Senate debating motion to pass contentious Bill C-11 without further changes

Senators returned to the upper chamber on Tuesday and quickly began debating a motion that would see the Senate accept Bill C-11, the Online Streaming Act, without insisting on further changes.

Senators returned to the upper chamber on Tuesday and quickly began debating a motion that would see the Senate accept Bill C-11, the Online Streaming Act, without insisting on further changes.

The federal Liberal government's representative in the Senate, Sen. Marc Gold, introduced a motion seeking that the Senate agree to the version of Bill C-11 the House of Commons signed off on last month, and not insist on the several amendments that the majority of MPs voted down.

"The Senate has three possible practical responses to this message: it can concur, it can insist on its amendments, or it can make a new proposal within the scope of the disagreement. Today, I'm asking this chamber to concur with the decision of our fellow parliamentarians in the other place. A decision that is clear, informed, carefully considered, and which comes to us following a robust and vigorous debate in a minority Parliament," Gold said, speaking to his motion.

Gold's motion asks the Senate to accept the Liberals' "stated intent" that Bill C-11 "will not apply to user-generated digital content" despite persisting concerns that the legislation has inadequate protections, and the federal government's "commitment to issue policy direction to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) accordingly."

Debate is expected to continue on the motion this week, and after years of discussion, study, and modifications to the initial piece of legislation, it appears there's some desire within the Senate to see this chapter come to an end soon.

Once the vote is called, if it passes, the House will be informed and the contentious piece of legislation will await royal assent, the final step before a bill becomes law.

In late March, just before Parliament took a two-week break, the Liberal, NDP and Bloc Quebecois MPs passed a motion from Bill C-11's sponsor, Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez, accepting the majority of the Senate's changes to the 50-page bill.