The federal government’s Online Streaming Act has become law, meaning platforms will soon have to prioritize Canadian content as a condition of operating here. Not surprisingly, some weren’t happy with its passage. “We are disappointed that the concerns of thousands of Canada’s digital creators and Canadian users were ultimately ignored,” said YouTube Canada communications head Zaitoon Murji in an email. 

Matt Hatfield, campaign director of the Vancouver-based open-internet advocacy group OpenMedia, said that under the law, “user content could still be regulated as broadcasting”—a key concern raised by critics of the bill.

Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez, who championed the bill throughout its often-rocky passage, spoke about the new law—and the others targeting Big Tech—with The Logic on Friday. 

The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What sort of timeline can we expect for the law to be implemented?

The next [step] is for me to send my directive to the CRTC, which should be ready in the next few weeks, no later than a month. Then the CRTC will be drafting its regulations. There’s going to be consultation, which gives a huge opportunity for Canadians to pitch in. And then it’s pouring things into place.

Some critics have said we’re effectively going to have CanCon policemen. What can you tell us about enforcement?

There are two things we want. We want the streamers to contribute to making content. Second, we want more visibility for our music, films or television. So we give tools to the CRTC to make sure that it will happen. There are monetary penalties for infringement, if [the platforms] don’t do it, up to $10 million for the first time and up to $15 million after that. So it’s tough. It’s serious money. But we’ve been working with platforms for over a year, and some of that resistance that was there isn’t anymore. The only resistance we saw was from YouTube, to be honest.

Some platforms said they will freeze out the Canadian market altogether should [online news bill] C-18 pass. What are the chances of C-11 causing that kind of response?

I don’t think it’s on the table for them. If you look at the quality of the people that are here—our technical people, our creative sectors, actors, the fact that we’re an industry of great tax credits—we produce great stuff. So I think it’s a smart decision to be here.

This is one of the first laws of its kind. What influence do you think it will have on other countries?

The world is watching. The last G7 meeting on culture, in Germany, started with a full agenda and ended up talking only about what Canada was doing. This is the first step. C-18, which is next, is quite advanced at the Senate. It’s extremely important for the news sector and democracy. And then it’s online safety. There’s been no regulation at all, because it was a little bit like the Wild West. The tech giants could do whatever they wanted. But you can’t function in a society like this.