The legislation, which updates the broadcasting law, has been the target of criticism from the conservative opposition, which has tried by all means to slow its consideration by the Permanent Committee of Canadian Heritage since the end of April.
On Monday, the Liberals and the Bloc finally joined forces to impose a gag order on the commission and thus force it to terminate its work.
Even the committee chair, Liberal Representative Scott Sims, seemed surprised by his termination on Friday afternoon.
I said at first [des travaux] It could be very exciting to be able to sell the rights to Netflix. I was kidding at the time. Not sure I’m still kidding. It was quite an adventure
, fell at the end of the three-hour meeting, which went on without much fanfare from Conservative MPs.
Report to Parliament next week
The committee’s report on C-10 is expected to be presented to elected officials in the House of Commons early next week, who will have to adopt it and then vote on the bill as amended.
The bill will then be sent to the Senate, which will have only a few days, at most, to consider before parliamentary proceedings are postponed for the summer term.
Senate representatives declined to comment on the future of the C-10 until they had it.
Same rules of the game
Bill C-10 seeks to subject web giants to broadcasting law, forcing them to contribute financially to the creation and discovery of Canadian cultural content.
The law is eagerly awaited by the cultural sector, which wants the biggest digital players, such as Netflix or Spotify, to be subject to the same rules of the game as the country’s traditional broadcasters.
However, it was fiercely opposed by members of the Conservative Party who argued that the bill would undermine the freedom of expression of Canadians on social media, in particular.
Absence of Representative Harder
A few days ago, Alberta Conservative MP Rachel Harder took a step forward. She said, in an interview in a local newspaper, that the artists who would like to see the C-10 implant — which will primarily come from Quebec, according to her — are laden
Because they could not adapt to the new platforms.
Ms. Harder finally apologized on Twitter. On Friday, she was absent from the Canadian Heritage Standing Committee.
