What’s a Canadian film? Regulator to define after new online streaming bill passes: minister
Global News
Policy-makers and experts in Canada's creative industries are now grappling with the thorny issue of what, precisely, makes a film or television program Canadian.
Try to guess which of these movies is Canadian: Disney’s “Turning Red,” which tells the story of growing up as a Chinese-Canadian teen in Toronto and stars Ottawa-born Sandra Oh, or the Oscar-winning sci-fi epic “Dune” from Montreal director Denis Villeneuve and a team of Canadian collaborators.
Under Canada’s broadcasting laws, neither is considered to be a homegrown film.
Policy-makers and experts in Canada’s creative industries are now grappling with the thorny issue of what, precisely, makes a film or television program Canadian.
The definition is at the heart of new legislation before Parliament that would require streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+ to feature a certain amount of Canadian content, similar to the obligations long placed on traditional broadcasters.
Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez says he plans to ask the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to spell out what counts as Canadian content after Bill C-11 passes through Parliament. The legislation would increase investment in Canada’s creative industries, he says, allowing Canadians to more widely tell their own stories.
Interested parties will have the opportunity to share their views during public proceedings after Rodriguez issues his policy direction, says the broadcast regulator.
Should Bill C-11 pass, it would “create a more equitable playing field for Canadian creators and corporations, while ensuring that audiences will benefit from the enhanced visibility of Canadian content,” says Christa Dickenson, executive director and CEO of Telefilm Canada.
But some experts warn the current definition of Canadian content needs to be broadened and modernized to reflect the way television programs and film are made today.
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