Canadian Heritage Committee on June 6th, 2022

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Yes. In parts of the commercial content, it will.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

YouTube users would be captured by this bill.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Sometimes YouTube can be used as a substitute for Spotify, for example. We've used that example many times in the past.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Right.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

It has to be commercial content. It's not about going after the content. The CRTC is not interested in what users put.... They're not going to say that this video was good or not good, or it should have more of this or more of that. No. It's just about seeing what qualifies as commercial content, because, at the end of the day, the revenues generated will depend on that.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Okay.

It's not actually a part of the bill that there would be any sort of dependency on revenue. Now you're introducing that. Is that an amendment you're planning to make to the bill?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

The bill is totally about contributing to Canadian content.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Are you saying that a content generator would have to bring in a certain amount of revenue in order to be captured by this bill?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

No.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

No, it doesn't matter how much you make; you'll be captured.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

No, I think you're listening to whatever you want to listen to.

The bill is very simple. It's about the streamers contributing to Canadian culture. That's what it is. It is about making sure we find those stories online. That's what the bill is all about.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Minister, if your intention is not to capture individual users, then why don't you take proposed section 4.2 out of the bill altogether and just make that very clear?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

It's because there's commercial content that does exactly the same on Spotify. You find that content on YouTube and you find it also on Spotify. Sixty-six percent of Canadians go onto YouTube to listen to music. It's an important number there.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

How are you going to define commercial content?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

We said it. There are the three things. Revenues—

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

In this bill, there's a line about revenue?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Yes, it's proposed section 4.2. If you read it—

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Does it say a specific amount of revenue?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

No.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

I know it doesn't.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

The CRTC takes the three things. There's revenue, whether you can find it elsewhere, and whether it has a code. They will draw up regulations based on that. That's what people—

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Everything has a code, Minister.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, John Nater]

That's the time for that round—

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Everything that uses music has a code; so you just said that everything can be captured.

Thank you.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, John Nater]

Thank you.

There was an extra 25 seconds, which I will add on to each other first round as well out of fairness.

Mr. Louis, the floor is yours for six minutes.