The Senate should stick to its guns on Bill C-11
Michael Geist holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law.
The bill, which was first introduced in 2020 and re-tabled in 2022, was promoted as a means to bring global streaming platforms such as Netflix and Disney+ into the Canadian broadcast system and to mandate support for Canadian-created content. However, the surprising inclusion of user generated content found on sites like YouTube and TikTok within the ambit of potential regulation sparked freedom of expression concerns.
There is good reason to respect the democratic principle that the elected house ultimately prevails. However, no democratic principle is more important than freedom of expression, and Bill C-11 fails in this regard. The legislation speaks for itself, scoping in TikTok videos with music, thousands of YouTube videos, and a myriad of podcasts. The government may have simply intended to cover certain sound recordings, but its poorly drafted provision goes much further.
This approach understandably left the Senate concerned, particularly after the scope of regulatory powers was repeatedly confirmed by the then-chair of the CRTC Ian Scott and Canadian creators identified potential harms from the approach. The result was an amendment crafted by two Trudeau-appointed independent Senators, Julie Miville-Duchêne and Paula Simons.
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