Canada’s screen sector is ready for change, whether or not the Online Streaming Act passes, according to a panel of industry leaders at Prime Time.

“We’ve not been sitting around waiting for a bill to tell us what to do,” said Barbara Williams, EVP of CBC, during the panel titled “The Future is Now,” moderated by Reynolds Mastin, president and CEO of the Canadian Media Producers Association.

The conversation was held less than 24 hours after Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez tabled Bill C-11, known as the Online Streaming Act, in the House of Commons on Wednesday (Feb. 2). Among the key priorities of the bill, which aims to overhaul the Broadcasting Act last updated in 1991, is to ensure digital streamers make contributions to the Canadian cultural system and give the CRTC more flexibility to set and enforce regulations.

Williams says CBC/Radio-Canada has been “aggressively and actively” working to fulfill its mandate of reflecting contemporary Canada and helping discover domestic talent, citing its work with scripted series Schitt’s Creek and Sort Of, as well as its work commissioning original documentaries and podcasts.

Valerie Creighton, president and CEO of the Canada Media Fund (CMF), echoed Williams’ remarks, stating that the funder is moving forward on its plan for a “content-centric, platform-agnostic approach,” which emerged from its 2021 consultation process, and hinted that the CMF will be announcing further developments in the near future.

“Change is upon us… the CMF needs to move to a much more flexible fund, focused on the content,” she said, adding that they will also vie to ensure service production remains part of Canada’s production infrastructure. “How we support those great jobs and everything that comes with service production and how we support domestic IP is where we’re going to focus.”

Creighton does note that the Online Streaming Act remains crucial in removing limits on the CMF, which she says they’ve had to work around to create new programs to help Canada’s indie producers. “We’ve been tied to the dock with many ropes that do not enable us to respond to what’s happening in the creative and production industry,” she said. “We constantly try to find ways beside and around some of the restrictions… I also hope we don’t end up tying down new ropes. Flexibility is key.”

The need for flexibility has proven to be a double-edged sword for this legislation, with critics arguing that unclear language around monetized social media content could lead to the CRTC regulating user-generated content and violating freedom of expression laws. The Department of Justice previously determined that the old version of the proposed legislation, Bill C-10, was in compliance with Canada’s Charter of Rights.

Kevin Desjardins, president of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, also warned about the potential that the new legislation “enshrines inequity between the players in the system,” later stating that regulations must reflect the reality of the market. As an example, stating that ensuring there is local news coverage for rural communities are not priorities for foreign-owned streamers.

Overall the panel was optimistic about the potential of the bill. “Look at the name: we’re no longer talking about the Broadcasting Act, but the Online Streaming Act,” said Christa Dickenson, CEO and executive director of Telefilm. “This is about the future being now and not looking at the rear-view mirror at what could soon be old, defunct models.”

Creighton emphasized that the legislation must ensure creator-focused models moving forward. “We have to have the ability to focus on the content, because if we’re not on the side of the content, I don’t know whose side we’re on,” she said.

Jesse Wente, executive director of the Indigenous Screen Office and chair of the Canada Council for the Arts, says the new legislation would likely lead to a “blossoming of Indigenous content” across the country. “It’s rare for me to see a piece of legislation where one of the listed priorities from the government is Indigenous content creation and support,” he said.

Wente emphasized that passing the legislation as swiftly as possible is a matter of urgency for the sector, as it will take time for the CRTC to create and enforce new regulations under the new bill.

While the panel was clear that the screen sector plans to move forward whether or not the bill passes, Desjardins emphasized that it remains key to ensure a level playing field for broadcasters. “If [Bill C-11] stalls or it gets bogged down, ultimately it just plays into the hands of foreign players who are just going to get a further head start on [private broadcasters].”

The panel was also challenged on its composition, with only Wente representing Canada’s Indigenous community, in terms of addressing equity and inclusion within the industry and the lack of diversity within leadership structures. “A white woman should not be leading Telefilm for 10 years,” said Dickenson. “I hope that one day I’ll be handing the baton to the next leader who will be a Black person, an Indigenous person or a person of colour.”

Pictured (L-R): Reynolds Mastin, Barbara Williams, Jesse Wente (top), Christa Dickenson, Kevin Desjardins and Valerie Creighton (bottom)