Bill C-11| A Big Step Forward for Culture
It is high time that online platforms that generate revenues from access to culture in the music and audiovisual sectors contribute to the creation, development and dissemination of local cultural expressions.
Bill C-11 will ensure that Canadian creations and productions have an important place on our airwaves and screens.
Without this Bill, local creations will remain drowned in a sea of content and our local cultural ecosystems will continue to weaken. It will be increasingly difficult to create ambitious, independent works that will reach beyond our borders because the bulk of our industry will be in the service of foreign productions or in search of big commercial success.
But we have a choice. By sending a strong message today to the political class that will decide the fate of this Bill, we can ask them to make the choice to continue promoting a diversity of cultural expression.
Ask your MP and senators to support the Bill! Complete the online form.
Illustration © Sébastien Thibault
About Bill C-11
On February 2nd, 2022, Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez introduced a bill that the cultural community has been anticipating for many years: the Online Streaming Act (Bill C-11).
What is Bill C-11?
Bill C-11 seeks to ensure that large online broadcasting companies contribute their fair share to cultural ecosystems. This bill corrects years of glaring inequities by ensuring that the Broadcasting Act applies to online broadcasting giants and businesses in the digital environment.
Why does C-11 matter?
The Broadcasting Act, which will be modernized by this bill, is one of the most important cultural policies in Canada. It ensures that Canadian creations and productions have a prominent place on our airwaves and on our screens, and that the companies generating revenues from access to culture in the music and audiovisual sectors contribute to their creation, development and distribution.
Canadians are increasingly accessing culture through online platforms. Much of the broadcasting ecosystem is transitioning to digital content. This has a number of benefits for the public and for creators: increased access to a variety of stories, music and ideas, increased opportunities for creators to launch their work, and renewed ability to reach audiences in Canada and around the world…
Many large corporations take advantage of this digital age without any obligation to contribute. Artists, creators, producers, publishers and other professionals of the music and audiovisual industries, as well as for Canadian society, do not reap the potential benefits of investment in the Canadian cultural ecosystem. C-11 was introduced to correct this unfairness.
To learn more about C-11 click HERE.