Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My name is Luc Perreault. I'm the strategic adviser for Stingray, a Montreal-based company that owns and operates a portfolio of broadcasting and music-based services, including Stingray Music, available on cable and satellite and through various applica

Finance committee  Thank you for the question. APTN is a full member of the Independent Broadcast Group, but they're solely focused on television, not radio. The radio business is a very, very tough business, and with COVID, if I take the example of Stingray, we're going to see revenue decline ab

Finance committee  The non-profit aspect of community radio makes it open for provincial and federal subsidies to maintain operation. I can relay the message to the folks at APTN, who can further the discussion with you, but that's one recommendation I would look at.

Canadian Heritage committee  Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. My name is Luc Perreault, and I am a strategic adviser at the Stingray Group, a member of the Independent Broadcast Group, or IBG. Joining me is Joel Fortune, legal counsel at IBG. Our group represents 12 independent broa

Canadian Heritage committee  Mr. Chair and members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to complete our presentation. I am a strategic advisor with the Stingray Group, which is a member of the Independent Broadcasters Group, the IBG. I am here with Joel Fortune, legal counsel to the IBG. The gr

Canadian Heritage committee  Yes, I've read them.

Canadian Heritage committee  They're an excellent start. The directions are relatively consistent with the discussions we've had with members of the committee. However, the Independent Broadcasters Group would prefer that certain elements be included in the act rather than the directions. As regards foreign

Canadian Heritage committee  That's correct. Directions may change from one government to the next. Consequently, if the Governor in Council has to issue directions to the CRTC every time the government changes, you can understand why broadcasters may find it hard to prepare their strategic plans.

Canadian Heritage committee  No, that's not the case. The CRTC has adopted a measure called the Exemption order for digital media broadcasting undertakings. This enables it to refrain from regulating online services. It has the power to do so, but it has chosen to exempt those services. The CRTC thus had,

Canadian Heritage committee  The Independent Broadcasters Group conducted extensive consultations before proposing amendments to the bill, amendments that I think clarify the CRTC's powers. If those amendments are adopted, the new Broadcasting Act will be sufficiently balanced, and the CRTC will have enough

Canadian Heritage committee  After the CRTC adopted the new regulations following the consultation process on Let's Talk TV: A Conversation with Canadians in 2015, a code of conduct was established. Certain aspects of that code of conduct should be changed because independent broadcasters don't have a lot of

Canadian Heritage committee  First of all, all IBG members agree that any ownership has to be part of the law. It can be achieved via directive. I've known Joel for 35 years. He's one of the greatest lawyers that work with broadcast law. I will let Joel explain why it should be part of the law and not manag

Canadian Heritage committee  I think it's very important that we move this bill forward. If global platforms are really the way for all Canadians to access content in five years, we'll clearly be facing a serious problem. Those big global platforms pay no taxes in Canada. Canada derives no tax benefit from t

Canadian Heritage committee  Diversity also means diversity of ownership. Ownership of radio and television broadcasters in Canada is held by some major interests. However, independent broadcasters are entrepreneurs that, for example, will invest in platforms that don't belong to conventional niches and thus

Canadian Heritage committee  I think that if we all work together to promote the discoverability of Canadian content with a view to providing our communities with the kind of programming they want, we'll be able to achieve something. Some broadcasters find Canadian content regulations and requirements onero