Ottawa seeks to ‘eliminate’ streamers’ Cancon base contributions: court doc
The Canadian federal government has indicated in a court filing its intention to eliminate the requirement for streaming services to contribute to a Canadian content fund, proposing to replace it with taxpayer funding. This move follows ongoing litigation regarding the Online Streaming Act.
Why it matters
This represents a significant shift in Canadian cultural policy, moving from a 'polluter pays' model for streamers to direct government subsidization of the media sector.
The federal government says it intends to “eliminate” the requirement for online streaming services to contribute a portion of their revenues to fund Canadian content, replacing that funding with taxpayer money.
The disclosure was made in a letter to the Federal Court of Appeal this month as part of ongoing litigation over the Online Streaming Act.
“We are instructed to inform the court that the government’s intention is to eliminate the base contribution requirement on streaming services and to provide government funding to replace those contributions,” the attorney general’s office said in the document dated July 17.
It comes after Ottawa last month directed the CRTC to review and “adjust” its recent decision to triple streamers’ base contribution rate to 15 per cent under the act.
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