OTTAWA — The Liberals were re-elected in 2021 after making numerous promises on regulating the internet—pledging to make second attempts, in some cases, after Justin Trudeau’s own election call vaporized bills that would have done the things they’ve promised anew to do.
Four bills are in the legislative works. A fifth—on combatting online harms, perhaps the thorniest—is still being drafted in Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez’s office. Here’s where they stand as the calendar turns to 2023.
Multiple bills in the Commons and Senate, nothing in law yet
OTTAWA — The Liberals were re-elected in 2021 after making numerous promises on regulating the internet—pledging to make second attempts, in some cases, after Justin Trudeau’s own election call vaporized bills that would have done the things they’ve promised anew to do.
Four bills are in the legislative works. A fifth—on combatting online harms, perhaps the thorniest—is still being drafted in Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez’s office. Here’s where they stand as the calendar turns to 2023.
Talking Points
The bill: C-11—the Online Streaming Act
Where it stands: Passed by the House of Commons. Completed clause-by-clause examination and amendment in the Senate. Awaiting passage in the red chamber, after which it returns to the Commons to address the Senate’s amendments.
The debate: The government’s move to impose Canadian-content rules on internet streaming companies like Spotify and YouTube has caused an uproar among some creators of user-generated content, who worry they won’t be considered Canadian enough for privileged treatment here; that they’ll have to go to painful lengths to prove they are; or that they’ll suffer retaliatory treatment in other markets. (Platforms have not discouraged these anxieties.) Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez has vowed that that’s not what the bill is for.
Senators on the transportation and communications committee amended the legislation in several ways. The most significant change was to remove language that would have regulators consider the revenue from a digital show as a factor in deciding whether it warranted Cancon consideration. That would have meant that a YouTuber, say, who makes a lot of money off a channel but has no traditional broadcast distribution, could draw attention from regulators. With the amendment, the only considerations are whether the show has a traditional broadcast version or a number in an internationally standardized system, as music does. They also voted to insert a clause requiring sites depicting “explicit sexual activity” to verify that their users are adults.
The full Senate will get to vote on the committee’s moves. When the revised bill returns to the House of Commons, the Liberals will say whether or not they support the Senate’s changes. (Sen. Marc Gold, who represents the government in the Senate, told the committee that Bill C-11 is the wrong legal vehicle for the age-verification requirement, so that’s one amendment that will run into trouble.) The Commons will then vote on a new version.
In theory, a bill could bounce between the Commons and the Senate forever with the two houses disagreeing on some parts of it, but in practice the Senate defers to elected MPs if they vote down a Senate change.
The bill: C-18—the Online News Act
Where it stands: Completed clause-by-clause examination and amendment by a House of Commons committee and passed by the full Commons. Introduced in the Senate, awaiting its first debate.
The debate: The Liberals tout the Online News Act as a lifeline for small news outlets in Canada. It would require big digital platforms that host or link to news content, such as Google and Meta, to negotiate payment deals with the journalism organizations that produce it. It’s based closely on a model set by Australia, where a regulator will step in and arbitrate a settlement if negotiations don’t produce one.
The platforms do not like it—Google has waged a backroom campaign against the bill and Meta has threatened to block news links in Canada if it passes. But New Zealand is following Canada’s and Australia’s lead.
(The Logic’s CEO David Skok has publicly supported the bill.)
The Commons committee amended Bill C-18 so that non-profit outlets can participate, and to modify a requirement that funding recipients have two journalism employees so that one of those people can be an owner or otherwise involved in the business, not just gathering and presenting news.
Conservatives still oppose it, however, on the grounds that much of the money is likely to go to big broadcasters (including the CBC) because they have large online audiences, and not to local outlets in small towns and those that serve ethnic communities.
The bill: C-26—the Critical Cyber Systems Protection Act
Where it stands: Passed first reading in the House of Commons upon introduction in June. Awaiting second-reading vote and subsequent committee study.
The debate: The Liberals produced their long-awaited legislation in June barring Huawei (and ZTE) products from advanced wireless networks in Canada, and have done little to advance it since. Bill C-26 would also require operators of critical cyber systems under federal oversight—such as telecom networks, and possibly banks and railways and other systems with important digital components, as well—to harden their operations against cyberattacks. The University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab warned that the bill gives ministers powers with too few constraints.
The bill: C-27—the Digital Charter Implementation Act, 2022
Where it stands: Passed first reading in the House of Commons upon introduction in June. Awaiting second-reading vote and subsequent committee study.
The debate: Another bill that has languished since a June introduction, C-27 would overhaul Canadian privacy and data-protection law standards for the digital age, requiring detailed disclosures of what information companies collect on their customers and creating certain rights to opt out. It would impose higher standards on companies that compile data on children, and give the federal privacy commissioner more enforcement power.
A separate section of the act would create a governance framework for artificial intelligence, and how it can and can’t be used to make decisions that affect individuals.
Jim Balsillie’s Centre for Digital Rights has called for numerous amendments, including recognizing privacy as a basic human right, bringing political parties under the data-protection rules and cutting the AI material out of the bill entirely.
Let’s please get on with advancing the bill, Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne asked fellow MPs in November. They had a round of debate but didn’t bring the legislation to a vote. At the end of that month, Speaker Anthony Rota ruled that, although all the components of the bill have privacy as a shared theme, the provisions on AI are different enough that MPs should vote on them separately.
The bill: An online-harms bill
Where it stands: Not yet introduced. As of November, the Liberals were still consulting stakeholders.
The debate: In their 2021 re-election platform, the Liberals promised a bill within 100 days to combat online harms such as hate speech, incitements to violence and illegal pornography. They had already proposed language for such a bill and pledged to introduce it formally, despite objections from advocates and experts that it would be a bad and unworkable law.
Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez reneged on the promise and named an expert panel to advise on a new approach. After weeks of workshops, the members of the panel agreed on little, including whether sweeping revenge porn and Nazism into the same regulatory regime even makes sense.
Loading...
You have shared 5 articles this month and reached the maximum amount of shares available.
CloseIf you would like to purchase a sharing license please contact The Logic support at [email protected].
CloseYou have gifted 0 article(s) this month and have 5 remaining.
Recipients will be able to read the full text of the article after submitting their email address. They will not have access to other articles or subscriber benefits.
Photo: The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld; Justin Tang
Great journalism delivered straight to your inbox.
Get up to speed in minutes with insights and analysis on the most important stories of the day, every weekday.
See the bigger picture with reporters and industry experts in subscriber-exclusive events.
Membership provides access to our popular Slack channel, participation in subscriber surveys and invitations to exclusive events with our journalists and special guests.
