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Why Bill C-10 has faced so much political controversy | At Issue

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May 13, 2021

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The At Issue panel discusses the federal government's new broadcasting legislation and why it's faced so much criticism from the opposition and legal experts. Plus in this extended edition, the panellists weigh in on the political response to Quebec's Bill 101 overhaul.

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https://www.cbc.ca/news/opinion/opinion-digital-privacy-bill-c11-1.5863117

Digital privacy law is being updated for the first time in decades, and it's imperative we get it right

Canadians need to ensure Bill C-11 is framed to give proper digital privacy protection

Vass Bednar, Mark Surman · for CBC News Opinion · Posted: Jan 12, 2021 4:00 AM ET

Canadian legislators in the House of Commons recently introduced Bill C-11 to enact the Consumer Privacy Protection Act. Bill C-11 embodies the principles of Canada's Digital Charter, which envisions the internet as a tool for both innovation and the public good. (Jenny Kane/Associated Press)

This column is an opinion by Vass Bednar and Mark Surman. Bednar is the executive director of McMaster University's Master of Public Policy in Digital Society Program, and writes the newsletter Regs to Riches about startups and public policy. Surman is executive director of the Mozilla Foundation, the global nonprofit that makes the Firefox browser and advocates for issues like online privacy. For more information about CBC's Opinion section, please see the FAQ.

Over the past year, Canadians — just like much of the world — have increasingly lived their lives online. The pandemic pushed us to use the internet in new ways: digital doctor visits, first dates and family dinners over Zoom, grocery shopping via apps.

The pandemic has not only magnified the value of the internet, but also what's wrong with it. Newsfeeds that spread misinformation. Digital ads that track and target us. Algorithms that make opaque decisions about our credit ratings or our dating lives. Smart speakers that listen to — and store — our every word.

In short: the internet is indispensable — and imperfect.

At this fraught moment in our digital society, Canada has a major opportunity to address much of what's wrong online. Several weeks ago, Canadian legislators in the House of Commons introduced Bill C-11 to enact the Consumer Privacy Protection Act.

Bill C-11 embodies the principles of Canada's Digital Charter, which envisions the internet as a tool for both innovation and the public good. And it hints at an internet where individual Canadians, not big tech platforms, are in full control of their data.

Of course, Bill C-11 is just that — a bill, not yet a law. It holds a great deal of promise, but it needs serious improvements if it is to live up to the vision outlined in the Digital Charter.

Canada is at an inflection point. We can improve this law so that it truly protects and empowers Canadians, giving us control over our relationship with Big Tech, gig economy companies and retailers who constantly track us online. Or, we can pass a law that makes a show of protecting privacy, but leaves many of the worst problems with the internet — limited consumer agency, no accountability for Big Tech — unsolved and unchecked.

For C-11 to succeed, we need movement on three fronts.

Bill C-11 includes privacy-protection measures such as the right to opt out of having personal data collected by third parties. (Rick Bowmer/Associated Press)

First, we need to make sure the new rights the bill offers Canadians are clear and actionable.

What the bill includes so far is quite promising, things like the right to an explanation of why an artificial intelligence (AI) made a decision about me, or the right to opt out of having my data collected in the first place.

These things may sound abstract, but could have huge benefits in our everyday lives. Imagine if you could press a button to understand why Amazon or an airline is giving you a different price today than it did yesterday (an AI did that!). Or if you could join a points program at a store and understand why you received certain promotions but not others.

Companies could face hefty fines under new Canadian privacy law

Privacy watchdog says he will look for amendments to new privacy legislation

For instance, grocery or retail points programs often tailor rewards to match the foods and products that members of the program purchase most often, meaning that different people receive different discounts based on the data that has been collected. While this might seem more efficient, it also creates inequality as people that do not use a program's app cannot access the same modest discounts on everyday essentials available to a member. Simply having better explanations available for why someone is receiving a discount offer, similar to Facebook's "Why am I seeing this ad?" feature, could be helpful.

The rights in C-11 have the potential to drive changes like these. Yet, as we have seen with similar laws in Europe, real change is hard to come by.

Clear lines in the law and public education about digital rights will be essential if Canadians are going to use and benefit from them.

The new digital privacy protection legislation is vague about how enforcement will work. (Kite_rin/Shutterstock)

The second front crucial to the bill's success? Strong enforcement and accountability.

This is another place where Bill C-11 is at once promising and worrying. While Bill C-11 provides new order-making powers to the Privacy Commissioner and allows fines up to $25 million or 5 per cent of a firm's gross revenue, it's vague about how all of this will work.

Analysis
Surveillance capitalism: Who is watching us online — and why?

Mall real estate company collected 5 million images of shoppers, say privacy watchdogs

Looking again to Europe and laws such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we see that they only work if entities like the Privacy Commissioner are incredibly well resourced. And as a report from browser developer Brave demonstrated, European governments have not equipped their national authorities to enforce the GDPR.

Canadian lawmakers must learn from this example and lay out a plan to invest accordingly. And they must resist the temptation to shift the enforcement burden to consumers — it is time to relieve us of reviewing the Terms and Conditions of every single app.

Unlike legislation in some other jurisdictions around the world, Canada's digital consumer privacy law lacks a mechanism for collective representation when there is an issue that affects a group of people. (Shutterstock/Dan74)

The third front where we need progress is collective rights and intermediaries — giving Canadians the option to demand more from Big Tech collectively rather than on their own.

Just like pollution, abuse of data affects individuals and the collective. When we're on Facebook or YouTube, your data is mixed with my data. In order to get better treatment from online services, we need a way to push for our rights together, not just as individuals. Otherwise, the burden on individuals to manage their digital privacy will remain absurdly high.

Imagine if your Amazon shopping history and habits lived not on Amazon, but in something like a co-op or credit union that you belonged to. You could decide how much of that data Amazon gets to see — and how much you want to hold back.

California's consumer privacy law includes a mechanism for this kind of collective representation. And, in a recent proposal by the EU Commission, Europe is considering something similar.

However, Bill C-11 completely ignores this topic, much to the detriment of Canadians. We've seen how structures like cooperatives have helped to solve power imbalances throughout Canadian history, and our legislators should take inspiration from them as we continue to re-imagine appropriate data governance.

Canada's new online privacy legislation is encouraging, but there is much more work to be done to ensure that our digital society works for all of us. There's plenty of data out there on the best practices related to privacy and data management, and our new framework should leverage all of it.

Canada has the ability to put its people in charge of their own data. Bill C-11 is an opportunity to manifest the principles of the Digital Charter in a way that has an impact on millions of Canadians — and sets an example that ripples beyond our borders.

This column is part of CBC's Opinion section. For more information about this section, please read our FAQ.

CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/canada-would-feel-effect-of-proposed-u-s-stop-online-piracy-act-1.1193802

Canada would feel effect of proposed U.S. Stop Online Piracy Act

Wikipedia limits service in anti-piracy act protest

Daniel Schwartz · CBC News · Posted: Jan 18, 2012 5:18 AM ET

Some of the best-known sites on the internet, including Wikipedia, are limiting access today in a "Dark Wednesday" protest against legislation before the U.S. Congress intended to curb copyright infringement that critics say will limit the scope of the web and adversely affect legitimate websites.

Popular Canadian sitesjoining the protest include Tucows, a Toronto-based site that hosts free software for download, Identi.ca, a social microblogging service and the blog of University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist, an oft-cited expert on copyright issues.

There are two similar bills addressing protection of intellectual property online currently being considered by Congress: the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), which is before the House of Representatives judiciary committee, and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA), which is to be voted on by the Senate next week.

Last weekend, the White House signaled its opposition to the bills, which are supposed to make it easier for copyright holders to go after "foreign rogue websites" suspected of facilitating infringement of copyright.

Under the current draft of SOPA, courts could order credit card firms, online payment companies like PayPal and advertising networks to stop doing business with those websites. They could also order search engines to stop linking to them and internet service providers (ISPs) to block their customers from accessing them, although in recent days, the lead sponsor of SOPA, Republican congressman Lamar Smith, has backed off the ISP provision. PIPA was also being revised to address some of the concerns voiced in recent days.

Taking sides on SOPA

News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch, pictured with his wife at the 2011 Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles, has been tweeting his support for the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). (Mario Anzuoni/Retuers)

SOPA's backers include the film, recording, media and pharmaceutical industries while internet and technology companies like Google, Facebook, Twitter, Mozilla, Yahoo and eBay have voiced opposition to the bill.

The debate on the proposed legislation has been heated, as some recent tweets on the subject show.

After the White House voiced its opposition to the bills, media baron Rupert Murdoch, the CEO of Fox News, tweeted, "So, Obama has thrown in his lot with Silicon Valley paymasters who threaten all software creators with piracy, plain thievery."

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales tweeted on Tuesday: "The encyclopedia will always be neutral. The community need not be, not when the encyclopedia is threatened!"

In Canada, SOCAN (Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada) general counsel Paul Spurgeon told CBC News, "Anything that helps copyright owners get paid for the use of their works is welcome."

SOPA would affect Canada

Although SOPA and PIPA are intended to target "rogue" websites, for Canadians, the concern is that if the laws are passed, there might be collateral damage that harms legitimate sites.

Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, speaks at the London Cyberspace Conference on Nov. 1, 2011. Wikipedia will black out the English-language version of its website on Jan. 18 to protest anti-piracy legislation under consideration in Congress. (Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press)

Geist outlined some of the ways the proposed laws could affect Canadians in a Jan. 17 blog post:

In the eyes of U.S. law, websites with domain names ending in .com, .net and .org are treated as American domestic domain names, regardless of where their owners are based, he wrote.

SOPA ignores the fact that IP addresses are assigned by regional, not national, entities. The American Registry for Internet Numbers allocates IP addresses for Canada (both for individual customers and governments) and 20 Caribbean nations, as well as the U.S. However, under SOPA, the IP addresses it allocates would be considered "domestic," i.e., U.S., IP addresses.

SOPA effectively grants the U.S. jurisdiction over some foreign websites, said Geist.

"The long arm of U.S. law reaches into Canada using SOPA," he said.

Intellectual property protection as U.S. foreign policy

If SOPA becomes law, Geist expects the U.S. to try to export its rules to Canada and other countries.

He notes that the Canadian government's proposed copyright modernization act, Bill C-11, was modelled on a similar U.S. law backed by the same industries pushing SOPA. The bill has been criticized for its provisions to prohibit the recording and copying of content protected by digital locks, which many say are too restrictive and prevent even the lawful use of copyrighted material.

University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist is expressing his concern about the potential impact of SOPA in Canada by making his website dark on Jan. 18. (CBC)

U.S. diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks reveal that Bill C-11 came about at least in part as a response to U.S. pressure on Canada to tighten its copyright laws.

Spurgeon said SOCAN hopes Bill C-11 "will also address the issues of online piracy, but it remains to be seen if the proposed law will achieve this purpose."

Under SOPA, intellectual property protection will become "a significant component of U.S. foreign policy," Geist writes.

If a website owner outside the U.S. wants to challenge a U.S. court order issued under SOPA, "the owner must first consent to the jurisdiction of the U.S. courts."

A viable alternative

Corynne McSherry, intellectual property director for the internet rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation, raised several other concerns about SOPA in an interview in November with Dan Misener of the CBC Radio program Spark.

SOPA could require Visa, MasterCard and PayPal to block payments to certain foreign websites or to websites a U.S. court rules are facilitating access to those sites. The payments wouldn't necessarily have to come from Americans; they could be from anywhere in the world.

McSherry also worries that under SOPA, some of the websites that activists living under authoritarian regimes, such as those behind the Arab Spring protests, use to circumvent government blocks on parts of the internet could be viewed as infringing on copyright and shut down by a U.S. court order.

But McSherry does see a potential benefit for Canada if SOPA becomes law: cutting-edge technology entrepreneurs will just offer their services outside the U.S.

"You may see a lot of new jobs in Canada," she said.

For McSherry, copyright is "an issue you cannot legislate your way out of." And with SOPA, she says, "the cost so far outweighs any conceivable benefit."

There is a simple solution, she told Misener: "Give people access to authorized, legitimate alternatives, and they will go there."

CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XKEWOm0uQw&ab_channel=TrueNorth

Justin Trudeau is determined to censor the internet (Feat. Ezra Levant)

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Premiered Apr 13, 2022

True North

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After Justin Trudeau’s dreadful online censorship bills thankfully died because Trudeau called an election in the Fall of 2021, they’re back and they’re worse than before. The Trudeau government has reintroduced its latest online censorship legislation – Bills C-11 and C-18.

Under Trudeau’s new censorship regime, big tech platforms will be forced to promote government-defined Canadian content and to pay news outlets for articles that are shared on online platforms. On today’s episode of The Candice Malcolm Show, Rebel News boss Ezra Levant joins Candice to discuss what Trudeau’s online censorship legislation means for Canadians and why Trudeau is determined to censor the internet.

https://www.michaelgeist.ca/2022/04/just-how-extreme-is-bill-c-18-it-mandates-payments-merely-for-facilitating-access-to-news/

Just How Extreme is Bill C-18?: It Mandates Payments For Merely Facilitating Access to News

April 7, 2022

Bill C-18, the Online News Act, is less than 48 hours old, but the more you examine the bill, the worse it gets. My previous posts unpacked why the general policy is bad for press independence and competition as well as why the bill features a misguided attempt to require payments for links. Yet the bill requires an even deeper look since it goes far beyond “compensating journalists when they use their content” (as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said yesterday in the House of Commons) or even linking to news articles. Rather, the bill requires compensation for facilitating access to news in any way and in any amount.

In doing so, it eviscerates the claim that there is a tangible connection between the requirement to pay for the value of news articles on social media and search platforms (called digital news intermediaries or DNI’s in the bill). Rather, Bill C-18 is a shakedown with requirements to pay for nothing more than listing Canadian media organizations with hyperlinks in a search index, social media post, or possibly even a tweet. At a time when we need the public to access to credible news, Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez believes that large Internet companies that engage in the act of facilitating access to news – not copying, not using, not even directly linking – should pay for doing so.

The relevant provision in the bill is Section 2(2), which states:

For the purposes of this Act, news content is made available if
(a) the news content, or any portion of it, is reproduced;
or
(b) access to the news content, or any portion of it, is facilitated by any means, including an index, aggregation or ranking of news content.

The bill proceeds to require payments – either by way of agreements that must be approved by the CRTC or final offer arbitration – for DNIs who make available news content. Section 2(2)(a) covers what most Canadians would likely consider constitutes the “use” mentioned by the Prime Minister yesterday, namely the reproduction of news content by a DNI such as Facebook or Google. As it happens, those companies largely agree and have licensed news content where they reproduce the content in full.

More notable is Section 2(2)(b), which covers facilitating access to news content. This is certainly designed to cover linking but the broad language almost surely extends beyond linking to a specific article. Indeed, a link to the general home page of the Toronto Star, National Post, Globe and Mail or many other Canadian media sites can be said to facilitate access to news content, particularly since the provision adds that it can be just a “portion of it” and the facilitation can occur “by any means.”

Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez has made a point of contrasting his bill with the Australian code on the same issue. The Australian code treats three activities as making content available: reproduction of the content, providing an extract of the content (designed to target short blurbs of the stories), or links to the content. While that too is worthy of criticism (the Australian code has actually never been used), it does not cover mere facilitation of access.

Why does this matter?

There was a time when this government fashioned itself as pro-Internet, supportive of net neutrality, and a staunch defender of fundamental freedoms, including freedom of the press and other media of communication. Yet it cannot credibly claim to support those principles and simultaneously legislate barriers to accessing media by mandating payments for facilitating access to media sources.

Further, how is any of this possibly constitutional? Would the Supreme Court uphold a law whose effect could be to limit facilitation of access to news? Moreover, how does the entire Bill C-18 framework fit within the federal government’s jurisdiction? It isn’t broadcast, it isn’t telecommunications, and it isn’t copyright. If the government claims powers over anything involving the Internet then it believes there are no real limits on its jurisdiction.

Millions of Canadians choose to access media through search and social media. As I pointed out in yesterday’s post, the resulting referral links already provide enormous value at no cost. Setting even that aside, mandating payments for services that facilitate access to media sources runs counter to basic freedoms and casts aside the suggestion that the bill is limited to a “quid pro quo” of payment for links to news articles. Bill C-18 is shamefully over-broad, an embarrassment to the news media lobby that demanded it, and unworthy of a government that sees itself as a model for the rest of the world on media freedoms.

https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/bill/C-11/first-reading

Bill C-11

If you have any questions or comments regarding the accessibility of this publication, please contact us at accessible@parl.gc.ca.

First Reading

Bilingual view

First Session, Forty-fourth Parliament,

70 Elizabeth II, 2021-2022

HOUSE OF COMMONS OF CANADA

BILL C-11

An Act to amend the Broadcasting Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts

FIRST READING, February 2, 2022

MINISTER OF CANADIAN HERITAGE

91024

SUMMARY

This enactment amends the Broadcasting Act to, among other things,

(a) add online undertakings — undertakings for the transmission or retransmission of programs over the Internet — as a distinct class of broadcasting undertakings;

(b) specify that the Act does not apply in respect of programs uploaded to an online undertaking that provides a social media service by a user of the service, unless the programs are prescribed by regulation;

(c) update the broadcasting policy for Canada set out in section 3 of the Act by, among other things, providing that the Canadian broadcasting system should

(i) serve the needs and interests of all Canadians, including Canadians from racialized communities and Canadians of diverse ethnocultural backgrounds, socio-economic statuses, abilities and disabilities, sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, and ages, and

(ii) provide opportunities to Indigenous persons, programming that reflects Indigenous cultures and that is in Indigenous languages, and programming that is accessible without barriers to persons with disabilities;

(d) enhance the vitality of English and French linguistic minority communities in Canada and foster the full recognition and use of both English and French in Canadian society, including by supporting the production and broadcasting of original programs in both languages;

(e) specify that the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (the “Commission”) must regulate and supervise the Canadian broadcasting system in a manner that

(i) takes into account the different characteristics of English, French and Indigenous language broadcasting and the different conditions under which broadcasting undertakings that provide English, French or Indigenous language programming operate,

(ii) takes into account, among other things, the nature and diversity of the services provided by broadcasting undertakings,

(iii) ensures that any broadcasting undertaking that cannot make maximum or predominant use of Canadian creative and other human resources in the creation, production and presentation of programming contributes to those Canadian resources in an equitable manner,

(iv) facilitates the provision to Canadians of Canadian programs in both official languages, including those created and produced by English and French linguistic minority communities in Canada, as well as Canadian programs in Indigenous languages,

(v) facilitates the provision of programs that are accessible without barriers to persons with disabilities, and

(vi) takes into account the variety of broadcasting undertakings to which the Act applies and avoids imposing obligations on any class of broadcasting undertakings if that imposition will not contribute in a material manner to the implementation of the broadcasting policy;

(f) amend the procedure relating to the issuance by the Governor in Council of policy directions to the Commission;

(g) replace the Commission’s power to impose conditions on a licence with a power to make orders imposing conditions on the carrying on of broadcasting undertakings;

(h) provide the Commission with the power to require that persons carrying on broadcasting undertakings make expenditures to support the Canadian broadcasting system;

(i) authorize the Commission to provide information to the Minister responsible for that Act, the Chief Statistician of Canada and the Commissioner of Competition, and set out in that Act a process by which a person who submits certain types of information to the Commission may designate the information as confidential;

(j) amend the procedure by which the Governor in Council may, under section 28 of that Act, set aside a decision of the Commission to issue, amend or renew a licence or refer such a decision back to the Commission for reconsideration and hearing;

(k) specify that a person shall not carry on a broadcasting undertaking, other than an online undertaking, unless they do so in accordance with a licence or they are exempt from the requirement to hold a licence;

(l) harmonize the punishments for offences under Part II of that Act and clarify that a due diligence defence applies to the existing offences set out in that Act; and

(m) allow for the imposition of administrative monetary penalties for violations of certain provisions of that Act or of the Accessible Canada Act .

The enactment also makes related and consequential amendments to other Acts.

Available on the House of Commons website at the following address:

www.ourcommons.ca

1st Session, 44th Parliament,

70 Elizabeth II, 2021-2022

HOUSE OF COMMONS OF CANADA

BILL C-11

An Act to amend the Broadcasting Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

Short Title

Short title

1 This Act may be cited as the Online Streaming Act.

1991, c. 11

Broadcasting Act

2 (1) The definitions broadcasting, broadcasting undertaking, distribution undertaking, network and programming undertaking in subsection 2(1) of the Broadcasting Act are respectively replaced by the following:

broadcasting means any transmission of programs — regardless of whether the transmission is scheduled or on demand or whether the programs are encrypted or not — by radio waves or other means of telecommunication for reception by the public by means of broadcasting receiving apparatus, but does not include any such transmission of programs that is made solely for performance or display in a public place; (radiodiffusion)

broadcasting undertaking includes a distribution undertaking, an online undertaking, a programming undertaking and a network; (entreprise de radiodiffusion)

distribution undertaking means an undertaking for the reception of broadcasting and its retransmission by radio waves or other means of telecommunication to more than one permanent or temporary residence or dwelling unit or to another such undertaking, but does not include such an undertaking that is an online undertaking; (entreprise de distribution)

network includes any operation where control over all or any part of the programs or program schedules of one or more broadcasting undertakings is delegated to another undertaking or person, but does not include such an operation that is an online undertaking; (réseau)

programming undertaking means an undertaking for the transmission of programs, either directly by radio waves or other means of telecommunication or indirectly through a distribution undertaking, for reception by the public by means of broadcasting receiving apparatus, but does not include such an undertaking that is an online undertaking; (entreprise de programmation)

(2) Subsection 2(1) of the Act is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:

affiliate, in relation to any person, means any other person who controls that first person, or who is controlled by that first person or by a third person who also controls the first person; (affilié)

barrier has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Accessible Canada Act; (obstacle)

community element includes the element of the Canadian broadcasting system as part of which members of a community participate in the production of programs that are in a language used in the community and participate in the day-to-day operations of a broadcasting undertaking; (élément communautaire)

control, in the definition affiliate, in paragraph 9.‍1(1)‍(m) and in subparagraph 9.‍1(1)‍(n)‍(i), includes control in fact, whether or not through one or more persons; (contrôle)

Indigenous peoples has the meaning assigned by the definition aboriginal peoples of Canada in subsection 35(2) of the Constitution Act, 1982; (peuples autochtones)

online undertaking means an undertaking for the transmission or retransmission of programs over the Internet for reception by the public by means of broadcasting receiving apparatus; (entreprise en ligne)

programming control means control over the selection of programs for transmission, but does not include control over the selection of a programming service for retransmission; (contrôle de la programmation)

(3) Subsection 2(3) of the Act is replaced by the following:

Exclusion — carrying on broadcasting undertaking

(2.‍1) A person who uses a social media service to upload programs for transmission over the Internet and reception by other users of the service — and who is not the provider of the service or the provider’s affiliate, or the agent or mandatary of either of them — does not, by the fact of that use, carry on a broadcasting undertaking for the purposes of this Act.

Exclusion — social media service and programming control

(2.‍2) An online undertaking that provides a social media service does not, for the purposes of this Act, exercise programming control over programs uploaded by a user of the service who is not the provider of the service or the provider’s affiliate, or the agent or mandatary of either of them.

Exclusion — certain transmissions over the Internet

(2.‍3) A person does not carry on an online undertaking for the purposes of this Act in respect of a transmission of programs over the Internet

(a) that is ancillary to a business not primarily engaged in the transmission of programs to the public and that is intended to provide clients with information or services directly related to that business;

(b) that is part of the operations of a primary or secondary school, a college, university or other institution of higher learning, a public library or a museum; or

(c) that is part of the operations of a theatre, concert hall or other venue for the presentation of live performing arts.

Interpretation

(3) This Act shall be construed and applied in a manner that is consistent with

(a) the freedom of expression and journalistic, creative and programming independence enjoyed by broadcasting undertakings; and

(b) the commitment of the Government of Canada to enhance the vitality of English and French linguistic minority communities in Canada and to support and assist their development, as well as to foster the full recognition and use of both English and French in Canadian society.

3 (1) Paragraph 3(1)‍(a) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(a) the Canadian broadcasting system shall, with the exception of foreign broadcasting undertakings providing programming to Canadians, be effectively owned and controlled by Canadians;

(a.‍1) each broadcasting undertaking shall contribute to the implementation of the objectives of the broadcasting policy set out in this subsection in a manner that is appropriate in consideration of the nature of the services provided by the undertaking;

(2) Paragraph 3(1)‍(c) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(c) while sharing common aspects, English and French language broadcasting operate under different conditions — in particular, the minority context of French in North America — and may have different requirements;

(3) Subparagraph 3(1)‍(d)‍(iii) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(iii) through its programming and the employment opportunities arising out of its operations, serve the needs and interests of all Canadians — including Canadians from racialized communities and Canadians of diverse ethnocultural backgrounds, socio-economic statuses, abilities and disabilities, sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, and ages — and reflect their circumstances and aspirations, including equal rights, the linguistic duality and multicultural and multiracial nature of Canadian society and the special place of Indigenous peoples within that society,

(iii.‍1) provide opportunities to Indigenous persons to produce programming in Indigenous languages, English or French, or in any combination of them, and to carry on broadcasting undertakings,

(iii.‍2) support the production and broadcasting of original programs in French,

(iii.‍3) enhance the vitality of English and French linguistic minority communities in Canada and support and assist their development by taking into account their specific needs and interests, including through supporting the production and broadcasting of original programs by and for those communities,

(iii.‍4) support community broadcasting that reflects both the diversity of the communities being served and the high engagement and involvement in community broadcasting by members of those communities, including with respect to the languages in use within those communities and to the ethnocultural and Indigenous composition of the communities,

(iii.‍5) ensure that Canadian independent broadcasting undertakings continue to be able to play a vital role within that system,

(4) Paragraphs 3(1)‍(f) to (h) of the Act are replaced by the following:

(f) each Canadian broadcasting undertaking shall employ and make maximum use, and in no case less than predominant use, of Canadian creative and other human resources in the creation, production and presentation of programming, unless the nature of the service provided by the undertaking, such as specialized content or format or the use of languages other than French and English, renders that use impracticable, in which case the undertaking shall make the greatest practicable use of those resources;

(f.‍1) each foreign online undertaking shall make the greatest practicable use of Canadian creative and other human resources, and shall contribute in an equitable manner to strongly support the creation, production and presentation of Canadian programming, taking into account the linguistic duality of the market they serve;

(g) the programming over which a person who carries on a broadcasting undertaking has programming control should be of high standard;

(h) all persons who carry on broadcasting undertakings have a responsibility for the programs that they broadcast and over which they have programming control;

(5) Subparagraphs 3(1)‍(i)‍(i) and (ii) of the Act are replaced by the following:

(i) be varied and comprehensive, providing a balance of information, enlightenment and entertainment for people of all ages, interests and tastes,

(i.‍1) reflect and support Canada’s linguistic duality by placing significant importance on the creation, production and broadcasting of French language original programs, including those from French linguistic minority communities,

(ii) be drawn from local, regional, national and international sources, including, at the local level, from community broadcasters who, through collaboration with local organizations and community members, are in the unique position of being able to provide varied programming to meet the needs of specific audiences,

(ii.‍1) include programs produced by Canadians that cover news and current events — from the local and regional to the national and international — and that reflect the viewpoints of Canadians, including the viewpoints of Indigenous persons and of Canadians from racialized communities and diverse ethnocultural backgrounds,

(6) Paragraphs 3(1)‍(k) and (l) of the Act are replaced by the following:

(k) a range of broadcasting services in English and in French shall be extended to all Canadians;

(l) the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, as the national public broadcaster, should provide broadcasting services incorporating a wide range of programming that informs, enlightens and entertains;

(7) Paragraphs 3(1)‍(o) to (s) of the Act are replaced by the following:

(o) programming that reflects the Indigenous cultures of Canada and programming that is in Indigenous languages should be provided — including through broadcasting undertakings that are carried on by Indigenous persons — within community elements and other elements of the Canadian broadcasting system;

(p) programming that is accessible without barriers to persons with disabilities should be provided within the Canadian broadcasting system;

(q) online undertakings that provide the programming services of other broadcasting undertakings should

(i) ensure the discoverability of Canadian programming services and original Canadian programs, including original French language programs, in an equitable proportion, and

(ii) when programming services are supplied to them by other broadcasting undertakings under contractual arrangements, provide reasonable terms for the carriage, packaging and retailing of those programming services;

(r) online undertakings shall clearly promote and recommend Canadian programming, in both official languages as well as in Indigenous languages, and ensure that any means of control of the programming generates results allowing its discovery; and

4 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 4:

Non-application — programs on social media service

4.‍1 (1) This Act does not apply in respect of a program that is uploaded to an online undertaking that provides a social media service by a user of the service for transmission over the Internet and reception by other users of the service.

Application — certain programs

(2) Despite subsection (1), this Act applies in respect of a program that is uploaded as described in that subsection if the program

(a) is uploaded to the social media service by the provider of the service or the provider’s affiliate, or by the agent or mandatary of either of them; or

(b) is prescribed by regulations made under section 4.‍2.

Non-application — social media service

(3) This Act does not apply in respect of online undertakings whose broadcasting consists only of programs in respect of which this Act does not apply under this section.

For greater certainty

(4) For greater certainty, this section does not exclude the application of this Act in respect of a program that, except for the fact that it is not uploaded as described in subsection (1), is the same as a program in respect of which this Act does not apply under this section.

Regulations — programs to which this Act applies

4.‍2 (1) For the purposes of paragraph 4.‍1(2)‍(b), the Commission may make regulations prescribing programs in respect of which this Act applies.

Matters

(2) In making regulations under subsection (1), the Commission shall consider the following matters:

(a) the extent to which a program, uploaded to an online undertaking that provides a social media service, directly or indirectly generates revenues;

(b) the fact that such a program has been broadcast, in whole or in part, by a broadcasting undertaking that

(i) is required to be carried on under a licence, or

(ii) is required to be registered with the Commission but does not provide a social media service; and

Exclusion

(3) The regulations shall not prescribe a program

(a) in respect of which neither the user of a social media service who uploads the program nor the owner or licensee of copyright in the program receives revenues; or

(b) that consists only of visual images.

5 (1) Paragraph 5(2)‍(a) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(a) takes into account the different characteristics of English, French and Indigenous language broadcasting and the different conditions under which broadcasting undertakings that provide English, French or Indigenous language programming operate — including the minority context of French in North America — and the specific needs and interests of English and French linguistic minority communities in Canada and of Indigenous peoples;

(a.‍1) takes into account the nature and diversity of the services provided by broadcasting undertakings, as well as their size, their impact on the Canadian creation and production industry, their contribution to the implementation of the broadcasting policy set out in subsection 3(1) and any other characteristic that may be relevant in the circumstances;

(a.‍2) ensures that any broadcasting undertaking that cannot make maximum or predominant use of Canadian creative and other human resources in the creation, production and presentation of programming contributes to those Canadian resources in an equitable manner;

(2) Paragraph 5(2)‍(e) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(e) facilitates the provision to Canadians of Canadian programs created and produced in both official languages, including those created and produced by English and French linguistic minority communities in Canada, as well as in Indigenous languages;

(e.‍1) facilitates the provision of programs that are accessible without barriers to persons with disabilities;

(3) Subsection 5(2) of the Act is amended by striking out “and” at the end of paragraph (f), by adding “and” at the end of paragraph (g) and by adding the following after paragraph (g):

(h) takes into account the variety of broadcasting undertakings to which this Act applies and avoids imposing obligations on any class of broadcasting undertakings if that imposition will not contribute in a material manner to the implementation of the broadcasting policy set out in subsection 3(1).

6 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 5:

English and French linguistic minority communities

5.‍1 In regulating and supervising the Canadian broadcasting system and exercising its powers under this Act, the Commission shall enhance the vitality of English and French linguistic minority communities in Canada and support and assist their development.

Consultation

5.‍2 (1) The Commission shall consult with English and French linguistic minority communities in Canada when making decisions that could adversely affect them.

Objectives of consultations

(2) When engaging in consultations required by subsection (1), the Commission shall

(a) gather information to test its policies, decisions and initiatives;

(b) propose policies, decisions and initiatives that have not been finalized;

(c) seek the communities’ opinions with regard to the policies, decisions or initiatives that are the subject of the consultations;

(d) provide them with all relevant information on which those policies, decisions or initiatives are based;

(e) openly and meaningfully consider those opinions;

(f) be prepared to alter those policies, decisions or initiatives; and

(g) provide the communities with feedback, both during the consultation process and after a decision has been made.

7 Section 7 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (6):

For greater certainty

(7) For greater certainty, an order may be made under subsection (1) with respect to orders made under subsection 9.‍1(1) or 11.‍1(2) or regulations made under subsection 10(1) or 11.‍1(1).

8 (1) Subsections 8(2) and (3) of the Act are replaced by the following:

Representations

(2) The Minister shall

(a) specify in the notice the period — of at least 30 days from the day on which the notice was published under paragraph (1)‍(a) — during which interested persons may make representations; and

(b) publish, in any manner that the Minister considers appropriate, a report summarizing the representations that are made during that period.

Implementation of proposal

(3) The Governor in Council may, after the period referred to in paragraph (2)‍(a) has ended and the proposed order has been laid before each House of Parliament, implement the proposal by making an order under section 7, either in the form proposed or revised in the manner that the Governor in Council considers appropriate.

(2) Subsection 8(5) of the Act is repealed.

9 (1) Paragraphs 9(1)‍(a) to (h) of the Act are replaced by the following:

(a) establish classes of licences other than for online undertakings;

(b) issue a licence, the term of which may be indefinite or fixed by the Commission;

(d) amend a licence other than as to its term, on the application of the licensee or on the Commission’s own motion;

(e) renew a licence, the term of which may be indefinite or fixed by the Commission; and

(f) suspend or revoke a licence.

1994, c. 26, s. 10(F)

(2) Subsections 9(2) to (4) of the Act are replaced by the following:

Exemptions

(4) The Commission shall, by order, on the terms and conditions that it considers appropriate, exempt persons who carry on broadcasting undertakings of any class specified in the order from any or all of the requirements of this Part, of an order made under section 9.‍1 or of a regulation made under this Part if the Commission is satisfied that compliance with those requirements will not contribute in a material manner to the implementation of the broadcasting policy set out in subsection 3(1).

Repeal or amendment

(5) The Commission shall repeal or amend an exemption order made under subsection (4) if the Commission considers that doing so will contribute in a material manner to the implementation of the broadcasting policy set out in subsection 3(1).

10 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 9:

Conditions

9.‍1 (1) The Commission may, in furtherance of its objects, make orders imposing conditions on the carrying on of broadcasting undertakings that the Commission considers appropriate for the implementation of the broadcasting policy set out in subsection 3(1), including conditions respecting

(a) the proportion of programs to be broadcast that shall be Canadian programs and the proportion of time that shall be devoted to the broadcasting of Canadian programs;

(b) the proportion of Canadian programs to be broadcast that shall be original French language programs, including first-run programs;

(d) the proportion of programs to be broadcast that shall be devoted to specific genres, in order to ensure the diversity of programming;

(e) the presentation of programs and programming services for selection by the public, including the showcasing and the discoverability of Canadian programs and programming services, such as French language original programs;

(f) a requirement for a person carrying on a broadcasting undertaking, other than an online undertaking, to obtain the approval of the Commission before entering into any contract with a telecommunications common carrier, as defined in the Telecommunications Act, for the distribution of programming directly to the public;

(g) a requirement for a person carrying on a distribution undertaking to give priority to the carriage of broadcasting;

(h) a requirement for a person carrying on a distribution undertaking to carry, on the terms and conditions that the Commission considers appropriate, programming services, specified by the Commission, that are provided by a broadcasting undertaking;

(i) a requirement, without terms or conditions, for a person carrying on an online undertaking to carry programming services, specified by the Commission, that are provided by a broadcasting undertaking;

(j) terms and conditions of service in contracts between distribution undertakings and their subscribers;

(k) access by persons with disabilities to programming, including the identification, prevention and removal of barriers to such access;

(l) the carriage of emergency messages;

(m) any change in the ownership or control of a broadcasting undertaking that is required to be carried on under a licence;

(n) the provision to the Commission, by licensees or persons exempt from the requirement to hold a licence under an order made under subsection 9(4), of information related to

(i) the ownership, governance and control of those licensees or exempt persons, and

(ii) the affiliation of those licensees or exempt persons with any affiliates carrying on broadcasting undertakings;

(o) the provision to the Commission, by persons carrying on broadcasting undertakings, of any other information that the Commission considers necessary for the administration of this Act, including

(i) financial or commercial information,

(ii) information related to programming,

(iii) information related to expenditures made under section 11.‍1, and

(iv) information related to audience measurement, other than information that could identify any individual audience member; and

(p) continued ownership and control by Canadians of Canadian broadcasting undertakings.

Application

(2) An order made under this section may be made applicable to all persons carrying on broadcasting undertakings, to all persons carrying on broadcasting undertakings of any class established by the Commission in the order or to a particular person carrying on a broadcasting undertaking.

Non-application

(3) The Statutory Instruments Act does not apply to orders made under this section.

Publication and representations

(4) A copy of each order that the Commission proposes to make under this section shall be published on the Commission’s website and a reasonable opportunity shall be given to persons carrying on broadcasting undertakings and other interested persons to make representations to the Commission with respect to the proposed order.

Publication

(5) The Commission shall publish each order that is made under this section on its website.

Programming control

(6) Orders made under any of paragraphs (1)‍(a) to (d) apply only in respect of programs over which a person who carries on a broadcasting undertaking has programming control.

Canadian original French language programs

(7) In making an order under paragraph (1)‍(c), the Commission shall ensure that Canadian original French language programs represent a significant proportion of the original French language programs to be broadcast.

Restriction — computer algorithm or source code

(8) The Commission shall not make an order under paragraph (1)‍(e) that would require the use of a specific computer algorithm or source code.

Good faith negotiation

(9) The person carrying on an online undertaking to whom an order made under paragraph (1)‍(i) applies and the person carrying on the broadcasting undertaking whose programming services are specified in the order shall negotiate the terms for the carriage of the programming services in good faith.

Facilitation

(10) The Commission may facilitate those negotiations at the request of either party to the negotiations.

11 (1) The portion of subsection 10(1) of the French version of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

Règlements

10 (1) Dans l’exécution de sa mission, le Conseil peut prendre des règlements :

(2) Paragraph 10(1)‍(a) of the Act is repealed.

(3) Paragraph 10(1)‍(b) of the French version of the Act is replaced by the following:

b) définissant « émission canadienne » pour l’application de la présente loi;

(4) Paragraph 10(1)‍(c) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(c) respecting standards for programs over which a person carrying on a broadcasting undertaking has programming control and the allocation of broadcasting time, for the purpose of giving effect to the broadcasting policy set out in subsection 3(1);

(5) Paragraph 10(1)‍(d) of the French version of the Act is replaced by the following:

d) concernant la nature de la publicité et le temps d’antenne qui peut y être consacré;

(6) Paragraph 10(1)‍(e) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(e) respecting, in relation to a broadcasting undertaking other than an online undertaking, the proportion of time that may be devoted to the broadcasting of programs, including advertisements or announcements, of a partisan political character and the assignment of that time on an equitable basis to political parties and candidates;

(7) Paragraphs 10(1)‍(f) to (h) of the French version of the Act are replaced by the following:

f) prescrivant les conditions d’exploitation des entreprises de programmation faisant partie d’un réseau ainsi que les conditions de radiodiffusion des émissions de réseau et concernant le temps d’antenne à réserver à celles-ci par ces entreprises;

g) concernant la fourniture de services de programmation — même étrangers — par les entreprises de distribution;

h) pourvoyant au règlement — notamment par la médiation — de différends concernant la fourniture de programmation et survenant entre les entreprises de programmation qui la transmettent et les entreprises de distribution;

(8) Paragraphs 10(1)‍(i) and (j) of the Act are replaced by the following:

(h.‍1) respecting unjust discrimination by a person carrying on a broadcasting undertaking and undue or unreasonable preference given, or undue or unreasonable disadvantage imposed, by such a person;

(i) respecting the registration of broadcasting undertakings with the Commission;

(j) respecting the audit or examination of records and books of account of persons carrying on broadcasting undertakings by the Commission or persons acting on behalf of the Commission; and

(9) Paragraph 10(1)‍(k) of the French version of the Act is replaced by the following:

k) concernant toute autre mesure qu’il estime nécessaire à l’exécution de sa mission.

(10) Subsections 10(2) and (3) of the Act are replaced by the following:

Regulations — Canadian programs

(1.‍1) In making regulations under paragraph (1)‍(b), the Commission shall consider the following matters:

(a) whether Canadians own copyright in relation to a program, control the exploitation of a program and retain a material and equitable portion of its value;

(b) whether key creative positions in the production of a program are primarily held by Canadians;

(d) whether persons carrying on online undertakings or programming undertakings collaborate with independent Canadian producers, with persons carrying on Canadian broadcasting undertakings producing their own programs or with producers associated with Canadian broadcasting undertakings; and

(e) any other matter that may be prescribed by regulation.

Regulations

(1.‍2) The Governor in Council may make regulations prescribing matters that the Commission is required to consider under paragraph (1.‍1)‍(e).

Application

(2) A regulation made under subsection (1) may be made applicable to all persons carrying on broadcasting undertakings or to all persons carrying on broadcasting undertakings of any class established by the Commission in the regulation.

Publication and representations

(3) A copy of each regulation that the Commission proposes to make under subsection (1) shall be published in the Canada Gazette and a reasonable opportunity shall be given to persons carrying on broadcasting undertakings and other interested persons to make representations to the Commission with respect to the regulation.

12 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 10:

For greater certainty

10.‍1 For greater certainty, the Commission shall make orders under subsection 9.‍1(1) and regulations under subsection 10(1) in a manner that is consistent with the freedom of expression enjoyed by users of social media services that are provided by online undertakings.

13 (1) The portion of subsection 11(1) of the French version of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

Règlements : droits

11 (1) Le Conseil peut prendre des règlements :

(2) Paragraphs 11(1)‍(a) to (d) of the Act are replaced by the following:

(a) with the approval of the Treasury Board, establishing schedules of fees to be paid by persons carrying on broadcasting undertakings of any class;

(b) providing for the establishment of classes of broadcasting undertakings for the purposes of paragraph (a);

(c) providing for the payment of any fees payable by a person carrying on a broadcasting undertaking, including the time and manner of payment;

(d) respecting the interest payable by such a person in respect of any overdue fee; and

(3) Paragraph 11(1)‍(e) of the French version of the Act is replaced by the following:

e) concernant toute autre mesure d’application du présent article qu’il estime nécessaire.

(4) The portion of subsection 11(2) of the English version of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

Criteria

(2) Regulations made under paragraph (1)‍(a) may provide for fees to be calculated by reference to any criteria that the Commission considers appropriate, including by reference to

(5) Paragraph 11(2)‍(a) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(a) the revenues of the persons carrying on broadcasting undertakings;

(6) Paragraph 11(2)‍(b) of the English version of the Act is replaced by the following:

(b) the performance of the persons carrying on broadcasting undertakings in relation to objectives established by the Commission, including objectives for the broadcasting of Canadian programs; and

(7) Paragraph 11(2)‍(c) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(8) Subsection 11(3) of the Act is replaced by the following:

Exceptions

(3) No regulations made under subsection (1) shall apply to the Corporation or to persons carrying on programming undertakings on behalf of Her Majesty in right of a province.

Restriction — non-licensees

(3.‍1) The only fees that may be established with respect to a broadcasting undertaking that may be carried on without a licence shall be fees that relate to the recovery of the costs of the Commission’s activities under this Act.

(9) Subsection 11(4) of the English version of the Act is replaced by the following:

Debt due to Her Majesty

(4) Fees payable under this section and any interest in respect of them constitute a debt due to Her Majesty in right of Canada and may be recovered as such in any court of competent jurisdiction.

(10) Subsection 11(5) of the Act is replaced by the following:

Publication and representations

(5) A copy of each regulation that the Commission proposes to make under this section shall be published in the Canada Gazette and a reasonable opportunity shall be given to persons carrying on broadcasting undertakings and other interested persons to make representations to the Commission with respect to the regulation.

14 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 11:

Regulations — expenditures

11.‍1 (1) The Commission may make regulations respecting expenditures to be made by persons carrying on broadcasting undertakings for the purposes of

(a) developing, financing, producing or promoting Canadian audio or audio-visual programs, including independent productions, for broadcasting by broadcasting undertakings;

(b) supporting, promoting or training Canadian creators of audio or audio-visual programs for broadcasting by broadcasting undertakings; or

(c) supporting participation by persons, groups of persons or organizations representing the public interest in proceedings before the Commission under this Act.

Order — particular broadcasting undertaking

(2) The Commission may make an order respecting expenditures to be made by a particular person carrying on a broadcasting undertaking for any of the purposes set out in paragraphs (1)‍(a) to (c).

Minimum expenditures — original French language programs

(3) Regulations and orders made under this section for the purposes set out in paragraph (1)‍(a) shall prescribe the minimum share of expenditures that are to be allocated to Canadian original French language programs in the case of broadcasting undertakings that offer programs in both official languages.

Application of regulations

(4) A regulation made under this section may be made applicable to all persons carrying on broadcasting undertakings or to all persons carrying on broadcasting undertakings of any class established by the Commission in the regulation.

Recipients

(5) Regulations and orders made under this section may provide that an expenditure is to be paid to any person or organization, other than the Commission, or into any fund, other than a fund administered by the Commission.

Criteria

(6) Regulations and orders made under this section may provide for expenditures to be calculated by reference to any criteria that the Commission considers appropriate, including by reference to

(a) the revenues of the persons carrying on broadcasting undertakings;

(b) the performance of the persons carrying on broadcasting undertakings in relation to objectives established by the Commission, including objectives for the broadcasting of Canadian programs; and

Publication and representations

(7) A copy of each regulation that the Commission proposes to make under this section shall be published in the Canada Gazette and a copy of each proposed order shall be published on the Commission’s website. A reasonable opportunity shall be given to persons carrying on broadcasting undertakings and other interested persons to make representations to the Commission with respect to the regulation or order.

Non-application

(8) The Statutory Instruments Act does not apply to orders made under subsection (2).

2014, c. 39, s. 191(1); 2019, c. 10, s. 161(1)

15 Subsection 12(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:

Inquiries

12 (1) The Commission may inquire into, hear and determine a matter if it appears to the Commission that

(a) any person is contravening or has contravened this Part or any regulation, licence, decision or order made or issued by the Commission under this Part;

(b) any person is contravening or has contravened section 34.‍1;

(d) the circumstances may require the Commission to make any decision or order or to give any approval that it is authorized to make or give under this Part or under any regulation or order made under this Part.

16 Paragraph 18(1)‍(c) of the Act is replaced by the following:

17 Subsection 20(4) of the Act is replaced by the following:

Consultation

(4) The members of a panel established under subsection (1) shall consult with the Commission, and may consult with any officer of the Commission, for the purpose of ensuring a consistency of interpretation of the broadcasting policy set out in subsection 3(1), the regulatory policy set out in subsection 5(2), the orders made under section 9.‍1, the regulations made under sections 10 and 11 and the regulations and orders made under section 11.‍1.

18 Section 21 of the French version of the Act is replaced by the following:

Règles

21 Le Conseil peut établir des règles concernant l’instruction des affaires dont il est saisi, notamment la procédure applicable à la présentation des demandes d’attribution, de modification, de renouvellement, de suspension ou de révocation de licences, la présentation des observations et des plaintes et le déroulement des audiences.

19 Subsections 23(1) to (3) of the Act are replaced by the following:

Consultation between Commission and Corporation

23 (1) The Commission shall, at the request of the Corporation, consult with the Corporation with regard to any conditions that the Commission proposes to impose under subsection 9.‍1(1) — or with regard to any regulation or order that the Commission proposes to make under section 11.‍1 — that would apply with respect to the Corporation.

Reference to Minister

(2) If, despite the consultation provided for in subsection (1), the Commission imposes any condition, or makes any regulation or order, referred to in subsection (1) that the Corporation is satisfied would unreasonably impede the Corporation in providing the programming contemplated by paragraphs 3(1)‍(l) and (m), the Corporation may, within 30 days after the condition is imposed or the regulation or order is made, refer the condition, regulation or order to the Minister for consideration.

Ministerial directive

(3) Subject to subsection (4), the Minister may, within 90 days after a condition, regulation or order is referred to the Minister under subsection (2), issue to the Commission a written directive with respect to the condition, regulation or order and the Commission shall comply with any such directive issued by the Minister.

20 Paragraph 24(1)‍(a) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(a) the licensee has contravened any order made under subsection 9.‍1(1), 11.‍1(2) or 12(2) or any regulation made under this Part; or

21 Subsection 25(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:

Report of contravention by Corporation

25 (1) If the Commission is satisfied, after a public hearing on the matter, that the Corporation has contravened section 31.‍1, any order made under subsection 9.‍1(1), 11.‍1(2) or 12(2) or any regulation made under this Part, the Commission shall forward to the Minister a report setting out the circumstances of the contravention, the findings of the Commission and any observations or recommendations of the Commission in connection with the contravention.

22 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 25:

Provision of Information by Commission

Minister or Chief Statistician

25.‍1 The Commission shall, on request, provide the Minister or the Chief Statistician of Canada with any information submitted to the Commission in respect of a broadcasting undertaking.

Access to information

25.‍2 Subject to section 25.‍3, the Commission shall make available for public inspection any information submitted to the Commission in the course of proceedings before it.

Confidential information

25.‍3 (1) A person who submits any of the following information to the Commission may designate it as confidential:

(a) information that is a trade secret;

(b) financial, commercial, scientific or technical information that is confidential and that is treated consistently in a confidential manner by the person who submitted it; or

(i) to result in material financial loss or gain to any person,

(ii) to prejudice the competitive position of any person, or

(iii) to affect contractual or other negotiations of any person.

Information not to be disclosed

(2) Subject to subsections (4), (5) and (7), if a person designates information as confidential and the designation is not withdrawn by that person, no person described in subsection (3) shall knowingly disclose the information, or knowingly allow it to be disclosed, to any other person in any manner that is intended or likely to make it available for the use of any person who may benefit from the information or use it to the detriment of any person to whose business or affairs the information relates.

Persons who shall not disclose information

(3) Subsection (2) applies to any person referred to in any of the following paragraphs who comes into possession of designated information while holding the office or employment described in that paragraph, whether or not the person has ceased to hold that office or be so employed:

(a) a member of, or a person employed by, the Commission;

(b) in respect of information disclosed under paragraph (4)‍(b) or (5)‍(b), the Commissioner of Competition appointed under the Competition Act or a person whose duties involve the carrying out of that Act and who is referred to in section 25 of that Act;

(c) in respect of information provided under section 25.‍1, the Minister, the Chief Statistician of Canada or an agent of or a person employed in the federal public administration.

Disclosure of information submitted in proceedings

(4) If designated information is submitted in the course of proceedings before the Commission, the Commission may

(a) disclose the information or require its disclosure if the Commission determines, after considering any representations from interested persons, that the disclosure is in the public interest; and

(b) disclose the information or require its disclosure to the Commissioner of Competition on the Commissioner’s request if the Commission determines that the information is relevant to competition issues being considered in the proceedings.

Disclosure of other information

(5) If designated information is submitted to the Commission otherwise than in the course of proceedings before it, the Commission may

(a) disclose the information or require its disclosure if, after considering any representations from interested persons, the Commission considers that the information is relevant to a matter arising in the exercise of its powers or the performance of its duties and functions and determines that the disclosure is in the public interest; and

(b) disclose the information or require its disclosure to the Commissioner of Competition, on the Commissioner’s request, if the Commission considers that the information is relevant to competition issues that are related to such a matter.

Information disclosed to Commissioner of Competition

(6) Neither the Commissioner of Competition nor any person whose duties involve the administration and enforcement of the Competition Act and who is referred to in section 25 of that Act shall use information that is disclosed

(a) under paragraph (4)‍(b) other than to facilitate the Commissioner’s participation in proceedings referred to in subsection (4); or

(b) under paragraph (5)‍(b) other than to facilitate the Commissioner’s participation in a matter referred to in subsection (5).

Information inadmissible

(7) Designated information that is not disclosed or required to be disclosed under this section is not admissible in evidence in any judicial proceedings except proceedings for failure to submit information required to be submitted under this Act or for forgery, perjury or false declaration in relation to the submission of the information.

23 (1) Subsection 28(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:

Setting aside or referring decisions back to Commission

28 (1) If the Commission makes a decision under section 9 to issue, amend or renew a licence, the Governor in Council may, within 180 days after the date of the decision, on petition in writing of any person received within 45 days after that date or on the Governor in Council’s own motion, by order, set aside the decision or refer the decision back to the Commission for reconsideration and hearing of the matter by the Commission, if the Governor in Council is satisfied that the decision derogates from the attainment of the objectives of the broadcasting policy set out in subsection 3(1).

(2) Paragraph 28(3)‍(b) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(b) rescind the issue of the licence and issue a licence to another person; or

(3) Subsections 28(4) and (5) of the Act are repealed.

24 (1) Subsection 29(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:

Filing of petitions

29 (1) Every person who petitions the Governor in Council under subsection 28(1) shall at the same time send a copy of the petition to the Commission.

(2) Subsection 29(3) of the English version of the Act is replaced by the following:

(3) The Commission shall establish and maintain a public register in which shall be kept a copy of each petition received by the Commission.

25 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 31:

Prohibition

Carrying on broadcasting undertaking

31.‍1 (1) A person shall not carry on a broadcasting undertaking unless

(a) they do so in accordance with a licence issued to them; or

(b) they are exempt, under an order made under subsection 9(4), from the requirement to hold a licence.

Exception — online undertaking

(2) Despite subsection (1), a person may carry on an online undertaking without a licence and without being so exempt.

26 Sections 32 to 34 of the Act are replaced by the following:

Broadcasting contrary to Act

32 Every person who contravenes section 31.‍1 is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and is liable

(a) in the case of an individual, to a fine of not more than $25,000 for each day that the offence continues; or

(b) in the case of a corporation, to a fine of not more than $250,000 for each day that the offence continues.

Contravention of regulation or order

33 Every person who contravenes any regulation or order made under this Part is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and is liable

(a) in the case of an individual, to a fine of not more than $25,000 for a first offence and of not more than $50,000 for each subsequent offence; or

(b) in the case of a corporation, to a fine of not more than $250,000 for a first offence and of not more than $500,000 for each subsequent offence.

Defence

33.‍1 A person is not to be found guilty of an offence under section 32 or 33 if they establish that they exercised due diligence to prevent the commission of the offence.

Limitation

34 Proceedings in respect of an offence under section 33 may be instituted within, but not after, two years after the day on which the subject matter of the proceedings arose.

Consultation and Review

Regulations and orders

34.‍01 (1) Every seven years the Commission shall consult with all interested persons with respect to orders made under section 9.‍1 and regulations and orders made under section 11.‍1 and shall publish, on the Internet or otherwise, a report on the consultations that also lists the orders and regulations that the Commission proposes to review as a result of the consultations and sets out its plan for conducting the review.

Publication of report

(2) The Commission shall publish the first report within seven years after the day on which this subsection comes into force and, subsequently, within seven years after the day on which the most recent report is published.

27 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 34.‍2:

Defence

34.‍21 A person is not to be found guilty of an offence under section 34.‍2 if they establish that they exercised due diligence to prevent the commission of the offence.

28 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 34.‍3:

PART II.‍2

Administrative Monetary Penalties

Violations

34.‍4 (1) Subject to a regulation made under paragraph 34.‍995(a), a person commits a violation if they

(a) contravene a regulation or order made under Part II;

(b) contravene the requirement to negotiate in good faith under subsection 9.‍1(9);

(d) charge a subscriber for providing the subscriber with a paper bill in contravention of section 34.‍1;

(e) contravene an undertaking that they entered into under section 34.‍9;

(f) fail to submit information in accordance with a notice issued under section 34.‍996 to a person designated under paragraph 34.‍7(a) that the designated person requires by the notice;

(g) knowingly make a material misrepresentation of fact in contravention of section 34.‍997; or

(h) contravene any of subsections 42(1) to (4) and (7), 43(1) to (3) and 44(1) to (3) and (6) of the Accessible Canada Act.

Continued violation

(2) A violation that is continued on more than one day constitutes a separate violation in respect of each day on which it is continued.

Maximum administrative monetary penalty

34.‍5 (1) Subject to a regulation made under paragraph 34.‍995(b), a person who commits a violation is liable to an administrative monetary penalty

(a) in the case of an individual, of not more than $25,000 for a first violation and of not more than $50,000 for each subsequent violation; or

(b) in any other case, of not more than $10 million for a first violation and of not more than $15 million for each subsequent violation.

Criteria for penalty

(2) The amount of the penalty is to be determined by taking into account the following factors:

(a) the nature and scope of the violation;

(b) the history of compliance by the person who committed the violation with this Act, the regulations and the decisions and orders made by the Commission under this Act;

(d) any benefit that the person obtained from the commission of the violation;

(e) the person’s ability to pay the penalty;

(f) any factors established by regulation;

(g) the purpose of the penalty, which is to promote compliance with this Act — or, in the case of a penalty imposed for a violation referred to in paragraph 34.‍4(1)‍(h), compliance with the Accessible Canada Act — and not to punish; and

(h) any other relevant factor.

Purpose of penalty

(3) The purpose of the penalty is to promote compliance with this Act — or, in the case of a penalty imposed for a violation referred to in paragraph 34.‍4(1)‍(h), compliance with the Accessible Canada Act — and not to punish.

Procedures

34.‍6 (1) Despite subsection 34.‍8(1), the Commission may impose a penalty in a decision made in the course of a proceeding before it under this Act in which it finds that a violation referred to in section 34.‍4 has been committed by a person other than the person who entered into an undertaking under section 34.‍9 in connection with the same act or omission giving rise to the violation.

For greater certainty

(2) For greater certainty, the Commission is not to impose a penalty under subsection (1) on a person who has not been given the opportunity to be heard.

Designation

34.‍7 The Commission may

(a) designate persons or classes of persons who are authorized to issue notices of violation or to accept an undertaking under section 34.‍9; and

(b) establish, in respect of each violation, a short-form description to be used in notices of violation.

Notice of violation

34.‍8 (1) A person who is authorized to issue notices of violation may, if they believe on reasonable grounds that another person has committed a violation, issue a notice of violation and cause it to be served on that other person.

Contents

(2) The notice of violation shall set out

(a) the name of the person who is believed to have committed a violation;

(b) the act or omission giving rise to the violation, as well as a reference to the provision that is at issue;

(c) the administrative monetary penalty that the person is liable to pay, as well as the time and manner in which the person may pay the penalty;

(d) a statement informing the person that they may pay the penalty or make representations to the Commission with respect to the violation and the penalty and informing them of the time and manner for making such representations; and

(e) a statement informing the person that, if they do not pay the penalty or make representations in accordance with the notice, they will be deemed to have committed the violation and the penalty may be imposed.

Undertaking

34.‍9 (1) A person may enter into an undertaking at any time. The undertaking is valid upon its acceptance by the Commission or, if it is entered into by a person other than the Corporation, upon its acceptance by the Commission or the person designated to accept an undertaking.

Requirements

(2) An undertaking referred to in subsection (1)

(a) shall set out every act or omission that is covered by the undertaking;

(b) shall set out every provision that is at issue;

(c) may contain any conditions that the Commission or the person designated to accept the undertaking considers appropriate; and

(d) may include a requirement to pay a specified amount.

Before notice of violation

(3) If a person enters into an undertaking, a notice of violation shall not be served on them in connection with any act or omission referred to in the undertaking.

After notice of violation

(4) If a person enters into an undertaking after a notice of violation is served on them, the proceeding that is commenced by the notice of violation is ended in respect of that person in connection with any act or omission referred to in the undertaking.

Powers respecting hearings

34.‍91 For greater certainty, the Commission has all the powers, rights and privileges referred to in section 16 if, in a proceeding in respect of a violation, it holds a public hearing under subsection 18(3).

Payment of penalty

34.‍92 (1) If a person who is served with a notice of violation pays the penalty set out in the notice, they are deemed to have committed the violation and the proceedings in respect of it are ended.

Representations to Commission and decision

(2) If a person who is served with a notice of violation makes representations in accordance with the notice, the Commission shall decide, on a balance of probabilities, after considering any other representations that it considers appropriate, whether the person committed the violation. If the Commission decides that the person committed the violation, it may

(a) impose the administrative monetary penalty set out in the notice, a lesser penalty or no penalty; and

(b) suspend payment of the administrative monetary penalty subject to any conditions that the Commission considers necessary to ensure compliance with this Act.

Penalty

(3) If a person who is served with a notice of violation neither pays the penalty nor makes representations in accordance with the notice, the person is deemed to have committed the violation and the Commission may impose the penalty.

Copy of decision and notice of rights

(4) The Commission shall cause a copy of any decision made under subsection (2) or (3) to be issued and served on the person together with a notice of the person’s right to apply for leave to appeal under section 31.

Evidence

34.‍93 In a proceeding in respect of a violation, a notice purporting to be served under subsection 34.‍8(1) or a copy of a decision purporting to be served under subsection 34.‍92(4) is admissible in evidence without proof of the signature or official character of the person appearing to have signed it.

Defence

34.‍94 (1) A person is not to be found liable for a violation, other than a violation under paragraph 34.‍4(1)‍(b) or (g), if they establish that they exercised due diligence to prevent its commission.

Common law principles

(2) Every rule and principle of the common law that makes any circumstance a justification or excuse in relation to a charge for an offence applies in respect of a violation to the extent that it is not inconsistent with this Act.

Directors, officers, etc.‍, of corporations

34.‍95 An officer, director or agent or mandatary of a corporation other than the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, that commits a violation is liable for the violation if they directed, authorized, assented to, acquiesced in or participated in the commission of the violation, whether or not the corporation is proceeded against.

Vicarious liability

34.‍96 A person, other than the Corporation, is liable for a violation that is committed by their employee acting within the scope of their employment or their agent or mandatary acting within the scope of their authority, whether or not the employee or agent or mandatary is identified or proceeded against.

Limitation or prescription period

34.‍97 (1) Proceedings in respect of a violation may be instituted within, but not after, three years after the day on which the subject matter of the proceedings became known to the Commission.

Certificate

(2) A document that appears to have been issued by the secretary to the Commission, certifying the day on which the subject matter of any proceedings became known to the Commission, is admissible in evidence without proof of the signature or official character of the person who appears to have signed the document and is, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, proof of the matter asserted in it.

Information may be made public

34.‍98 The Commission may make public

(a) the name of a person who enters into an undertaking under section 34.‍9, the nature of the undertaking including the acts or omissions and provisions at issue, the conditions included in the undertaking and the amount payable under it, if any; or

(b) the name of a person who is deemed, or is found by the Commission or on appeal, to have committed a violation, the acts or omissions and provisions at issue and the amount of the penalty imposed, if any.

Special case concerning the Corporation — public hearing

34.‍99 (1) Despite subsections 34.‍6(1) and 34.‍92(2) and (3), the Commission shall not impose a penalty under any of those subsections on the Corporation for a violation other than the one referred to in paragraph 34.‍4(1)‍(h) without holding a public hearing on the matter.

Place of hearing

(2) A public hearing under subsection (1) may be held at any place in Canada designated by the Chairperson of the Commission.

Notice of hearing

(3) The Commission shall cause notice of any public hearing to be held by it under subsection (1) to be published in the Canada Gazette and in one or more newspapers of general circulation within any area affected or likely to be affected by the matter to which the public hearing relates.

Powers respecting hearings

(4) The Commission has, in respect of any hearing under subsection (1), with regard to the attendance, swearing and examination of witnesses at the hearing, the production and inspection of documents and other matters necessary or proper in relation to the hearing, all of the powers, rights and privileges that are vested in a superior court of record.

For greater certainty

(5) For greater certainty, sections 17, 20 and 21 apply in respect of public hearings under subsection (1).

Report of violation

34.‍991 (1) If the Commission is satisfied, after holding a public hearing on the matter, that the Corporation has committed a violation referred to in any of paragraphs 34.‍4(1)‍(a) to (g), the Commission shall forward to the Minister a report setting out the circumstances of the violation, the findings of the Commission, the amount of any penalty imposed, and any observations or recommendations of the Commission in connection with the violation.

Report to be tabled

(2) The Minister shall cause a copy of the report referred to in subsection (1) to be laid before each House of Parliament on any of the first 15 days on which that House is sitting after the report is received by the Minister.

Violation or offence

34.‍992 (1) If an act or omission can be proceeded with either as a violation or as an offence under this Act, proceeding in one manner precludes proceeding in the other.

For greater certainty

(2) For greater certainty, a violation is not an offence and, accordingly, section 126 of the Criminal Code does not apply.

Receiver General

34.‍993 An administrative monetary penalty paid or recovered in relation to a violation is payable to the Receiver General.

Debt due to Her Majesty

34.‍994 (1) The following amounts are debts due to Her Majesty in right of Canada that may be recovered in the Federal Court:

(a) the amount of the penalty imposed by the Commission in a decision made in the course of a proceeding before it under this Act in which it finds that a violation referred to in section 34.‍4 has been committed;

(b) the amount payable under an undertaking entered into under section 34.‍9, beginning on the day specified in the undertaking or, if no day is specified, beginning on the day on which the undertaking is accepted;

(c) the amount of the penalty set out in a notice of violation, beginning on the day on which it is required to be paid in accordance with the notice, unless representations are made in accordance with the notice;

(d) if representations are made, either the amount of the administrative monetary penalty that is imposed by the Commission or on appeal, as the case may be, beginning on the day specified by the Commission or the court or, if no day is specified, beginning on the day on which the decision is made; and

(e) the amount of any reasonable expenses incurred in attempting to recover an amount referred to in any of paragraphs (a) to (d).

Limitation period or prescription

(2) Proceedings to recover a debt may be instituted within, but not after, three years after the day on which the debt becomes payable.

Certificate of default

(3) The Commission may issue a certificate for the unpaid amount of any debt referred to in subsection (1).

Effect of registration

(4) Registration of a certificate in the Federal Court has the same effect as a judgment of that Court for a debt of the amount set out in the certificate and all related registration costs.

Regulations

34.‍995 The Governor in Council may make regulations

(a) providing for exceptions to any of paragraphs 34.‍4(1)‍(a) to (h);

(b) increasing the maximum administrative monetary penalty amounts set out in subsection 34.‍5(1);

(c) for the purpose of paragraph 34.‍5(2)‍(f), establishing other factors to be considered in determining the amount of the penalty;

(d) respecting undertakings referred to in section 34.‍9;

(e) respecting the service of documents required or authorized to be served under this Part, including the manner and proof of service and the circumstances under which documents are to be considered to be served; and

(f) generally, for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Part.

PART II.‍3

Submission of Information

Information requirement

34.‍996 A person designated under paragraph 34.‍7(a) who believes that a person is in possession of information that is reasonably considered to be relevant for the purpose of verifying whether a violation referred to in section 34.‍4 has been committed may, by notice, require that person to submit the information to the designated person in the form and manner and within the reasonable time that is stipulated in the notice. A person to whom any such notice is addressed shall comply with the notice.

PART II.‍4

Offence — Material Misrepresentation of Fact

Prohibition

34.‍997 It is prohibited for any person to knowingly make a material misrepresentation of fact to a person designated under paragraph 34.‍7(a).

Offence

34.‍998 (1) Every person who contravenes section 34.‍997 is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and is liable

(a) in the case of an individual, to a fine of not more than $10,000 for a first offence and of not more than $25,000 for each subsequent offence; or

(b) in any other case, to a fine of not more than $100,000 for a first offence and of not more than $250,000 for each subsequent offence.

Limitation

(2) Proceedings in respect of an offence under subsection (1) may be instituted within, but not after, two years after the day on which the subject matter of the proceedings arose.

29 (1) Paragraphs 38(1)‍(a) to (c) of the Act are replaced by the following:

(a) is engaged in the operation of a broadcasting undertaking described in subsection (3);

(b) has any pecuniary or proprietary interest in such a broadcasting undertaking; or

(c) is principally engaged in the production or distribution of program material that is primarily intended for use by such a broadcasting undertaking.

(2) Section 38 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (2):

Application

(3) Subsection (1) applies with respect to a broadcasting undertaking that

(a) must be carried on under a licence;

(b) is carried on by a person who is exempt from the requirement to hold a licence, under an order made under subsection 9(4); or

30 (1) The portion of subsection 46(1) of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

Objects and powers

46 (1) The Corporation is established for the purpose of providing the programming contemplated by paragraphs 3(1)‍(l) and (m), subject to any applicable orders and regulations of the Commission, and for that purpose the Corporation may

(2) Paragraph 46(1)‍(b) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(b) make agreements with persons carrying on broadcasting undertakings for the broadcasting of programs;

(3) Subsections 46(2) and (3) of the Act are replaced by the following:

International service

(2) The Corporation shall, subject to any applicable orders and regulations of the Commission, provide an international service in accordance with any directions that the Governor in Council may issue.

Power to act as agent

(3) The Corporation may, subject to any applicable orders and regulations of the Commission, act as an agent of Her Majesty in right of Canada, or as an agent or mandatary of Her Majesty in right of a province, in respect of any broadcasting operations that it may be directed by the Governor in Council to carry out.

31 Subsection 51(1) of the French version of the Act is replaced by the following:

Règlements administratifs

51 (1) Le conseil d’administration peut prendre des règlements administratifs :

a) concernant la convocation de ses réunions;

b) concernant le déroulement de celles-ci ainsi que la constitution de comités permanents et spéciaux, la délégation de fonctions à ces comités — y compris ceux visés à l’article 45 — et la fixation de leur quorum;

c) fixant les honoraires des administrateurs autres que le président du conseil et le président-directeur général, pour leur présence à ses réunions ou à celles des comités, ainsi que les indemnités de déplacement et de séjour à payer à tous les administrateurs;

d) concernant, d’une part, les obligations et le code de conduite des administrateurs et du personnel de la Société et, d’autre part, les conditions d’emploi et les modalités de cessation d’emploi de celui-ci, y compris le paiement à titre individuel ou collectif, de toute gratification — indemnité de retraite ou autre;

e) concernant la création et la gestion d’une caisse de retraite pour les administrateurs et le personnel de la Société et les personnes à leur charge, ainsi que les cotisations de celle-ci à cette caisse et le placement de ses fonds;

f) d’une façon générale, régissant la conduite des activités de la Société.

Related Amendments

2010, c. 23

An Act to promote the efficiency and adaptability of the Canadian economy by regulating certain activities that discourage reliance on electronic means of carrying out commercial activities, and to amend the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Act, the Competition Act, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act and the Telecommunications Act

32 Section 5 of An Act to promote the efficiency and adaptability of the Canadian economy by regulating certain activities that discourage reliance on electronic means of carrying out commercial activities, and to amend the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Act, the Competition Act, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act and the Telecommunications Act is replaced by the following:

Broadcasting excluded

5 This Act does not apply in respect of broadcasting by a broadcasting undertaking, other than an online undertaking, as those terms are defined in subsection 2(1) of the Broadcasting Act.

33 Section 6 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (7):

Exception

(7.‍1) This section does not apply to a commercial electronic message that is sent or caused or permitted to be sent by an online undertaking, as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Broadcasting Act, if

(a) the person to whom the message is sent has expressly or implicitly consented to the transmission of a program, as defined in that subsection, from that online undertaking to an electronic address; and

(b) the message is or forms part of that program or is sent in the course of the transmission of that program to the electronic address to which that program is transmitted.

34 The portion of subsection 10(9) of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

Implied consent — section 6

(9) For the purpose of section 6, except subsection 6(7.‍1), consent is implied only if

2018, c. 16

Cannabis Act

35 Paragraph 23(2)‍(b) of the Cannabis Act is replaced by the following:

(b) in respect of broadcasting, as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Broadcasting Act, by

(i) a distribution undertaking, as defined in that subsection 2(1), that is lawful under that Act, other than the broadcasting of a promotion that is inserted by the undertaking, or

(ii) an online undertaking, as defined in that subsection 2(1), that is lawful under that Act, in respect of the retransmission of programs over the Internet, other than the broadcasting of a promotion that is inserted by the undertaking; and

Consequential Amendments

R.‍S.‍, c. A-1

Access to Information Act

36 Schedule II to the Access to Information Act is amended by adding, in alphabetical order, a reference to

Broadcasting Act

Loi sur la radiodiffusion

and a corresponding reference to “subsection 25.‍3(2)”.

R.‍S.‍, c. C-22

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Act

2019, c. 10, s. 147

37 Subsection 13(2) of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Act is amended by striking out “and” at the end of paragraph (c) and by adding the following after paragraph (d):

(e) notices of violation issued under section 34.‍8 of the Broadcasting Act in relation to contraventions of a regulation or order made under Part II of that Act in relation to the identification, prevention and removal of barriers; and

(f) notices of violation issued under section 34.‍8 of the Broadcasting Act in relation to contraventions of any of subsections 42(1) to (4) and (7), 43(1) to (3) and 44(1) to (3) and (6) of the Accessible Canada Act.

R.‍S.‍, c. C-42

Copyright Act

1997, c. 24, s. 18(1); 2012, c. 20, s. 33

38 Subsection 30.‍8(11) of the Copyright Act is replaced by the following:

Definition of programming undertaking

(11) In this section, programming undertaking means

(a) a programming undertaking, as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Broadcasting Act, that is carried on lawfully under that Act;

(b) a programming undertaking described in paragraph (a) that originates programs within a network, as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Broadcasting Act; or

(c) a distribution undertaking, as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Broadcasting Act, that is carried on lawfully under that Act, in respect of the programs that it originates.

For greater certainty, it does not include an online undertaking, as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Broadcasting Act.

1997, c. 24, s. 18(1)

39 Subsection 30.‍9(7) of the Act is replaced by the following:

Definition of broadcasting undertaking

(7) In this section, broadcasting undertaking means a broadcasting undertaking, as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Broadcasting Act, that holds a broadcasting licence issued by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission under that Act. For greater certainty, it does not include an online undertaking, as defined in that subsection 2(1).

2002, c. 26, s. 2(2)

40 (1) The definition new media retransmitter in subsection 31(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:

new media retransmitter means a person whose retransmission would be lawful under the Broadcasting Act — as that Act read immediately before the day on which section 31.‍1 of that Act comes into force — only by reason of the Exemption order for digital media broadcasting undertakings, issued by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission as the appendix to Broadcasting Order CRTC 2012-409, as it read immediately before that day; (retransmetteur de nouveaux médias)

(2) The definition new media retransmitter in subsection 31(1) of the Act is repealed.

2002, c. 26, s. 2(1)

(3) The definition retransmitter in subsection 31(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:

retransmitter has the meaning assigned by the regulations; (retransmetteur)

2002, c. 26, s. 2(3)

(4) Paragraph 31(3)‍(a) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(a) defining “retransmitter” for the purposes of this section;

(a.‍1) defining “local signal” and “distant signal” for the purposes of subsection (2); and

1992, c. 30

Referendum Act

41 The portion of subsection 21(1) of the Referendum Act after paragraph (c) is replaced by the following:

shall, subject to the regulations made pursuant to that Act and to the conditions imposed on it under section 9.‍1 of that Act, make available, at no cost, to registered referendum committees for the transmission of referendum announcements and other programming produced by or on behalf of those committees an aggregate of three hours of broadcasting time during prime time.

42 Subsection 24(2) of the Act is replaced by the following:

Free time not commercial time

(2) Despite subsection 21(1), the Broadcasting Act, any regulations made under that Act and any conditions imposed on a network operator under section 9.‍1 of that Act, free broadcasting time shall not be considered to be commercial time.

2000, c. 9

Canada Elections Act

2001, c. 21, s. 17

43 Subsection 335(1) of the Canada Elections Act is replaced by the following:

Broadcasting time provided to registered parties

335 (1) In the period beginning on the issue of the writs for a general election and ending at midnight on the day before polling day, every broadcaster shall, subject to the regulations made under the Broadcasting Act and the conditions imposed on it under section 9.‍1 of that Act, make available, for purchase by all registered parties for the transmission of political announcements and other programming produced by or on behalf of the registered parties, six and one-half hours of broadcasting time during prime time on its facilities.

44 Subsection 339(3) of the Act is replaced by the following:

Broadcasting time provided to new eligible parties

(3) In addition to the broadcasting time to be made available under section 335, and within the period referred to in that section, every broadcaster shall, subject to the regulations made under the Broadcasting Act and to the conditions imposed on it under section 9.‍1 of that Act, make available, for purchase by every eligible party entitled to broadcasting time under this section, broadcasting time in the amount determined under this section for the eligible party for the transmission of political announcements and other programming produced by or on behalf of the eligible party during prime time on that broadcaster’s facilities.

2001, c. 21, s. 18

45 The portion of subsection 345(1) of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:

Free broadcasting time

345 (1) In the period beginning on the issue of the writs for a general election and ending at midnight on the day before polling day at that election, every network operator shall, subject to the regulations made under the Broadcasting Act and to the conditions imposed on it under section 9.‍1 of that Act, make available, at no cost, to the registered parties and eligible parties referred to in subsection (2), for the transmission of political announcements and other programming produced by or on behalf of those parties, broadcasting time as determined under that subsection if the network formed and operated by the network operator

2019, c. 10

Accessible Canada Act

46 Paragraph 42(1)‍(b) of the Accessible Canada Act is replaced by the following:

(b) the conditions imposed on the regulated entity under section 9.‍1 of the Broadcasting Act that relate to the identification and removal of barriers and the prevention of new barriers;

47 Paragraph 118(3)‍(a) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(a) a condition imposed under section 9.‍1 of the Broadcasting Act;

Transitional Provisions

Definitions

48 (1) The following definitions apply in this section and sections 49 to 52.

new Act means the Broadcasting Act as it reads as of the royal assent day.‍ (nouvelle loi)

old Act means the Broadcasting Act as it read immediately before the royal assent day.‍ (ancienne loi)

royal assent day means the day on which this Act receives royal assent.‍ (date de sanction)

Words and expressions

(2) Unless otherwise provided, words and expressions used in sections 49 to 52 have the same meanings as in the Broadcasting Act.

Conditions and requirements — deemed order

49 (1) Each of the following is deemed to be a condition imposed under an order, made under section 9.‍1 of the new Act, that applies only with respect to a particular licensee:

(a) a condition of their licence imposed under section 9 of the old Act that, as of the royal assent day, could not be made the subject of an order under subsection 11.‍1(2) of the new Act;

(b) a requirement imposed on the licensee under any of paragraphs 9(1)‍(f) to (h) of the old Act.

Regulations — deemed order

(2) Any regulation made under paragraph 10(1)‍(a) or 10(1)‍(i) of the old Act is deemed to be an order made under section 9.‍1 of the new Act.

Expenditures — deemed regulations

50 (1) The following are deemed to be regulations made under subsection 11.‍1(1) of the new Act:

(a) any terms and conditions imposed under an order made under subsection 9(4) of the old Act that, as of the royal assent day, could be the subject of such regulations; and

(b) any regulations made under subsection 10(1) of the old Act that, as of the royal assent day, could be made under subsection 11.‍1(1) of the new Act.

Expenditures — deemed order

(2) Any condition of a licensee’s licence that, as of the royal assent day, could be made the subject of an order under subsection 11.‍1(2) of the new Act is deemed to be a provision of such an order that applies only with respect to the licensee.

Section 28

51 (1) Section 28 of the old Act continues to apply with respect to any decision of the Commission to issue, amend or renew a licence that is made before the royal assent day.

Interim licences

(2) A person is not permitted to make a petition — and the Governor in Council is not permitted to make an order — under subsection 28(1) of the new Act with respect to a decision to renew a licence made by the Commission during the transition period if the Commission specifies, in renewing that licence, that it is an interim licence and if its term is for no more than one year.

Definition of transition period

(3) In subsection (2), transition period means the period beginning on the royal assent day and ending on the second anniversary of that day.

Validation of expenditures

52 (1) The expenditures described in subsection (2) are deemed to have been validly required by the Commission under the old Act.

Expenditures

(2) Subsection (1) applies with respect to the expenditures — including, for greater certainty, the contributions — that were made by a broadcasting undertaking before the royal assent day under

(a) a condition of a licence issued under the old Act;

(b) a term or condition of an order made under subsection 9(4) of that Act; or

Review

Review of Act

53 (1) During the fifth year after the day on which this Act receives royal assent, and during the fifth year after a report is submitted under subsection (2), a comprehensive review of the amendments to the Broadcasting Act that are made by this Act and of their operation must be undertaken by the committee of the Senate, of the House of Commons or of both Houses of Parliament that is designated or established for that purpose.

Report

(2) The committee must, within one year after the review is undertaken — or within any further period that the Senate, the House of Commons or both Houses of Parliament, as the case may be, authorizes — submit a report on the review to the appropriate House or, in the case of a committee of both Houses, to each House, that includes a statement of any changes that the committee recommends.

Coming into Force

Order in council

54 Subsections 40(2) to (4) come into force on a day to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council.

Published under authority of the Speaker of the House of Commons

explanatory notes

Broadcasting Act

Clause 2: (1) Existing text of the definitions:

broadcasting means any transmission of programs, whether or not encrypted, by radio waves or other means of telecommunication for reception by the public by means of broadcasting receiving apparatus, but does not include any such transmission of programs that is made solely for performance or display in a public place; (radiodiffusion)

broadcasting undertaking includes a distribution undertaking, a programming undertaking and a network; (entreprise de radiodiffusion)

distribution undertaking means an undertaking for the reception of broadcasting and the retransmission thereof by radio waves or other means of telecommunication to more than one permanent or temporary residence or dwelling unit or to another such undertaking; (entreprise de distribution)

(2) New.

(3) Existing text of subsection 2(3):

(3) This Act shall be construed and applied in a manner that is consistent with the freedom of expression and journalistic, creative and programming independence enjoyed by broadcasting undertakings.

Clause 3: (1) to (7) Relevant portion of subsection 3(1):

3 (1) It is hereby declared as the broadcasting policy for Canada that

(a) the Canadian broadcasting system shall be effectively owned and controlled by Canadians;

.‍.‍.

(c) English and French language broadcasting, while sharing common aspects, operate under different conditions and may have different requirements;

(d) the Canadian broadcasting system should

.‍.‍.

(iii) through its programming and the employment opportunities arising out of its operations, serve the needs and interests, and reflect the circumstances and aspirations, of Canadian men, women and children, including equal rights, the linguistic duality and multicultural and multiracial nature of Canadian society and the special place of aboriginal peoples within that society, and

.‍.‍.

(f) each broadcasting undertaking shall make maximum use, and in no case less than predominant use, of Canadian creative and other resources in the creation and presentation of programming, unless the nature of the service provided by the undertaking, such as specialized content or format or the use of languages other than French and English, renders that use impracticable, in which case the undertaking shall make the greatest practicable use of those resources;

(g) the programming originated by broadcasting undertakings should be of high standard;

(h) all persons who are licensed to carry on broadcasting undertakings have a responsibility for the programs they broadcast;

(i) the programming provided by the Canadian broadcasting system should

(i) be varied and comprehensive, providing a balance of information, enlightenment and entertainment for men, women and children of all ages, interests and tastes,

(ii) be drawn from local, regional, national and international sources,

.‍.‍.

(k) a range of broadcasting services in English and in French shall be extended to all Canadians as resources become available;

(l) the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, as the national public broadcaster, should provide radio and television services incorporating a wide range of programming that informs, enlightens and entertains;

.‍.‍.

(o) programming that reflects the aboriginal cultures of Canada should be provided within the Canadian broadcasting system as resources become available for the purpose;

(p) programming accessible by disabled persons should be provided within the Canadian broadcasting system as resources become available for the purpose;

(q) without limiting any obligation of a broadcasting undertaking to provide the programming contemplated by paragraph (i), alternative television programming services in English and in French should be provided where necessary to ensure that the full range of programming contemplated by that paragraph is made available through the Canadian broadcasting system;

(r) the programming provided by alternative television programming services should

(i) be innovative and be complementary to the programming provided for mass audiences,

(ii) cater to tastes and interests not adequately provided for by the programming provided for mass audiences, and include programming devoted to culture and the arts,

(iii) reflect Canada’s regions and multicultural nature,

(iv) as far as possible, be acquired rather than produced by those services, and

(v) be made available throughout Canada by the most cost-efficient means;

(s) private networks and programming undertakings should, to an extent consistent with the financial and other resources available to them,

(i) contribute significantly to the creation and presentation of Canadian programming, and

(ii) be responsive to the evolving demands of the public; and

Clause 4: New.

Clause 5: (1) to (3) Relevant portion of subsection 5(2):

(2) The Canadian broadcasting system should be regulated and supervised in a flexible manner that

(a) is readily adaptable to the different characteristics of English and French language broadcasting and to the different conditions under which broadcasting undertakings that provide English or French language programming operate;

.‍.‍.

(e) facilitates the provision of Canadian programs to Canadians;

Clause 6: New.

Clause 7: New.

Clause 8: (1) Existing text of subsections 8(2) and (3):

(2) Where a proposed order is laid before a House of Parliament pursuant to subsection (1), it shall stand referred to such committee thereof as the House considers appropriate to deal with the subject-matter of the order.

(3) The Governor in Council may, after the expiration of forty sitting days of Parliament after a proposed order is laid before both Houses of Parliament in accordance with subsection (1), implement the proposal by making an order under section 7, either in the form proposed or revised in such manner as the Governor in Council deems advisable.

(2) Existing text of subsection 8(5):

(5) In this section, sitting day of Parliament means a day on which either House of Parliament sits.

Clause 9: (1) and (2) Existing text of section 9:

9 (1) Subject to this Part, the Commission may, in furtherance of its objects,

(a) establish classes of licences;

(b) issue licences for such terms not exceeding seven years and subject to such conditions related to the circumstances of the licensee

(i) as the Commission deems appropriate for the implementation of the broadcasting policy set out in subsection 3(1), and

(ii) in the case of licences issued to the Corporation, as the Commission deems consistent with the provision, through the Corporation, of the programming contemplated by paragraphs 3(1)‍(l) and (m);

(c) amend any condition of a licence on application of the licensee or, where five years have expired since the issuance or renewal of the licence, on the Commission’s own motion;

(d) issue renewals of licences for such terms not exceeding seven years and subject to such conditions as comply with paragraph (b);

(e) suspend or revoke any licence;

(f) require any licensee to obtain the approval of the Commission before entering into any contract with a telecommunications common carrier for the distribution of programming directly to the public using the facilities of that common carrier;

(g) require any licensee who is authorized to carry on a distribution undertaking to give priority to the carriage of broadcasting; and

(h) require any licensee who is authorized to carry on a distribution undertaking to carry, on such terms and conditions as the Commission deems appropriate, programming services specified by the Commission.

(2) Notwithstanding subsections (1) and 28(3), no licence of a distribution undertaking may be made subject to a condition that requires the licensee to substitute replacement material for commercial messages carried in a broadcasting signal received by that licensee.

(3) Subsection (2) does not apply in respect of a condition of a licence renewed after October 4, 1987 where before that date the licensee was complying with such a condition.

(4) The Commission shall, by order, on such terms and conditions as it deems appropriate, exempt persons who carry on broadcasting undertakings of any class specified in the order from any or all of the requirements of this Part or of a regulation made under this Part where the Commission is satisfied that compliance with those requirements will not contribute in a material manner to the implementation of the broadcasting policy set out in subsection 3(1).

Clause 10: New.

Clause 11: (1) to (10) Existing text of section 10:

10 (1) The Commission may, in furtherance of its objects, make regulations

(a) respecting the proportion of time that shall be devoted to the broadcasting of Canadian programs;

(b) prescribing what constitutes a Canadian program for the purposes of this Act;

(c) respecting standards of programs and the allocation of broadcasting time for the purpose of giving effect to the broadcasting policy set out in subsection 3(1);

(d) respecting the character of advertising and the amount of broadcasting time that may be devoted to advertising;

(e) respecting the proportion of time that may be devoted to the broadcasting of programs, including advertisements or announcements, of a partisan political character and the assignment of that time on an equitable basis to political parties and candidates;

(f) prescribing the conditions for the operation of programming undertakings as part of a network and for the broadcasting of network programs, and respecting the broadcasting times to be reserved for network programs by any such undertakings;

(g) respecting the carriage of any foreign or other programming services by distribution undertakings;

(h) for resolving, by way of mediation or otherwise, any disputes arising between programming undertakings and distribution undertakings concerning the carriage of programming originated by the programming undertakings;

(i) requiring licensees to submit to the Commission such information regarding their programs and financial affairs or otherwise relating to the conduct and management of their affairs as the regulations may specify;

(j) respecting the audit or examination of the records and books of account of licensees by the Commission or persons acting on behalf of the Commission; and

(k) respecting such other matters as it deems necessary for the furtherance of its objects.

(2) A regulation made under this section may be made applicable to all persons holding licences or to all persons holding licences of one or more classes.

(3) A copy of each regulation that the Commission proposes to make under this section shall be published in the Canada Gazette and a reasonable opportunity shall be given to licensees and other interested persons to make representations to the Commission with respect thereto.

Clause 12: New.

Clause 13: (1) to (10) Existing text of section 11:

11 (1) The Commission may make regulations

(a) with the approval of the Treasury Board, establishing schedules of fees to be paid by licensees of any class;

(b) providing for the establishment of classes of licensees for the purposes of paragraph (a);

(d) respecting the interest payable by a licensee in respect of any overdue fee; and

(e) respecting such other matters as it deems necessary for the purposes of this section.

(2) Regulations made under paragraph (1)‍(a) may provide for fees to be calculated by reference to any criteria that the Commission deems appropriate, including by reference to

(a) the revenues of the licensees;

(b) the performance of the licensees in relation to objectives established by the Commission, including objectives for the broadcasting of Canadian programs; and

(3) No regulations made under subsection (1) shall apply to the Corporation or to licensees carrying on programming undertakings on behalf of Her Majesty in right of a province.

(4) Fees payable by a licensee under this section and any interest thereon constitute a debt due to Her Majesty in right of Canada and may be recovered as such in any court of competent jurisdiction.

(5) A copy of each regulation that the Commission proposes to make under this section shall be published in the Canada Gazette and a reasonable opportunity shall be given to licensees and other interested persons to make representations to the Commission with respect thereto.

Clause 14: New.

Clause 15: Existing text of subsection 12(1):

12 (1) Where it appears to the Commission that

(a) any person has failed to do any act or thing that the person is required to do pursuant to this Part or to any regulation, licence, decision or order made or issued by the Commission under this Part, or has done or is doing any act or thing in contravention of this Part or of any such regulation, licence, decision or order,

(a.‍1) any person has done or is doing any act or thing in contravention of section 34.‍1,

(a.‍2) any person has failed to do any act or thing that the person is required to do under sections 42 to 44 of the Accessible Canada Act or has done or is doing any act or thing in contravention of any of those sections, or

(b) the circumstances may require the Commission to make any decision or order or to give any approval that it is authorized to make or give under this Part or under any regulation or order made under this Part,

the Commission may inquire into, hear and determine the matter.

Clause 16: Relevant portion of subsection 18(1):

18 (1) Except where otherwise provided, the Commission shall hold a public hearing in connection with

.‍.‍.

Clause 17: Existing text of subsection 20(4):

(4) The members of a panel established under subsection (1) shall consult with the Commission, and may consult with any officer of the Commission, for the purpose of ensuring a consistency of interpretation of the broadcasting policy set out in subsection 3(1), the regulatory policy set out in subsection 5(2) and the regulations made by the Commission under sections 10 and 11.

Clause 18: Existing text of section 21:

21 The Commission may make rules

(a) respecting the procedure for making applications for licences, or for the amendment, renewal, suspension or revocation thereof, and for making representations and complaints to the Commission; and

(b) respecting the conduct of hearings and generally respecting the conduct of the business of the Commission in relation to those hearings.

Clause 19: Existing text of subsections 23(1) to (3):

23 (1) The Commission shall, at the request of the Corporation, consult with the Corporation with regard to any conditions that the Commission proposes to attach to any licence issued or to be issued to the Corporation.

(2) If, notwithstanding the consultation provided for in subsection (1), the Commission attaches any condition to a licence referred to in subsection (1) that the Corporation is satisfied would unreasonably impede the Corporation in providing the programming contemplated by paragraphs 3(1)‍(l) and (m), the Corporation may, within thirty days after the decision of the Commission, refer the condition to the Minister for consideration.

(3) Subject to subsection (4), the Minister may, within ninety days after a condition is referred to the Minister under subsection (2), issue to the Commission a written directive with respect to the condition and the Commission shall comply with any such directive issued by the Minister.

Clause 20: Relevant portion of subsection 24(1):

24 (1) No licence shall be suspended or revoked under this Part unless the licensee applies for or consents to the suspension or revocation or, in any other case, unless, after a public hearing in accordance with section 18, the Commission is satisfied that

(a) the licensee has contravened or failed to comply with any condition of the licence or with any order made under subsection 12(2) or any regulation made under this Part; or

Clause 21: Existing text of subsection 25(1):

25 (1) Where the Commission is satisfied, after a public hearing on the matter, that the Corporation has contravened or failed to comply with any condition of a licence referred to in the schedule, any order made under subsection 12(2) or any regulation made under this Part, the Commission shall forward to the Minister a report setting out the circumstances of the alleged contravention or failure, the findings of the Commission and any observations or recommendations of the Commission in connection therewith.

Clause 22: New.

Clause 23: (1) Existing text of subsection 28(1):

28 (1) Where the Commission makes a decision to issue, amend or renew a licence, the Governor in Council may, within ninety days after the date of the decision, on petition in writing of any person received within forty-five days after that date or on the Governor in Council’s own motion, by order, set aside the decision or refer the decision back to the Commission for reconsideration and hearing of the matter by the Commission, if the Governor in Council is satisfied that the decision derogates from the attainment of the objectives of the broadcasting policy set out in subsection 3(1).

(2) Relevant portion of subsection 28(3):

(3) Where a decision is referred back to the Commission under this section, the Commission shall reconsider the matter and, after a hearing as provided for by subsection (1), may

.‍.‍.

(b) rescind the issue of the licence and issue a licence on the same or different conditions to another person; or

(3) Existing text of subsections 28(4) and (5):

(4) Where, pursuant to paragraph (3)‍(c), the Commission confirms a decision or the issue, amendment or renewal of a licence, the Governor in Council may, within sixty days after the confirmation, on petition in writing of any person received within thirty days after that date or on the Governor in Council’s own motion, by order, set aside the decision or the issue, amendment or renewal, if the Governor in Council is satisfied as to any of the matters referred to in subsection (1).

(5) An order made under subsection (4) to set aside a decision or the issue, amendment or renewal of a licence shall set out the reasons of the Governor in Council therefor.

Clause 24: (1) Existing text of subsection 29(1):

29 (1) Every person who petitions the Governor in Council under subsection 28(1) or (4) shall at the same time send a copy of the petition to the Commission.

(2) Existing text of subsection 29(3):

(3) The Commission shall establish and maintain a public register in which shall be kept a copy of each petition received by the Commission under subsection 28(1) or (4).

Clause 25: New.

Clause 26: Existing text of sections 32 to 34:

32 (1) Every person who, not being exempt from the requirement to hold a licence, carries on a broadcasting undertaking without a licence therefor is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and is liable

(a) in the case of an individual, to a fine not exceeding twenty thousand dollars for each day that the offence continues; or

(b) in the case of a corporation, to a fine not exceeding two hundred thousand dollars for each day that the offence continues.

(2) Every person who contravenes or fails to comply with any regulation or order made under this Part is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction and is liable

(a) in the case of an individual, to a fine not exceeding twenty-five thousand dollars for a first offence and not exceeding fifty thousand dollars for each subsequent offence; or

(b) in the case of a corporation, to a fine not exceeding two hundred and fifty thousand dollars for a first offence and not exceeding five hundred thousand dollars for each subsequent offence.

33 Every person who contravenes or fails to comply with any condition of a licence issued to the person is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.

34 Proceedings for an offence under subsection 32(2) or section 33, may be instituted within, but not after, two years after the time when the subject-matter of the proceedings arose.

Clause 27: New.

Clause 28: New.

Clause 29: (1) Relevant portion of subsection 38(1):

38 (1) A person is not eligible to be appointed or to continue as a director if the person is not a Canadian citizen who is ordinarily resident in Canada or if, directly or indirectly, as owner, shareholder, director, officer, partner or otherwise, the person

(a) is engaged in the operation of a broadcasting undertaking;

(b) has any pecuniary or proprietary interest in a broadcasting undertaking; or

(c) is principally engaged in the production or distribution of program material that is primarily intended for use by a broadcasting undertaking.

(2) New.

Clause 30: (1) and (2) Relevant portion of subsection 46(1):

46 (1) The Corporation is established for the purpose of providing the programming contemplated by paragraphs 3(1)‍(l) and (m), in accordance with the conditions of any licence or licences issued to it by the Commission and subject to any applicable regulations of the Commission, and for that purpose the Corporation may

.‍.‍.

(b) make operating agreements with licensees for the broadcasting of programs;

(3) Existing text of subsections 46(2) and (3):

(2) The Corporation shall, within the conditions of any licence or licences issued to it by the Commission and subject to any applicable regulations of the Commission, provide an international service in accordance with such directions as the Governor in Council may issue.

(3) The Corporation may, within the conditions of any licence or licences issued to it by the Commission and subject to any applicable regulations of the Commission, act as an agent of Her Majesty in right of Canada or a province in respect of any broadcasting operations that it may be directed by the Governor in Council to carry out.

Clause 31: Existing text of subsection 51(1):

51 (1) The Board may make by-laws

(a) respecting the calling of meetings of the Board;

(b) respecting the conduct of business at meetings of the Board, the establishment of special and standing committees of directors, the delegation of duties to special and standing committees of directors, including the committees referred to in section 45, and the fixing of quorums for meetings thereof;

(c) fixing the fees to be paid to directors, other than the Chairperson and the President, for attendance at meetings of the Board or any committee of directors, and the travel and living expenses to be paid to directors;

(d) respecting the duties and conduct of the directors, officers and employees of the Corporation and the terms and conditions of employment and of termination of employment of officers and employees of the Corporation, including the payment of any gratuity to those officers and employees or any one or more of them, whether by way of retirement allowance or otherwise;

(e) respecting the establishment, management and administration of a pension fund for the directors, officers and employees of the Corporation and their dependants, the contributions thereto to be made by the Corporation and the investment of the pension fund moneys thereof; and

(f) generally for the conduct and management of the affairs of the Corporation.

An Act to promote the efficiency and adaptability of the Canadian economy by regulating certain activities that discourage reliance on electronic means of carrying out commercial activities, and to amend the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Act, the Competition Act, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act and the Telecommunications Act

Clause 32: Existing text of section 5:

5 This Act does not apply in respect of broadcasting by a broadcasting undertaking, as those terms are defined in subsection 2(1) of the Broadcasting Act.

Clause 33: New.

Clause 34: Relevant portion of subsection 10(9):

(9) Consent is implied for the purpose of section 6 only if

Cannabis Act

Clause 35: Relevant portion of subsection 23(2):

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply

.‍.‍.

(b) in respect of broadcasting, as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Broadcasting Act, by a distribution undertaking, as defined in that subsection 2(1), that is lawful under that Act, other than the broadcasting of a promotion that is inserted by the distribution undertaking; and

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Act

Clause 37: New.

Clause 38: Existing text of subsection 30.‍8(11):

(11) In this section, programming undertaking means

(a) a programming undertaking as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Broadcasting Act;

(b) a programming undertaking described in paragraph (a) that originates programs within a network, as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Broadcasting Act; or

(c) a distribution undertaking as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Broadcasting Act, in respect of the programs that it originates.

The undertaking must hold a broadcasting licence issued by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission under the Broadcasting Act, or be exempted from this requirement by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.

Clause 39: Existing text of subsection 30.‍9(7):

(7) In this section, broadcasting undertaking means a broadcasting undertaking as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Broadcasting Act that holds a broadcasting licence issued by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission under that Act.

Clause 40: (1) Existing text of the definition:

new media retransmitter means a person whose retransmission is lawful under the Broadcasting Act only by reason of the Exemption Order for New Media Broadcasting Undertakings issued by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission as Appendix A to Public Notice CRTC 1999-197, as amended from time to time; (retransmetteur de nouveaux médias)

(3) Existing text of the definition:

retransmitter means a person who performs a function comparable to that of a cable retransmission system, but does not include a new media retransmitter; (retransmetteur)

(4) Relevant portion of subsection 31(3):

(3) The Governor in Council may make regulations

(a) defining “local signal” and “distant signal” for the purposes of subsection (2); and

Referendum Act

Clause 41: Relevant portion of subsection 21(1):

21 (1) In the period beginning on Thursday, the eighteenth day before polling day, and ending on the second day before polling day, every network operator

.‍.‍.

shall, subject to the regulations made pursuant to that Act and to the conditions of its licence, make available, at no cost, to registered referendum committees for the transmission of referendum announcements and other programming produced by or on behalf of those committees an aggregate of three hours of broadcasting time during prime time.

Clause 42: Existing text of subsection 24(2):

(2) Notwithstanding subsection 21(1), the Broadcasting Act, any regulations made under that Act and any conditions of a licence of a network operator, free broadcasting time shall not be considered to be commercial time.

Canada Elections Act

Clause 43: Existing text of subsection 335(1):

335 (1) In the period beginning on the issue of the writs for a general election and ending at midnight on the day before polling day, every broadcaster shall, subject to the regulations made under the Broadcasting Act and the conditions of its licence, make available, for purchase by all registered parties for the transmission of political announcements and other programming produced by or on behalf of the registered parties, six and one-half hours of broadcasting time during prime time on its facilities.

Clause 44: Existing text of subsection 339(3):

(3) In addition to the broadcasting time to be made available under section 335, and within the period referred to in that section, every broadcaster shall, subject to the regulations made under the Broadcasting Act and to the conditions of its licence, make available, for purchase by every eligible party entitled to broadcasting time under this section, broadcasting time in the amount determined under this section for the eligible party for the transmission of political announcements and other programming produced by or on behalf of the eligible party during prime time on that broadcaster’s facilities.

Clause 45: Relevant portion of subsection 345(1):

345 (1) In the period beginning on the issue of the writs for a general election and ending at midnight on the day before polling day at that election, every network operator shall, subject to the regulations made under the Broadcasting Act and to the conditions of its licence, make available, at no cost, to the registered parties and eligible parties referred to in subsection (2), for the transmission of political announcements and other programming produced by or on behalf of those parties, broadcasting time as determined under that subsection if the network formed and operated by the network operator

Accessible Canada Act

Clause 46: Relevant portion of subsection 42(1):

42 (1) A regulated entity that carries on a broadcasting undertaking must, before the expiry of one year after the day fixed or determined by regulations made under subsection 45(1) that apply to that regulated entity, prepare and publish, in accordance with this Act and regulations made under that subsection, an accessibility plan respecting

.‍.‍.

(b) the conditions of the regulated entity’s licence issued under Part II of the Broadcasting Act that relate to the identification and removal of barriers and the prevention of new barriers;

Clause 47: Relevant portion of subsection 118(3):

(3) Regulations made under subsection 117(1) that are in relation to the identification, prevention and removal of barriers in an area referred to in paragraph 5(g) do not apply in respect of a regulated entity that carries on a broadcasting undertaking if requirements in relation to the identification, prevention and removal of barriers in that area apply to the regulated entity under

(a) a condition of a licence issued under Part II of the Broadcasting Act;

https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/bill/C-18/first-reading

Bill C-18

If you have any questions or comments regarding the accessibility of this publication, please contact us at accessible@parl.gc.ca.

First Reading

Bilingual view

First Session, Forty-fourth Parliament,

70-71 Elizabeth II, 2021-2022

HOUSE OF COMMONS OF CANADA

BILL C-18
An Act respecting online communications platforms that make news content available to persons in Canada

FIRST READING, April 5, 2022

MINISTER OF CANADIAN HERITAGE

91067

SUMMARY

This enactment regulates digital news intermediaries to enhance fairness in the Canadian digital news marketplace and contribute to its sustainability. It establishes a framework through which digital news intermediary operators and news businesses may enter into agreements respecting news content that is made available by digital news intermediaries. The framework takes into account principles of freedom of expression and journalistic independence.

The enactment, among other things,

(a) applies in respect of a digital news intermediary if, having regard to specific factors, there is a significant bargaining power imbalance between its operator and news businesses;

(b) authorizes the Governor in Council to make regulations respecting those factors;

(c) specifies that the enactment does not apply in respect of “broadcasting” by digital news intermediaries that are “broadcasting undertakings” as those terms are defined in the Broadcasting Act or in respect of telecommunications service providers as defined in the Telecommunications Act;

(d) requires the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (the “Commission”) to maintain a list of digital news intermediaries in respect of which the enactment applies;

(e) requires the Commission to exempt a digital news intermediary from the application of the enactment if its operator has entered into agreements with news businesses and the Commission is of the opinion that the agreements satisfy certain criteria;

(f) authorizes the Governor in Council to make regulations respecting how the Commission is to interpret those criteria and setting out additional conditions with respect to the eligibility of a digital news intermediary for an exemption;

(g) establishes a bargaining process in respect of matters related to the making available of certain news content by digital news intermediaries;

(h) establishes eligibility criteria and a designation process for news businesses that wish to participate in the bargaining process;

(i) requires the Commission to establish a code of conduct respecting bargaining in relation to news content;

(j) prohibits digital news intermediary operators from acting, in relation to certain news content, in ways that discriminate unjustly, that give undue or unreasonable preference or that subject certain news businesses to an undue or unreasonable disadvantage;

(k) allows certain news businesses to make complaints to the Commission in relation to that prohibition;

(l) authorizes the Commission to require the provision of information for the purpose of exercising its powers and performing its duties and functions under the enactment;

(m) establishes a framework respecting the provision of information to the responsible Minister, the Chief Statistician of Canada and the Commissioner of Competition, while permitting an individual or entity to designate certain information that they submit to the Commission as confidential;

(n) authorizes the Commission to impose, for contraventions of the enactment, administrative monetary penalties on certain individuals and entities and conditions on the participation of news businesses in the bargaining process;

(o) establishes a mechanism for the recovery, from digital news intermediary operators, of certain costs related to the administration of the enactment; and

(p) requires the Commission to have an independent auditor prepare a report annually in respect of the impact of the enactment on the Canadian digital news marketplace.

Finally, the enactment makes related amendments to other Acts.

Available on the House of Commons website at the following address:

www.ourcommons.ca

TABLE OF PROVISIONS

An Act respecting online communications platforms that make news content available to persons in Canada

Short Title

Online News Act

Interpretation

Definitions

Freedom of expression

Purpose

Designation of Minister

Designation

Application

Duty to notify

List of digital news intermediaries

Broadcasting

Telecommunications service providers

Exemptions

Exemption order

Interim order

For greater certainty

Review

Reasons

Statutory Instruments Act

Publication of orders

Bargaining Process

Overview

Definition of party

Steps in bargaining process

Initiation of bargaining process

Duty to bargain

Good faith

Initiation of bargaining process

Limitations and exceptions

Mediation and final offer arbitration

Liability of operators

Eligibility

Eligible news businesses — designation

Public broadcasters

Public list

Identification of news outlets

Application to Commission

Agreements

Agreement with group

Final Offer Arbitration

Roster of qualified arbitrators

Arbitration panel

Conflicts of interest

Commission assistance

Decision of arbitration panel

Factors

Dismissal of offers

Other submissions

Decision final

Decision deemed to be agreement

Reasons

Costs

Civil Remedies

Right of recovery

Compliance order

Competition Act

Covered agreements

Other agreements

Code of Conduct

Establishment of code

Compliance order

Discrimination, Preference and Disadvantage

Prohibition

Complaint

Provision of Information

Duty to provide information

Minister and Chief Statistician

Confidential information

Offence — disclosure

Administration and Enforcement

Production Orders

Designated persons

Power to order production

News Businesses

Contravention — eligible news business

Administrative Monetary Penalties

Violation — operators, directors, etc.

Maximum amount of penalty

Procedures

Designation

Notice of violation

Undertaking

Payment of penalty

Evidence

Burden of proof

Defence

Directors, officers, etc.

Vicarious liability

Limitation or prescription period

Information may be made public

Receiver General

Debt due to Her Majesty

Regulations

Other Provisions

Judicial powers

Sections 126 and 127 of Criminal Code

Financial Provisions

Fees for services

Costs apportioned by Commission

Cost recovery

Debt due to Her Majesty

Spending

Regulations

Regulations — Governor in Council

Regulations — Commission

Independent Review

Annual report — independent auditor

Review of Act

Review

Related Amendments

Access to Information Act

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Act

Broadcasting Act

Telecommunications Act

Coming into Force

Order in council

1st Session, 44th Parliament,

70-71 Elizabeth II, 2021-2022

HOUSE OF COMMONS OF CANADA

BILL C-18

An Act respecting online communications platforms that make news content available to persons in Canada

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

Short Title

Short title

1 This Act may be cited as the Online News Act.

Interpretation

Definitions

2 (1) The following definitions apply in this Act.

Commission means the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.‍ (Conseil)

covered agreement means, as applicable,

(a) an agreement that is entered into as a result of bargaining sessions referred to in paragraph 19(1)‍(a) or mediation sessions referred to in paragraph 19(1)‍(b); or
(b) an arbitration panel’s decision that is deemed to be an agreement under section 42.‍ (accord assujetti)

digital news intermediary means an online communications platform, including a search engine or social media service, that is subject to the legislative authority of Parliament and that makes news content produced by news outlets available to persons in Canada. It does not include an online communications platform that is a messaging service the primary purpose of which is to allow persons to communicate with each other privately.‍ (intermédiaire de nouvelles numériques)

eligible in relation to a news business, means that the business is designated under subsection 27(1).‍ (admissible)

entity includes a corporation or a trust, partnership, fund, joint venture or any other unincorporated association or organization.‍ (entité)

Minister means the Minister of Canadian Heritage or, if another federal minister is designated under section 5, that minister.‍ (ministre)

news business means an individual or entity that operates a news outlet.‍ (entreprise de nouvelles)

news content means content — in any format, including an audio or audiovisual format — that reports on, investigates or explains current issues or events of public interest.‍ (contenu de nouvelles)

news outlet means an undertaking or any distinct part of an undertaking, such as a section of a newspaper, the primary purpose of which is to produce news content.‍ (média d’information)

operator means an individual or entity that, through any means, operates a digital news intermediary.‍ (exploitant)

Making available of news content

(2) For the purposes of this Act, news content is made available if

(a) the news content, or any portion of it, is reproduced; or
(b) access to the news content, or any portion of it, is facilitated by any means, including an index, aggregation or ranking of news content.

Freedom of expression

3 (1) For greater certainty, this Act is to be interpreted and applied in a manner that is consistent with freedom of expression.

Journalistic independence

(2) This Act is to be interpreted and applied in a manner that supports the journalistic independence enjoyed by news outlets in relation to news content produced primarily for the Canadian news marketplace, including local, regional and national news content.

Treatment of news content

(3) This Act is to be interpreted and applied in a manner that is aimed at ensuring news content is made available by digital news intermediaries without undue manipulation or interference.

Purpose

4 The purpose of this Act is to regulate digital news intermediaries with a view to enhancing fairness in the Canadian digital news marketplace and contributing to its sustainability, including the sustainability of independent local news businesses.

Designation of Minister

Designation

5 The Governor in Council may, by order, designate any federal minister to be the Minister referred to in this Act.

Application

6 This Act applies in respect of a digital news intermediary if, having regard to the following factors, there is a significant bargaining power imbalance between its operator and news businesses:

(a) the size of the intermediary or the operator;
(b) whether the market for the intermediary gives the operator a strategic advantage over news businesses; and
(c) whether the intermediary occupies a prominent market position.

Duty to notify

7 (1) If this Act applies in respect of a digital news intermediary, its operator must so notify the Commission.

Information required

(2) An individual or entity that operates an online communications platform must, at the request of the Commission and within the time and in the manner that it specifies, provide the Commission with any information that it requires for the purpose of verifying compliance with subsection (1) or preventing non-compliance with it.

List of digital news intermediaries

8 (1) The Commission must maintain a list of digital news intermediaries in respect of which this Act applies. The list must set out each intermediary’s operator and contact information for that operator and specify whether an order made under subsection 11(1) or 12(1) applies in relation to the intermediary.

Statutory Instruments Act

(2) The Statutory Instruments Act does not apply in respect of the list maintained under subsection (1).

Publication

(3) The Commission must publish the list on its website.

Broadcasting

9 This Act does not apply in respect of a digital news intermediary that is a broadcasting undertaking in respect of its broadcasting, as those terms are defined in subsection 2(1) of the Broadcasting Act.

Telecommunications service providers

10 For greater certainty, this Act does not apply to a telecommunications service provider, as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Telecommunications Act, when it is acting solely in that capacity.

Exemptions

Exemption order

11 (1) The Commission must make an exemption order in relation to a digital news intermediary if its operator requests the exemption and the following conditions are met:

(a) the operator has entered into agreements with news businesses that operate news outlets that produce news content primarily for the Canadian news marketplace and the Commission is of the opinion that, taken as a whole, the agreements satisfy the following criteria:
- (i) they provide for fair compensation to the news businesses for the news content that is made available by the intermediary,
- (ii) they ensure that an appropriate portion of the compensation will be used by the news businesses to support the production of local, regional and national news content,
- (iii) they do not allow corporate influence to undermine the freedom of expression and journalistic independence enjoyed by news outlets,
- (iv) they contribute to the sustainability of the Canadian news marketplace,
- (v) they ensure a significant portion of independent local news businesses benefit from them, they contribute to the sustainability of those businesses and they encourage innovative business models in the Canadian news marketplace, and
- (vi) they involve a range of news outlets that reflect the diversity of the Canadian news marketplace, including diversity with respect to language, racialized groups, Indigenous communities, local news and business models; and
(b) any condition set out in regulations made by the Governor in Council.

Effect of order

(2) The order exempts the operator, in relation to the intermediary, from the application of

(a) section 21 and any provision of any regulations made under section 85 that is in relation to section 21; and
(b) any other provision of this Act and any provision of any regulations made under subsection 81(1) or section 85 that is specified by the Commission, in its discretion, in the order.

Conditions

(3) The order may contain any conditions the Commission considers appropriate.

Approval of Treasury Board

(4) The order is subject to the approval of the Treasury Board if the order exempts the operator from the application of section 82 or any provision of any regulations made under subsection 81(1).

Interim order

12 (1) The Commission may, in relation to a digital news intermediary, make an interim order that has thesame effect as an exemption order if the following conditions are met:

(a) its operator has requested an exemption order in relation to the intermediary;
(b) the operator has entered into agreements with news businesses that operate news outlets that produce news content primarily for the Canadian news marketplace;
(c) the Commission is unable to make the exemption order because it is of the opinion that, taken as a whole, the agreements do not satisfy the criteria set out in subparagraphs 11(1)‍(a)‍(i) to (vi); and
(d) the Commission is of the opinion that it will be able to change its opinion because the operator is, in good faith, taking measures that will permit the criteria to be satisfied within a reasonable period.

Conditions

(2) The interim order must contain conditions respecting the measures being taken by the operator and may contain any other condition the Commission considers appropriate.

Approval of Treasury Board

(3) The interim order is subject to the approval of the Treasury Board if the order exempts the operator from the application of a provision referred to in subsection 11(4).

Cessation of effect

(4) The interim order must specify the period referred to in paragraph (1)‍(d) and ceases to have effect at the end of that period.

For greater certainty

13 For greater certainty, agreements referred to in paragraph 11(1)‍(a) or 12(1)‍(b) include agreements that were entered into before the day on which this section comes into force.

Review

14 (1) For greater certainty, the Commission may review an exemption order or an interim order.

Repeal of exemption order

(2) The Commission may repeal an exemption order if

(a) the Commission is of the opinion that the operator of the digital news intermediary in question is acting in a manner that is inconsistent with this Act;
(b) a condition referred to in subsection 11(1) is no longer met; or
(c) a condition contained in the exemption order is not met.

Repeal of interim order

(3) The Commission may repeal an interim order if

(a) the Commission is of the opinion that the operator of the digital news intermediary in question is acting in a manner that is inconsistent with this Act;
(b) a condition referred to in paragraph 12(1)‍(c) or (d) is no longer met; or
(c) a condition contained in the interim order is not met.

Reasons

15 The Commission must publish on its website reasons for

(a) making or not making a requested exemption order;
(b) deciding to make or not to make an interim order; and
(c) deciding to repeal an exemption order or interim order.

Statutory Instruments Act

16 The Statutory Instruments Act does not apply in respect of an exemption order or an interim order.

Publication of orders

17 The Commission must publish on its website each exemption order and interim order that it makes.

Bargaining Process

Overview

Definition of party

18 In sections 19 to 44, party means, as applicable, an operator, an eligible news business or a group of eligible news businesses.

Steps in bargaining process

19 (1) The bargaining process consists of

(a) bargaining sessions;
(b) if the parties are unable, within a period that the Commission considers reasonable, to reach an agreement in the bargaining sessions, mediation sessions; and
(c) if the parties are unable, within a period that the Commission considers reasonable, to reach an agreement in the mediation sessions and at least one of the parties wishes to initiate arbitration, final offer arbitration.

Scope of bargaining process

(2) The bargaining process is limited to matters related to the making available, by the digital news intermediary in question, of news content produced by a news outlet that is identified under section 30 as a subject of the bargaining process and, if an application is made under subsection 31(1), determined by the Commission to be a subject of the bargaining process.

Scope of final offer arbitration

(3) Any final offer arbitration under the bargaining process is limited to monetary disputes.

Initiation of bargaining process

20 Only an eligible news business that is listed under subsection 29(1) or a group of eligible news businesses that are listed under that section may initiate the bargaining process with an operator.

Duty to bargain

21 An operator must participate in the bargaining process with the eligible news business or group of eligible news businesses that initiated it.

Good faith

22 Parties that are participating in the bargaining process must do so in good faith.

Copyright

Initiation of bargaining process

23 For greater certainty, an eligible news business or a group of eligible news businesses may initiate the bargaining process in relation to news content in which copyright subsists only if

(a) the business or a member of the group owns the copyright or is otherwise authorized to bargain in relation to the content; or
(b) the group is authorized to bargain in relation to the content.

Limitations and exceptions

24 For greater certainty, limitations and exceptions to copyright under the Copyright Act do not limit the scope of the bargaining process.

Mediation and final offer arbitration

25 For greater certainty, the use of news content is not to be the subject of mediation sessions or final offer arbitration during the bargaining process if the operator in question

(a) has made payments to the eligible news business in question for the use of that content in accordance with a licence or agreement between the operator and the business; or
(b) has made payments or has offered to make payments to the business in question for the use of that content in accordance with the relevant tariff approved by the Copyright Board for the use of that content.

Liability of operators

26 (1) If news content is made available by a digital news intermediary and its operator is a party to a covered agreement in relation to the making available of the news content by the intermediary, the operator is not liable under the Copyright Act for an infringement of copyright in relation to activities that are subjects of that agreement.

For greater certainty

(2) For greater certainty, nothing in this Act limits the liability of an eligible news business under the Copyright Act for an infringement of copyright.

Eligibility

Eligible news businesses — designation

27 (1) At the request of a news business, the Commission must, by order, designate the business as eligible if it

(a) is a qualified Canadian journalism organization as defined in subsection 248(1) of the Income Tax Act; or
(b) produces news content that is primarily focused on matters of general interest and reports of current events, including coverage of democratic institutions and processes, and
- (i) regularly employs two or more journalists in Canada,
- (ii) operates in Canada, including having content edited and designed in Canada, and
- (iii) produces news content that is not primarily focused on a particular topic such as industry-specific news, sports, recreation, arts, lifestyle or entertainment.

Commission’s initiative

(2) The Commission may make an order under subsection (1) on its own initiative.

Revoked designation

(3) Despite subsection (1), a news business must not be designated as eligible if it was previously designated and had its designation revoked under paragraph 59(1)‍(c).

Statutory Instruments Act

(4) The Statutory Instruments Act does not apply in respect of an order made under subsection (1).

Public broadcasters

28 The designation of a public broadcaster as an eligible news business is subject to any other conditions specified in regulations made by the Governor in Council.

Public list

29 (1) The Commission must maintain a list of eligible news businesses and publish that list on its website. An eligible news business is only included on the list if it gives its consent.

Statutory Instruments Act

(2) The Statutory Instruments Act does not apply in respect of the list maintained under subsection (1).

Identification of news outlets

30 When initiating the bargaining process, an eligible news business or group of eligible news businesses must notify the operator of the digital news intermediary in question of the news outlets that are to be the subjects of the bargaining process.

Application to Commission

31 (1) If the operator is of the opinion that a news outlet identified under section 30 by an eligible news business or group of eligible news businesses should not be a subject of the bargaining process, it may apply to the Commission for a determination of the issue.

Determination

(2) A news outlet is to be a subject of the bargaining process if the Commission is of the opinion that the outlet is operated exclusively for the purpose of producing news content — including local, regional and national news content — consisting primarily of original news content that is

(a) produced primarily for the Canadian news marketplace;
(b) focused on matters of general interest and reports of current events, including coverage of democratic institutions and processes;
(c) not focused on a particular topic such as industry-specific news, sports, recreation, arts, lifestyle or entertainment; and
(d) not intended to promote the interests, or report on the activities, of an organization, an association or its members.

Summary dismissal

(3) If the Commission is of the opinion that an application under subsection (1) is frivolous, vexatious or not made in good faith, it may dismiss the application summarily and the news outlet that is otherwise the subject of the application is a subject of the bargaining process.

Agreements

Agreement with group

32 (1) If a group of eligible news businesses enters into an agreement with an operator as a result of bargaining or mediation sessions under the bargaining process, the group must file a copy of the agreement with the Commission within 15 days after the day on which it is entered into.

For greater certainty

(2) For greater certainty, nothing in this Act prevents the agreement from applying to eligible news businesses that join the group after the agreement is entered into if the agreement provides for it.

Final Offer Arbitration

Roster of qualified arbitrators

33 (1) The Commission must publish qualifications for arbitrators on its website and must maintain a roster of arbitrators who meet those qualifications.

Proposals

(2) Parties that are engaging in bargaining or mediation sessions may propose candidates for the roster.

Arbitration panel

34 (1) A final offer arbitration must be conducted by a panel that is composed of three arbitrators who

(a) are selected by the parties from the roster; or
(b) are appointed by the Commission from the roster, if the parties do not select the arbitrators within a period that the Commission considers reasonable.

Appointment by Commission

(2) The Commission must take the preferences of the parties into account if it appoints the arbitrators to the panel.

Status

(3) An arbitration panel is not a federal board, commission or other tribunal for the purposes of the Federal Courts Act.

Conflicts of interest

35 (1) If the Commission is of the opinion that an arbitrator selected by the parties has a conflict of interest, that arbitrator is ineligible to be a panel member and a replacement must be

(a) selected by the parties from the roster; or
(b) appointed by the Commission from the roster, if the parties do not select the replacement within a period that the Commission considers reasonable.

Appointment by Commission

(2) The Commission must not appoint an arbitrator who has a conflict of interest.

Commission assistance

36 The Commission may, at the request of an arbitration panel, provide administrative and technical assistance to the panel.

Decision of arbitration panel

37 The arbitration panel makes its decision by selecting the final offer made by one of the parties.

Factors

38 An arbitration panel must take the following factors into account in making its decision:

(a) the value added, monetary and otherwise, to the news content in question by each party, as assessed in terms of their investments, expenditures and other actions in relation to that content; and
(b) the benefits, monetary and otherwise, that each party receives from the content being made available by the digital news intermediary in question.

Dismissal of offers

39 (1) An arbitration panel must dismiss any offer that, in its opinion,

(a) allows a party to exercise undue influence over the amount of compensation to be paid or received;
(b) is not in the public interest because the offer would be highly likely to result in serious detriment to the provision of news content to persons in Canada; or
(c) is inconsistent with the purposes of enhancing fairness in the Canadian digital news marketplace and contributing to its sustainability.

Consultation

(2) Before dismissing an offer in accordance with subsection (1), the arbitration panel must consult the Commission.

Reasons and new offers

(3) If the arbitration panel dismisses an offer in accordance with subsection (1), it must

(a) provide written reasons to the party that made the offer and give them an opportunity to make a new offer; and
(b) if a new offer is made under paragraph (a), provide the other party with an opportunity to withdraw its offer and make a new one.

Other submissions

40 An arbitration panel may, in making its decision, seek oral or written submissions from the Commission and from the Commissioner of Competition appointed under subsection 7(1) of the Competition Act.

Decision final

41 An arbitration panel’s decision is final.

Decision deemed to be agreement

42 An arbitration panel’s decision is deemed, for the purposes of its enforceability, to be an agreement entered into by the parties.

Reasons

43 An arbitration panel must provide written reasons for its decision to the parties and the Commission.

Costs

44 The arbitration panel may apportion the costs related to final offer arbitration between the parties, if the parties cannot agree, within a period that the panel considers reasonable, on how to share the costs. In doing so, the panel must take into account each party’s ability to pay, their conduct during the arbitration and any other factor that it considers appropriate.

Civil Remedies

Right of recovery

45 For greater certainty, an eligible news business or group of eligible news businesses may, during the period specified in a covered agreement, collect payments due under it and, if they are not made, recover the payments in a court of competent jurisdiction.

Compliance order

46 For greater certainty, if a provision of a covered agreement is not complied with, a party to the agreement may, in addition to any other remedy available, apply to a court of competent jurisdiction for an order directing compliance with the provision.

Competition Act

Covered agreements

47 Sections 45 and 90.‍1 of the Competition Act do not apply in respect of

(a) any activity, including the making of payments or the exchange of information, that is carried out in accordance with a covered agreement between an operator and a group of eligible news businesses;
(b) any provision of the covered agreement that is related to that activity; or
(c) any bargaining or mediation session or any final offer arbitration under the bargaining process set out in sections 18 to 44 to which an operator and a group of eligible news businesses are parties.

Other agreements

48 (1) Sections 45 and 90.‍1 of the Competition Act also do not apply in respect of

(a) any bargaining activity between an operator and a group of eligible news businesses that is conducted with a view to entering into an agreement;
(b) any activity, including the making of payments or the exchange of information, that is carried out in accordance with an agreement; or
(c) any provision of an agreement that is related to an activity referred to in paragraph (b).

Definition of agreement

(2) In this section, agreement means an agreement that

(a) is not a covered agreement;
(b) is entered into by an operator and a group of eligible news businesses the members of which operate news outlets that produce news content primarily for the Canadian news marketplace; and
(c) is in relation to the making available of that content by a digital news intermediary operated by the operator.

Code of Conduct

Establishment of code

49 (1) The Commission must, by regulation, establish a code of conduct respecting bargaining in relation to news content — including any bargaining and mediation sessions during the bargaining process set out in sections 18 to 44 — between

(a) operators of digital news intermediaries that make available news content that is produced primarily for the Canadian news marketplace by news outlets; and
(b) eligible news businesses or groups of eligible news businesses.

Purpose of code

(2) The purpose of the code is to support fairness and transparency in bargaining in relation to news content.

Mandatory contents

(3) The code of conduct must contain provisions

(a) respecting the requirement to bargain in good faith that is set out in section 22;
(b) requiring parties to bargain in good faith even if they are bargaining outside of the bargaining process set out in sections 18 to 44;
(c) respecting the requirement to bargain in good faith that is referred to in paragraph (b); and
(d) respecting the information that the parties require to make informed business decisions.

Discretionary contents

(4) The code of conduct may, among other things,

(a) prohibit the use of specified provisions in agreements, including agreements that are entered into as a result of bargaining or mediation sessions under the bargaining process set out in sections 18 to 44; and
(b) set out examples of unfair behaviour that could arise during bargaining.

Compliance order

50 (1) If an operator, eligible news business or group of eligible news businesses fails to comply with the code of conduct, the Commission may, by order, require the operator, business or group to take any measure the Commission considers necessary to remedy the non-compliance.

Statutory Instruments Act

(2) The Statutory Instruments Act does not apply in respect of an order made under subsection (1).

Discrimination, Preference and Disadvantage

Prohibition

51 In relation to news content that is produced primarily for the Canadian news marketplace by a news outlet operated by an eligible news business and that is made available by a digital news intermediary, the operator of the intermediary is prohibited from acting in any way that

(a) unjustly discriminates against the business;
(b) gives undue or unreasonable preference to any individual or entity, including itself; or
(c) subjects the business to an undue or unreasonable disadvantage.

Complaint

52 An eligible news business or group of eligible news businesses may make a complaint to the Commission if the business or group has reasonable grounds to believe that an operator has, in relation to the business or a member of the group, contravened section 51.

Provision of Information

Duty to provide information

53 An operator or news business must, at the request of the Commission and within the time and in the manner that it specifies, provide the Commission with any information that it requires for the purpose of exercising its powers or performing its duties and functions under this Act.

Minister and Chief Statistician

54 (1) The Commission must, on request, provide the Minister or the Chief Statistician of Canada with any information submitted to the Commission under this Act.

Restriction

(2) Information that is provided to the Minister in accordance with subsection (1) is only to be used by the Minister for the purpose of permitting the Minister and the Governor in Council to exercise their powers and perform their duties and functions under this Act.

Confidential information

55 (1) For the purposes of this section, an individual or entity that submits any of the following information to the Commission may designate it as confidential:

(a) information that is a trade secret;
(b) financial, commercial, scientific or technical information that is confidential and that is treated consistently in a confidential manner by the individual or entity that submitted it; or
(c) information the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to
- (i) result in material financial loss or gain to any individual or entity,
- (ii) prejudice the competitive position of any individual or entity, or
- (iii) affect contractual or other negotiations of any individual or entity.

Prohibition — disclosure

(2) Subject to subsections (4), (5), (7) and (8), if an individual or entity designates information as confidential and the designation is not withdrawn by them, it is prohibited for an individual described in subsection (3) to knowingly disclose the information, or knowingly allow it to be disclosed, to any individual or entity in any manner that is calculated or likely to make it available for the use of any individual or entity that may benefit from the information or use it to the detriment of any other individual or entity to whose business or affairs the information relates.

Application to individuals

(3) Subsection (2) applies to any individual referred to in any of the following paragraphs who comes into possession of designated information while holding the office or employment described in that paragraph, whether or not the individual has ceased to hold that office or be so employed:

(a) a member of, or individual employed by, the Commission;
(b) in respect of information disclosed under paragraph (4)‍(b) or (5)‍(b), the Commissioner of Competition appointed under subsection 7(1) of the Competition Act or an individual whose duties involve the carrying out of that Act and who is referred to in section 25 of that Act; and
(c) in respect of information provided under subsection 54(1), the Minister, the Chief Statistician of Canada or an agent of or an individual employed in the federal public administration.

Disclosure of information submitted in proceedings

(4) If designated information is submitted in the course of proceedings before the Commission, the Commission may

(a) disclose it or require its disclosure if it determines, after considering any representations from interested individuals and entities, that the disclosure is in the public interest; and
(b) disclose it or require its disclosure to the Commissioner of Competition on the Commissioner’s request if the Commission determines that the information is relevant to competition issues being considered in the proceedings.

Disclosure of other information

(5) If designated information is submitted to the Commission otherwise than in the course of proceedings before it, the Commission may

(a) disclose it or require its disclosure if, after considering any representations from interested individuals and entities, it determines that the information is relevant to the determination of a matter before it and determines that the disclosure is in the public interest; and
(b) disclose it or require its disclosure to the Commissioner of Competition on the Commissioner’s request if it determines that the information is relevant to competition issues being raised in the matter before it.

Use of information disclosed to Commissioner of Competition

(6) It is prohibited for the Commissioner of Competition and any individual whose duties involve the administration and enforcement of the Competition Act and who is referred to in section 25 of that Act to use information that is disclosed

(a) under paragraph (4)‍(b) other than to facilitate the Commissioner’s participation in proceedings referred to in subsection (4); or
(b) under paragraph (5)‍(b) other than to facilitate the Commissioner’s participation in a matter referred to in subsection (5).

Disclosure

(7) The Commission may disclose designated information obtained by it if requested to do so under subsection 54(1).

Information inadmissible

(8) Designated information that is not disclosed or required to be disclosed under this section is not admissible in evidence in any judicial proceedings except proceedings for failure to submit information required to be submitted under this Act or for forgery, perjury or false declaration in relation to the submission of the information.

Offence — disclosure

56 (1) Every individual who contravenes subsection 55(2) is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction,

(a) for a first offence, to a fine of not more than $5,000; and
(b) for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not more than $10,000.

Offence — use

(2) Every individual who contravenes subsection 55(6) is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction,

(a) for a first offence, to a fine of not more than $5,000; and
(b) for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not more than $10,000.

Defence

(3) An individual is not to be found guilty of an offence under subsection (2) if they establish that they exercised due diligence to prevent the commission of the offence.

Administration and Enforcement

Production Orders

Designated persons

57 The Commission may designate persons or classes of persons for the purposes of section 58.

Power to order production

58 (1) A person designated under section 57 may, for a purpose related to verifying compliance or preventing non-compliance with this Act, by order require an operator or an eligible news business to produce, within the time and in the manner specified in the order, for examination or copying, any record, report, electronic data or other document that the designated person has reasonable grounds to believe contains information that is relevant to that purpose.

Copies and data

(2) The designated person may

(a) make copies of or take extracts from the record, report, electronic data or other document produced under subsection (1);
(b) reproduce any document from the data, or cause it to be reproduced, in the form of a printout or other output; and
(c) prepare a document, or cause one to be prepared, based on the data.

Assistance

(3) The operator or eligible news business and every director, officer, employee and agent or mandatary of the operator or business must

(a) give all assistance that is reasonably required to enable the designated person to exercise their powers and perform their duties and functions under this section, including by providing explanations respecting its organization, information technology systems, data handling and business activities; and
(b) provide any documents or information, and access to any data, that are reasonably required for that purpose.

Confidential information

(4) The rules in section 55 respecting the designation and disclosure of information apply in respect of any information contained in a record, report, electronic data or other document that is provided to the designated person as if that person were a member of the Commission exercising the powers of the Commission.

Statutory Instruments Act

(5) The Statutory Instruments Act does not apply in respect of an order made under subsection (1).

News Businesses

Contravention — eligible news business

59 (1) If an eligible news business contravenes a provision of this Act, a provision of the regulations or an order made under this Act, the Commission may, by order,

(a) impose any conditions on the business that are designed to further its compliance with this Act, including conditions respecting its participation in the bargaining process set out in sections 18 to 44;
(b) suspend, for the period the Commission specifies, the order designating the business as eligible; or
(c) revoke the order designating the business as eligible.

Contravention — group of eligible news businesses

(2) If a group of eligible news businesses contravenes a provision of this Act, a provision of the regulations or an order made under this Act, the Commission may, by order, impose any conditions designed to further the compliance of the group and its members with this Act, including restrictions on its participation in the bargaining process set out in sections 18 to 44.

Contravention — directors, officers, etc.

(3) For the purposes of subsections (1) and (2), the contravention of a provision of this Act, a provision of the regulations or an order made under this Act by an eligible news business or group of eligible news businesses includes such a contravention by its director, officer, employee or agent or mandatary.

Statutory Instruments Act

(4) The Statutory Instruments Act does not apply to an order made under subsection (1) or (2).

Administrative Monetary Penalties

Violation — operators, directors, etc.

60 (1) Subject to any regulations made under paragraph 76(a), an operator or a director, officer, employee or agent or mandatary of an operator commits a violation if they

(a) contravene a provision of this Act, a provision of the regulations, an order made under this Act or an undertaking that they entered into under section 65; or
(b) make a misrepresentation of a material fact or an intentional omission to state a material fact to a person designated under section 57 or paragraph 63(a).

Violation — other individuals and entities

(2) An individual or entity commits a violation if they contravene subsection 7(2).

Continued violation

(3) A violation that is continued on more than one day constitutes a separate violation in respect of each day on which it is continued.

Maximum amount of penalty

61 (1) Subject to any regulations made under paragraph 76(b), an individual or entity that commits a violation is liable to an administrative monetary penalty

(a) in the case of an individual, of not more than $25,000 for a first violation and of not more than $50,000 for each subsequent violation; or
(b) in the case of an entity, of not more than $10 million for a first violation and of not more than $15 million for each subsequent violation.

Criteria for penalty

(2) The amount of the penalty is to be determined by taking into account

(a) the nature and scope of the violation;
(b) the history of compliance with this Act, the regulations and orders made under this Act by the individual or entity that committed the violation;
(c) the history of the individual or entity with respect to any previous undertaking entered into under section 65;
(d) any benefit that the individual or entity obtained from the commission of the violation;
(e) the ability of the individual or entity to pay the penalty;
(f) any factors established by regulations made under paragraph 76(c);
(g) the purpose of the penalty; and
(h) any other relevant factor.

Purpose of penalty

(3) The purpose of the penalty is to promote compliance with this Act and not to punish.

Procedures

62 (1) Despite subsection 64(1), the Commission may impose a penalty in a decision made in the course of a proceeding before it under this Act, including a proceeding in respect of a complaint made under section 52, in which it finds that a violation referred to in section 60 has been committed by an individual or entity other than the individual or entity that entered into an undertaking under section 65 in connection with the same act or omission giving rise to the violation.

For greater certainty

(2) For greater certainty, the Commission is not to impose a penalty under subsection (1) on an individual or entity that has not been given the opportunity to be heard.

Designation

63 The Commission may

(a) designate persons or classes of persons who are authorized to issue notices of violation or to accept an undertaking under section 65; and
(b) establish, in respect of each violation, a short-form description to be used in notices of violation.

Notice of violation

64 (1) A person who is authorized to issue notices of violation may, if they believe on reasonable grounds that an individual or entity has committed a violation, other than a violation in respect of a contravention of section 51, issue a notice of violation and cause it to be served on that individual or entity.

(2) The notice of violation must set out

(a) the name of the individual or entity that is believed to have committed the violation;
(b) the act or omission giving rise to the violation, as well as a reference to the provision that is at issue;
(c) the penalty that the individual or entity is liable to pay, as well as the time and manner in which the individual or entity may pay the penalty;
(d) a statement informing the individual or entity that they may pay the penalty or make representations to the Commission with respect to the violation and the penalty and informing them of the time and manner for making representations; and
(e) a statement informing the individual or entity that, if they do not pay the penalty or make representations in accordance with the notice, they will be deemed to have committed the violation and the penalty may be imposed.

Undertaking

65 (1) An individual or entity may enter into an undertaking at any time. The undertaking is valid on its acceptance by the Commission or the person designated to accept an undertaking.

Requirements

(2) An undertaking

(a) must set out every act or omission that is covered by the undertaking;
(b) must set out every provision that is at issue;
(c) may contain any conditions that the Commission or the person designated to accept the undertaking considers appropriate; and
(d) may include a requirement to pay a specified amount.

No service of notice of violation

(3) If an individual or entity enters into an undertaking, a notice of violation must not be served on them in connection with any act or omission referred to in the undertaking.

Undertaking after service of notice of violation

(4) If an individual or entity enters into an undertaking after a notice of violation is served on them, the proceeding that is commenced by the notice is ended in respect of that individual or entity in connection with any act or omission referred to in the undertaking.

Payment of penalty

66 (1) If an individual or entity that is served with a notice of violation pays the penalty set out in the notice, they are deemed to have committed the violation and the proceedings in respect of it are ended.

Representations to Commission and decision

(2) If an individual or entity that is served with a notice of violation makes representations in accordance with the notice, the Commission must decide, on a balance of probabilities, after considering any other representations that it considers appropriate, whether the individual or entity committed the violation. If the Commission decides that the individual or entity committed the violation, it may

(a) impose the penalty set out in the notice, a lesser penalty or no penalty; and
(b) suspend payment of the penalty subject to any conditions that the Commission considers necessary to ensure compliance with this Act.

Penalty

(3) If an individual or entity that is served with a notice of violation neither pays the penalty nor makes representations in accordance with the notice, the individual or entity is deemed to have committed the violation and the Commission may impose the penalty.

Copy of decision

(4) The Commission must cause a copy of any decision made under subsection (2) or (3) to be issued and served on the individual or entity.

Evidence

67 In a proceeding in respect of a violation, a notice purporting to be served under subsection 64(1) or a copy of a decision purporting to be served under subsection 66(4) is admissible in evidence without proof of the signature or official character of the person appearing to have signed it.

Burden of proof

68 In a proceeding in respect of a violation in respect of a contravention of section 51, the burden of establishing that any discrimination is not unjust or that any preference or disadvantage is not undue or unreasonable is on the individual or entity that is believed to have contravened that section.

Defence

69 (1) An individual or entity is not to be found liable for a violation, other than a violation in respect of a contravention of section 22, if they establish that they exercised due diligence to prevent its commission.

Common law principles

Directors, officers, etc.

70 A director, officer or agent or mandatary of an entity that commits a violation is liable for the violation if they directed, authorized, assented to, acquiesced in or participated in the commission of the violation, whether or not the entity is proceeded against.

Vicarious liability

71 An individual or entity is liable for a violation that is committed by their employee acting within the scope of their employment or their agent or mandatary acting within the scope of their authority, whether or not the employee or agent or mandatary is identified or proceeded against.

Limitation or prescription period

72 (1) Proceedings in respect of a violation may be instituted within, but not after, three years after the day on which the subject matter of the proceedings became known to the Commission.

Certificate

Information made public

73 The Commission must make public

(a) the name of an individual or entity that enters into an undertaking under section 65, the nature of the undertaking, including the acts or omissions and provisions at issue, the conditions included in the undertaking and the amount payable under it, if any; and
(b) the name of an individual or entity that is deemed, or is found by the Commission, to have committed a violation, the acts or omissions and provisions at issue and the amount of the penalty imposed, if any.

Receiver General

74 A penalty paid or recovered in relation to a violation is payable to the Receiver General.

Debt due to Her Majesty

75 (1) The following amounts are debts due to Her Majesty in right of Canada that may be recovered in any court of competent jurisdiction:

(a) the amount of the penalty imposed by the Commission in a decision made in the course of a proceeding before it under this Act in which it finds that a violation referred to in section 60 has been committed;
(b) the amount payable under an undertaking entered into under section 65, beginning on the day specified in the undertaking or, if no day is specified, beginning on the day on which the undertaking is accepted;
(c) the amount of the penalty set out in a notice of violation, beginning on the day on which it is required to be paid in accordance with the notice, unless representations are made in accordance with the notice;
(d) if representations are made, either the amount of the penalty that is imposed by the Commission, beginning on the day specified by the Commission or, if no day is specified, beginning on the day on which the decision is made; and
(e) the amount of any reasonable expenses incurred in attempting to recover an amount referred to in any of paragraphs (a) to (d).

Limitation or prescription period

(2) Proceedings to recover a debt may be instituted within, but not after, three years after the day on which the debt becomes payable.

Certificate of default

(3) The Commission may issue a certificate for the unpaid amount of any debt referred to in subsection (1).

Effect of registration

(4) Registration of a certificate in any court of competent jurisdiction has the same effect as a judgment of that court for a debt of the amount set out in the certificate and all related registration costs.

Regulations

76 The Governor in Council may make regulations

(a) providing for exceptions to paragraph 60(1)‍(a) or (b);
(b) increasing the penalty amounts set out in subsection 61(1);
(c) for the purpose of paragraph 61(2)‍(f), establishing other factors to be considered in determining the amount of the penalty;
(d) respecting undertakings referred to in section 65;
(e) respecting the service of documents required or authorized to be served under sections 60 to 75, including the manner and proof of service and the circumstances under which documents are to be considered to be served; and
(f) generally, for carrying out the purposes and provisions of sections 60 to 75.

Other Provisions

Judicial powers

77 In a proceeding under this Act, the Commission has the powers of a superior court with respect to the attendance and examination of witnesses and the production and examination of documents or things.

Sections 126 and 127 of Criminal Code

78 Sections 126 and 127 of the Criminal Code do not apply in respect of any contravention of a provision of this Act, a provision of the regulations or an order made under this Act.

Financial Provisions

Fees for services

79 (1) The Commission may make regulations respecting fees to be paid for the provision of services — including dealing with a complaint or providing regulatory processes — under this Act, including regulations

(a) fixing those fees or setting out the manner of calculating them;
(b) establishing classes of operators and of news businesses and groups of news businesses for the purposes of paragraph (a);
(c) respecting the payment of those fees, including the time and manner of payment; and
(d) respecting the interest payable in respect of overdue fees.

Commission assistance

(2) For greater certainty, subsection (1) permits the making of regulations respecting the recovery of the Commission’s costs for providing assistance to an arbitration panel under section 36.

Amount not to exceed cost

(3) Fees that are payable under regulations made under subsection (1) must not in the aggregate exceed the costs that the Commission determines to be attributable to providing the service.

Criteria

(4) Regulations made under subsection (1) may provide for fees to be calculated by reference to any criteria that the Commission considers appropriate, including

(a) the revenues of the operator, the news business or the group of news businesses; or
(b) the market served by the operator’s digital news intermediary or by the news outlets operated by the news business or by the members of the group of news businesses.

Costs apportioned by Commission

80 (1) The Commission may, by order, apportion the costs related to the bargaining process, other than those related to final offer arbitration, including fees payable under regulations made under subsection 79(1), between the parties, if the parties cannot agree, within a period that the Commission considers reasonable, on how to share the costs.

Factors

(2) In making an order, the Commission must take into account each party’s ability to pay, their conduct during bargaining and mediation sessions and any other factor that it considers appropriate.

Statutory Instruments Act

(3) For greater certainty, the Statutory Instruments Act does not apply in respect of an order made under subsection (1).

Cost recovery

81 (1) With the approval of the Treasury Board, the Commission may make regulations respecting the charges payable by operators in respect of the recovery, in whole or in part, of costs that are incurred in relation to the administration of this Act, including regulations

(a) setting out the manner of calculating those charges;
(b) providing for the establishment of classes of operators for the purposes of paragraph (a);
(c) providing for the payment of any charge payable, including the time and manner of payment; and
(d) respecting the interest payable in respect of any overdue charge.

Amount not to exceed cost

(2) Charges payable under regulations made under subsection (1) must not exceed the costs that the Commission determines to be attributable to exercising its powers and carrying out its duties and functions under this Act and that are not recovered under regulations made under subsection 79(1).

Criteria

(3) Regulations made under subsection (1) may provide for charges to be calculated by reference to any criteria that the Commission considers appropriate, including

(a) the revenues of the operator; or
(b) the market served by the operator’s digital news intermediary.

Debt due to Her Majesty

82 (1) Fees and charges payable under regulations made under subsections 79(1) and 81(1), and any interest on them, constitute a debt due to Her Majesty in right of Canada and may be recovered as such in any court of competent jurisdiction.

Deduction, set-off and compensation

(2) Debts due to Her Majesty in right of Canada under regulations made under subsections 79(1) and 81(1) maybe recovered at any time by way of deduction from, set-off against or compensation against any sum of money that may be due or payable by Her Majesty in right of Canada to the individual or entity responsible for the debt.

Spending

83 Subject to any conditions imposed by the Treasury Board, the Commission may spend revenues that are received under regulations made under subsections 79(1) and 81(1) for the purposes of exercising its powers and carrying out its duties and functions under this Act. If the Commission spends the revenues, it must do so in the fiscal year in which they are received or, unless an appropriation Act provides otherwise, in the next fiscal year.

Regulations

Regulations — Governor in Council

84 The Governor in Council may make regulations

(a) respecting the factors set out in section 6;
(b) respecting the time at which or the period within which an operator must notify the Commission under subsection 7(1);
(c) respecting how the Commission is to interpret subparagraphs 11(1)‍(a)‍(i) to (vi);
(d) setting out conditions for the purposes of paragraph 11(1)‍(b);
(e) setting out conditions in respect of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for the purposes of section 28; and
(f) setting out conditions in respect of a provincial public broadcaster for the purposes of section 28, if the provincial minister responsible for that broadcaster has made a request to the Minister.

Regulations — Commission

85 The Commission may make regulations

(a) respecting requests for orders referred to in subsection 11(1);
(b) respecting the bargaining process set out in sections 18 to 44;
(c) respecting requests for designations referred to in subsection 27(1);
(d) establishing the code of conduct referred to in section 49;
(e) respecting complaints referred to in section 52;
(f) respecting the manner in which groups of eligible news businesses are to be structured and the manner in which they are to exercise their rights or privileges and carry out their obligations under this Act;
(g) respecting the provision of information by groups of eligible news businesses to the Commission respecting their structure;
(h) respecting the exercise by any person appointed under section 8 of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Act of any of the powers — other than the power to make regulations — or the carrying out of any of the duties or functions, of the Commission under this Act; and
(i) respecting the Commission’s practices and procedures in relation to this Act.

Independent Review

Annual report — independent auditor

86 (1) The Commission must cause an independent auditor to prepare an annual auditor’s report in respect of the impact of this Act on the Canadian digital news marketplace.

(2) The report must set out an analysis of the impact of the agreements entered into under this Act on the Canadian digital news marketplace and include the following:

(a) information relating to the total commercial value of the agreements entered into under this Act;
(b) information relating to the distribution of the commercial value of those agreements among eligible news businesses, including relative to the expenditures of those businesses on their newsrooms;
(c) information relating to the effect of the agreements on those expenditures; and
(d) any other element that, in the opinion of the auditor, supports the transparency of the impact of this Act on the Canadian digital news marketplace.

Review of Act

Review

87 Before the fifth anniversary of the day on which this section comes into force, the Minister must cause a review of this Act and its operation to be conducted and cause a report on the review to be laid before each House of Parliament.

Related Amendments

R.‍S.‍, c. A-1

Access to Information Act

88 Schedule II to the Access to Information Act is amended by adding, in alphabetical order, a reference to

Online News Act

Loi sur les nouvelles en ligne

and a corresponding reference to “subsections 55(2) and 58(4)”.

R.‍S.‍, c. C-22

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Act

89 Section 12 of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (1):

Digital news

(1.‍1) The Commission exercises the powers and performs the duties and functions conferred on it under the Online News Act.

90 Section 13 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (1):

Online News Act

(1.‍1) The report must include the contents of the annual auditor’s report prepared under section 86 of the Online News Act.

1991, c. 11

Broadcasting Act

91 Section 4 of the Broadcasting Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (4):

Operators of digital news intermediaries

(5) For greater certainty, this Act does not apply to the operator of a digital news intermediary in respect of which the Online News Act applies when the operator acts solely in that capacity. In this subsection, digital news intermediary and operator have the same meanings as in subsection 2(1) of that Act.

1993, c. 38

Telecommunications Act

92 The Telecommunications Act is amended by adding the following after section 4:

Digital news intermediaries excluded

4.‍1 (1) This Act does not apply in respect of the making available of news content on or by a digital news intermediary in respect of which the Online News Act applies.

Definitions

(2) In this section, digital news intermediary and news content have the same meanings as in subsection 2(1) of the Online News Act.

Interpretation

(3) For the purposes of this section, news content is made available if

(a) the news content, or any portion of it, is reproduced; or
(b) access to the news content, or any portion of it, is facilitated by any means, including an index, aggregation or ranking of news content.
End of inserted block

Coming into Force

Order in council

93 The provisions of this Act come into force on a day or days to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council.

Published under authorit

Saturday, 16 April 2022

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Bill C-11

SUMMARY

Short Title

Broadcasting Act

Related Amendments

Cannabis Act

Consequential Amendments

Access to Information Act

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Act

Copyright Act

Referendum Act

Canada Elections Act

Accessible Canada Act

Transitional Provisions

Review

Coming into Force

explanatory notes

Bill C-18

BILL C-18 An Act respecting online communications platforms that make news content available to persons in Canada

SUMMARY

TABLE OF PROVISIONS

Short Title

Short title

Interpretation

Definitions

Making available of news content

Freedom of expression

Journalistic independence

Treatment of news content

Purpose

Purpose

Designation of Minister

Designation

Application

Application

Duty to notify

Information required

List of digital news intermediaries

Statutory Instruments Act

Publication

Broadcasting

Telecommunications service providers

Exemptions

Exemption order

Effect of order

Conditions

Approval of Treasury Board

Interim order

Conditions

Approval of Treasury Board

Cessation of effect

For greater certainty

Review

Repeal of exemption order

Repeal of interim order

Reasons

Statutory Instruments Act

Publication of orders

Bargaining Process

Overview

Definition of party

Steps in bargaining process

Scope of bargaining process

Scope of final offer arbitration

Initiation of bargaining process

Duty to bargain

BILL C-18
An Act respecting online communications platforms that make news content available to persons in Canada