Thank you.
Madam Chair and members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to address you today.
Since we appeared before this committee in February 2021, we've continued to invest and grow our footprint in Canada. Last fall, we opened our corporate office in Toronto and hired our first local content executives. They've since travelled across the country and engaged with creators to find the next great Canadian stories that we'll share with the world.
Over the same period, we kept the cameras rolling in studios and on locations across the country while keeping our cast and crews safe during COVID-19. We continued to collaborate with top animation studios in Canada on titles such as The Last Kids on Earth, and several leading VFX companies here worked their magic on shows such as The Adam Project, starring our own Ryan Reynolds. Last November, we launched our first selection of mobile games, including several titles from Canadian game developers.
All of these investments add up to Canada remaining one of our top production countries globally. In fact, since 2017 we've invested more than $3.5 billion in Canada for films and series that have launched on Netflix. This includes our own titles, co-licensing agreements with Canadian independent producers and broadcasters, and acquisitions of both classic and new series and films in English and in French. Each of these models contributes to the system.
In addition, we've provided substantial support and opportunities to Canadian creators. We've enabled emerging and diverse Canadian talent like Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, star of the hit series Never Have I Ever, to secure their breakout roles and achieve global recognition. And we've partnered with over 20 organizations across Canada to advance the careers of over 1,000 creators from every province and territory, with a focus on creators from underrepresented communities.
All of this demonstrates that Netflix is committed to Canada.
To the extent that Bill C‑11 aims to create a flexible framework that will enable the CRTC to recognize the different ways that individual online services contribute, to tailor conditions of service applied to online undertakings, and to modernize the definition of Canadian content, we believe that is the right approach.
We remain concerned about a rigid approach that would simply transpose the current regulatory requirements of Canadian broadcasting groups onto online streaming services. This would not create a level playing field, nor would it be fair or equitable.
Unlike Canada's large private sector broadcasters, Netflix would not have the ability to meet its obligations through categories such as news or sports programming, which represent the majority of their Canadian content spending, and titles that are produced or solely financed by Netflix still would not qualify, even when the majority or totality of creative roles are held by Canadians.
We believe a new framework should also recognize that streaming services provide an unparalleled opportunity to promote Canadian stories to global audiences. The phenomenal success of titles like Lupin, Schitt's Creek and Jusqu'au Déclin demonstrates that quality stories no longer have borders.
Accordingly, we and other members of the Motion Picture Association Canada, or MPA‑Canada, have proposed amendments to the bill, as outlined in our written submission.
When the government set out to modernize the Broadcasting Act, it stated its ambition to create a world-class communications sector and highlighted the importance of enabling and promoting Canadian culture, contributing to economic growth and safeguarding the interests of Canadian consumers, including affordability and choice. To achieve this, Canada must build a balanced and forward-looking model that acknowledges the unique contributions of each participant in the system.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I'd be happy to answer your questions.