OTTAWA, Ontario, and GATINEAU, Quebec—In an important development in the ongoing battle to get tech giants to compensate news organizations for lost advertising, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) issued a decision that will pave the way for Google to contribute $C100 million ($71.85 million) annually to news organizations in that country.

Canada’s government in June of 2023 passed the Online News Act, a law intended to ensure that online platforms that make Canadian news content available fairly compensate Canadian news organizations. The CRTC, Canada’s national telecom regulator, was tasked with implementing the act, which came into force last Dec. 19.

The CRTC’s rule allows online platforms such as Google to request an exemption from a requirement to bargain with individual news outlets if they can reach terms with a group representing a broad range of Canadian news organizations. The CRTC must then hold a public consultation on any exemption request received.

In June 2024, Google applied for a five-year exemption from the act, which the CRTC said it has now approved. That arrangement requires Google to pay $71.85 million to the Canadian Journalism Collective (CJC) within 60 days of this decision. The CJC will then distribute the funds equitably to eligible Canadian news organizations.

As part of the agreement, the CJC will report back to the CRTC each year.

Similar efforts to get tech giants like Google and Facebook to compensate news organizations for the content that produces billions of dollars in ad revenue for search engines and social media platforms have also been underway in Australia and the United States, with mixed results.

For several years, the National Association of Broadcasters has unsuccessfully urged Congress to pass the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA), a bipartisan bill that would give TV stations and other news publishers the power to collectively negotiate terms with Big Tech companies over how their content is used online.

California, where legislators were close to passing legislation modeled after the Canadian bill, negotiated a deal that would direct around $250 million over five years to local media in exchange for dropping the proposed law.

The agreement was widely attacked by the NAB, journalists and media industry experts for benefiting Google.

In September, NAB Senior Vice President of Communications Alex Siciliano said the “last-minute, closed-door deal between Google and the state of California has succeeded in shelving popular bipartisan state legislation that would have fairly compensated local newsrooms for their valuable journalism. This sets a dangerous precedent that could cripple trusted news outlets, and lets Big Tech off the hook as they continue to siphon advertising dollars away from local broadcast stations and other news publishers while not offering fair compensation for our content.”

In sharp contrast, reaction to the CRTC-Google agreement was mostly positive. News Media Canada, which represents hundreds of publishers, said in a statement that it is “very pleased,” the Financial Post reported.

OTTAWA, ON and GATINEAU, QC—The CRTC is taking a major step forward in the implementation of the Online Streaming Act, which amended the Broadcasting Act, by requiring that online streaming services contribute 5% of their Canadian revenue to the Canadian broadcasting system. 

The Online Streaming Act passed last year requires the CRTC to modernize the Canadian broadcasting framework and ensure that online streaming services make meaningful contributions to Canadian and Indigenous content. Immediately after the new legislation was adopted, the CRTC published a regulatory plan and launched four public consultations, including one on what base contributions online services must make to support the Canadian broadcasting system.

During this consultation, the CRTC received more than 360 detailed submissions and held a three-week public hearing where it heard from over 120 groups. 

Based on the public record, the CRTC is now requiring online streaming services to contribute 5% of their Canadian revenues to support the Canadian broadcasting system. These obligations will start in the 2024-2025 broadcast year and will provide an estimated $C200 million ($146 million) per year in new funding, the agency said. 

The funding will be directed to areas of immediate need in the Canadian broadcasting system, such as local news on radio and television, French-language content, Indigenous content, and content created by and for equity-deserving communities, official language minority communities, and Canadians of diverse backgrounds.

The CRTC, which is an independent quasi-judicial tribunal that regulates the Canadian communications sector in the public interest, also said that online streaming services will have some flexibility to direct parts of their contributions to support Canadian television content directly. 

"Today's decision will help ensure that online streaming services make meaningful contributions to Canadian and Indigenous content. The CRTC will continue to move quickly, listen carefully, and take action as we implement the new legislation,” said Vicky Eatrides, chairperson and CEO, CRTC

In making the ruling the CRTC highlighted a few key dates in the development of the policy:

• April 27, 2023: Online Streaming Act (formerly Bill C-11) receives Royal Assent.
• May 8, 2023: CRTC publishes regulatory plan.
• May 12, 2023: CRTC launches three public consultations (base contributions to support Canadian and Indigenous content; registration of online streaming services; and exemption orders and basic conditions of service).
• August 23, 2023: CRTC launches public consultation on regulatory fees.
• September 29, 2023: CRTC publishes decisions on registration and conditions of service.
• November 9, 2023: Government issues direction to CRTC on how to design and implement new regulatory framework.
• November 20 to December 8, 2023: CRTC holds three-week public hearing on base contributions.
• March 21, 2024: CRTC publishes decision on regulatory fees.
• June 4, 2024: CRTC publishes decision on base contributions.

The CRTC also reported that it will soon be launching more public consultations on the amended Broadcasting Act, including on the Independent Local News Fund and a fund to support local news production by commercial radio, and will continue to publish decisions as they are made.

OTTAWA—The government of Canada has announced additional relief efforts for broadcasters as the industry continues to be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Announced in the government’s Fall Economic Statement, the Part II broadcasting license fees for 2020-2021 will be waived for eligible TV and radio stations. The Part II broadcasting license fees are regulatory charges collected by the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) from conventional TV, radio, discretionary TV service or a broadcast distribution undertaking license.

By waiving the fee for 2020-2021, CRTC estimates that it can provide relief of up to $50 million for broadcasters, helping them to maintain their broadcasting productions.

To qualify for the waiver, broadcasters must confirm a minimum 25% reduction of advertising revenues due to the pandemic and are continuing to operate in compliance with their regulatory obligations regarding Canadian content for at least two years. The CRTC will contact eligible stations directly to inform them of next steps.

The measure does not include cable, satellite and IPTV providers.

“Canadians rely on radio and television to stay up to date on matters related to COVID-19,” said Steve Guilbeault, minister of Canadian Heritage. “We continue to help radio and television broadcasters weather the unprecedented pressures the pandemic has placed on their advertising revenues.”

Many U.S. broadcasters asked the FCC to similarly waive annual regulatory fees due to the pandemic, but the FCC ultimately opted not to. 

GATINEAU, QUEBEC, CANADA—The Government of Canada announced the appointment of Ian Scott as chairperson and Caroline J. Simard as vice-chairperson of Broadcasting, and Christianne M. Laizner as interim vice-chairperson of Telecommunications of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. The announcement was made by the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage.

Ian Scott has over 25 years’ experience in the broadcasting and telecommunications industries and in the public sector. Most recently executive director of government and regulatory affairs at Telesat Canada, Scott has held a variety of senior executive roles in the telecommunications and broadcasting industries. Past executive positions include Vice President of Federal Government Relations for Telus, and executive positions in both government and regulatory matters at Call-Net Enterprises and with the Canadian Cable Television Association. In addition to his work in the private sector, Scott has significant experience in the public sector at both the Federal Competition Bureau and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. He was educated at McGill University.

Dr. Caroline Simard, PhD in law and member of the Barreau du Québec, has extensive expertise in telecommunications and broadcasting regulation. She is currently legal counsel within the Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, a position she has held since 2007, where she has worked on the Telecommunications Act and the Radiocommunication Act. From 2004 to 2007, Simard was senior telecommunications expert with the International Telecommunication Union in Geneva, Switzerland, which is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communications technologies. She had previously held positions with the Centre d’études sur l’intégration et la mondialisation (CÉIM) at Université du Québec à Montréal, Verrier Pacquin Hébert Consultants Inc., Téléglobe Inc. and others. Simard was educated at McGill University, Université du Québec à Montréal, and Université de Montréal.

Scott will serve as chairperson for a five-year term, beginning on Sept. 5, 2017. Simard will also serve for a term of five years, effective as of Sept. 11, 2017.

In addition to these two appointments, Christianne M. Laizner has been appointed to serve as interim vice-chairperson of Telecommunications for a term of up to one year. Laizner, whose appointment is effective as of July 17, 2017, joined the CRTC in 2010 as general counsel of Telecommunications, and since 2013, has held the position of senior general counsel and executive director of the CRTC Legal Sector. She has held senior-level positions in other federal departments for many years. Before joining the public service, Laizner was a partner in the Chown Cairns law firm in St. Catharines, Ontario. Laizner was called to the Ontario Bar in 1982, and holds an LLB from Western University and a B.A. (Hons) from McGill University.

The position of Vice-Chairperson (Telecommunications) will be launched in the near future.

The CRTC is an administrative Canadian equivalent to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.

OTTAWA and GATINEAU, QUEBEC, CANADA—The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission today directed all wireless service providers to implement a wireless public alerting system on their LTE networks by April, 2018.

This system will allow emergency management officials, such as fire marshals and police agencies, to warn Canadians on their mobile devices of dangers to life and property. The alerts will be sent to mobile devices connected to LTE networks, which are available to over 97 percent of Canadians, the CRTC said. Service providers have also been tasked by the CRTC to work with their federal, provincial and territorial counterparts to develop an awareness campaign and test schedule.

In Canada, as in the United States, emergency alert messages are issued by federal, provincial and territorial governments and emergency management officials to warn the public of imminent threats, such as fires, tornadoes, floods, water contamination and Amber Alerts. The CRTC has been working with wireless providers since 2014 on the development and implementation of emergency alerting technical requirements. A standard was approved in August of 2015. Pilot projects based on the standard were conducted last year. A progress report is due to the CRTC in July, with a final report coming in Oct. 3, 2017, “detailing a proposed awareness campaign and test schedule.”

The exact launch date for the distribution of alerts will be announced once the wireless industry has met the applicable standards and all required functionalities are in place. Once alerts are distributed to mobile devices, Canadians will hear the same alert tone as they currently do while listening to the radio or watching television. Alerts on mobile devices will also trigger a unique vibration cadence when an alert is issued, and will contain a bilingual banner.

The wireless public alerting standard adopted by Canada has been adopted by governments across the world for emergency alerts services, including the European Union, the United States, Israel, Chile and Japan.

Canadian broadcasters and television service providers have distributed emergency alerts since 2014. As a result, the vast majority of Canadians currently receive emergency alerts through radio and television. The CRTC created an interactive map identifying which Canadian radio and television stations distribute alert messages; a list of cable and satellite companies that distribute these messages is also included.

Public Safety Canada is the lead department responsible for emergency management and coordinates the development of policies for public alerting with federal, provincial and territorial stakeholders.