Canada: Passage by House of Commons of draft law including investment in local content obligation

The Act to amend the Broadcasting Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other acts (Bill C-10) was passed by the House of Commons and now enters the Senate, the upper house of the Canadian Parliament. The Bill aims to include online undertakings in the Canadian Broadcasting act. Online undertaking means an undertaking for the transmission or retransmission of programs over the Internet for reception by the public by means of broadcasting receiving apparatus. Under the Bill, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is granted the power to require online undertakings to make expenditures to support Canadian content. The amount is to be calculated by the CRTC, using appropriate criteria. An individual who commits a violation shall be fined up to C$25,000, $50,000 for each subsequent violation. In the case of a person other than an individual, it is C$10 million and C$15 million respectively.