Ottawa plans to eliminate streamers' Canadian content contributions: court document

The Canadian government plans to eliminate the mandatory contribution of online streaming services to Canadian content funding. Instead, this financial support for Canadian content will be sourced from taxpayer money. This intention was revealed in a letter submitted to the Federal Court of Appeal as part of ongoing litigation concerning the Online Streaming Act.

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We are instructed to inform the court that the government’s intention is to eliminate the base contribution requirement on streaming services and to provide government funding to replace those contributions.

The attorney general's office stated in a July 17 document that the government intends to "eliminate the base contribution requirement on streaming services and to provide government funding to replace those contributions." This follows a recent directive from Ottawa to the CRTC to review and adjust its decision to triple streamers' base contribution rate to 15 percent under the act. While a previous announcement mentioned $600 million in funding for the Canadian media sector, it did not indicate an elimination of the base contribution rule.

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The language in the letter does not align with what we have heard from the government, and we believe it would be premature to reach any definitive conclusions from this administrative communication between the court and one of the respondents.

The government intends to publish its updated policy directive for consultation in the coming weeks. The court filing was initially reported by the Wire Report. The Canadian Broadcasting Association expressed that the language in the letter does not align with their understanding of the government's position, suggesting it would be premature to draw firm conclusions. Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet criticized the move, arguing it would allow foreign streamers to operate in Canada without contributing to the development of Canadian culture, particularly French-language content.

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Once again