Randy Boissonnault

[The Economy, June 16th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, unlike this side of the House, the opposition has no affordability plan. What it proposes is that Canadians put their money into Bitcoin.

There is a movie about that, and it is called Risky Business. Had one listened to the Conservatives, one would have lost their shirt in the last year.

We are going to put $8.9 billion into the pockets of Canadians this year. The Conservatives bluff, bluster and blame. We double down and deliver.

[Online Streaming Act, June 13th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, from Alberta to Toronto and from St. John's to Yukon, this vast country has stories that deserve to be told. Platforms need to pay their fair share. That is what this is about.

[Online Streaming Act, June 13th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, exceptional disruption requires exceptional measures. That is why we are here today. We have had dozens of hours of debate on this bill. The Conservatives continue to decide that they do not want to move forward. They will not even let the bill get to clause-by-clause. This is something we almost never see in this place. They will not do the work at committee. It is what their constituents sent them here to do, which is to debate, improve and move forward.

They simply will not let the CRTC go from 1991 to 2022. It is beyond the pale. It is unparliamentary. They are simply obstructing the work of Parliament. That is why we are here.

[Online Streaming Act, June 13th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I think we have to go back to the numbers. There have been 15 hours of debate at second reading, 21 hours of debate at committee, with seven hours of filibustering, including the Conservatives filibustering their own motion.

To the hon. member's question, what is at stake here and what is important is that the whole thrust of Bill C-11 is to showcase Canadian creators and to make sure that Canadians can discover more of the great stories that Canada has to offer. We will always, as Canadians, have the choice to watch and listen to whatever we want. Bill C-11 just asks platforms to showcase more Canadian stories. What could be nefarious about that? Absolutely nothing about that is nefarious.

This will make it easier for Canadians to discover up-and-coming homegrown talent. Quite frankly, I grew up and discovered The Tragically Hip. I fell in love with Corner Gas, Kim's Convenience and Schitt's Creek. I can go through the list.

I also discovered Mensonges and Tout le monde en parle. Everything we have in Canada is worth broadcasting around the world.

That is what this is about.

[Online Streaming Act, June 13th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his observation.

Quite frankly, I would love to see this place work, but it requires the participation of the Conservative Party of Canada, the loyal opposition, to do its job and actually come to the table to debate amendments, and to lose those amendments if they do not have the majority of the committee. However, they are not doing that. They are filibustering, and it is so absurd, but they are filibustering their own motions. I have never seen that in my time here in this place.

Quite frankly, the committee needs to get back to work, and Canadians want us to get back to work. That is what they sent us here for.

[Online Streaming Act, June 13th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, these are just more conspiracy theories and more arguments that simply do not hold water.

I sat at committee for four years, from the first time I was in this place, and I understand robust debate. I understand trade-offs, and I understand voting at committee and making sure that we can make bills better. However, the Conservative Party, Her Majesty's loyal opposition, has become Her Majesty's loyal obstructionists. They do not want to debate. They want to oppose, and they do not want to move this bill forward because it helps them raise too much money.

Let us just look at the stuff that is being put out on the Internet. We have members saying that this bill is about controlling what Canadians think and manufacturing group think, which is not the case. The CRTC has said very clearly that it cannot regulate algorithms, nor will it.

Quite frankly, this bill is about who we are as individuals. The Conservatives are heading to a dark space. We are going to do this work because Canadians asked us to.

[Online Streaming Act, June 13th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I think their number one goal is money. They are fundraising off of their misinformation and disinformation. It is objectionable, but that is what they are doing in the midst of a leadership race, which has ripped their party into many factions. Quite frankly, I would like to look, in the face of truth, at what the Conservatives have been doing.

Earlier this year, the chair of the CRTC said that it would never regulate user-generated content as it is not interested in that. There are hundreds and millions of hours of content uploaded every day, and the CRTC is not only not interested in doing that, it would not be able to do that. This is why we are focused on these platforms: creators will create; the platforms will pay; and Canadian society will benefit. I do not know what the Conservatives are up to. Maybe they can tell us.

[Online Streaming Act, June 13th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for her very good question.

With only 5% of content coming from francophone creators, we have work to do and progress to make. With Bill C‑11, we are updating the CRTC program and focusing on racialized people, members of the LGBTQ+ community, indigenous peoples, francophone creators and people with disabilities. This bill will open up the CRTC to accommodate more people.

The act has not been updated since 1991. I had hair back then. That is an indication of how old the framework under which the CRTC operates is. It is time to update it in order to help francophones, francophiles, the franco-curious, anglophones and people across the country who simply want to create good content, and to ensure that the platforms pay their fair share.

[Online Streaming Act, June 13th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Saskatoon—Grasswood. I sat on the heritage committee with him. My question for him is this: What does he have against Corner Gas and the fantastic content coming out of not just Saskatchewan, but from across the Prairies and this country? We want more of that.

I do not know what is happening on that side. Maybe there is a leadership issue, or the party is in disarray until it has a new leader, but the member for Regina—Qu'Appelle, who ran for the highest office in the land, went on Twitter and compared the independent CRTC to the Orwellian ministry of truth. The member for Thornhill said this bill would put Canada in “good company with dictators from countries like Iran, Turkey and North Korea”.

Canadians have asked us to move. They have asked us to do this work. The other side is quite frankly beyond the pale.

[Online Streaming Act, June 13th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I think there is a simple answer to my hon. member's question. While those on the other side pedal disinformation and conspiracy theories, they make a lot of money fundraising off of it. They are not advancing the project of the country. They are not advancing making sure we have a bill that is going to meet the expectations of Canadians.

There is a genuine problem with where the Conservatives are heading. They go down these rabbit holes of disinformation, misinformation and conspiracy theories and lose sight of what Canadians have asked us to do, which is to modernize the CRTC; make sure the broadcasting platforms are paying into the Canada Media Fund; and make sure that, as we stand next to the juggernaut of culture that is the United States, we can have our own Canadian voice on the international stage. When that voice is heard, co-productions with Ireland and other countries in the world will get our Canadian voice out there.

That is what this bill is about. The Conservatives can stay in their rabbit holes. We are here to advance for Canadians.