Online Streaming Act gets Royal Assent
By Rob Bale
Canadian Heritage has announced that Bill C-11, known as the Online Streaming Act, has receive Royal Assent. The new law is intended to make Canadian stories and music more widely available on streaming services. It requires streaming services to contribute to the creation, production and distribution of Canadian stories. This is the first major reform to the Broadcasting Act since 1991. The Online Streaming Act will be implemented by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.
“Today, we are standing up for our stories, our artists, our producers and our creators,” said Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage. “We're standing up so that Canadians have even more opportunities to see themselves in what they watch and listen to. With this legislation, we are ensuring that Canada's incredible talent has a bigger and brighter stage online. They tell our stories, they make our voices heard, they contribute to our economy, and they make our culture what it is: strong, diverse and unique.” Today, we stand up because our stories matter and our artists who tell them matter.”