or on what platform the program is exhibited. It's about who makes it. We mean, of course, the director, writers, performers, artists, technicians and professionals who create the programming, the entire creative team and the many colleagues I work with every day who contribute to the creative process.
It's over to you, Dave.