Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault is appearing confident that large, foreign corporations operating in the digital realm like Netflix and Facebook will soon be paying sales taxes in Canada.
The minister was called to testify to the Parliamentary committee on Canadian Heritage Wednesday to answer questions about his mandate letter, which covers issues ranging from promoting Canadas cultural and creative industries to regulating hate speech. In his remarks, Guilbeault said the next budget is a good opportunity to ensure GST is paid bylarge foreign digital operators. He also said there were other mechanisms that could be used to support the creation of Canadian content.
Things will change, he said, speaking in French.
His comments come following last months release of the broadcasting and telecom panels highly-anticipated report. Panelists in charge of the independent report, dubbed the Yale report, spent one-and-a-half-years reviewing Canadas telecommunication sector, and developed 97 recommendations for the feds on how to bring the Broadcasting Act and Telecommunications Act into modern times.
One recommendation said any company that meets the definition of a curator companies like CTV and Netflix, which acquire and produce their own content must invest in Canadian content, with the percentage of investment to be determined by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), the regulatory agency for broadcasting and telecommunications.
READ MORE: Telecommunications review calls for big changes to CRTC, CBC
Guilbeault said he is looking closely at all the recommendations, and while he said he doesnt control all the mechanisms for bringing a bill to the floor, he hopes to table legislation by June, if not earlier.
Much of the committee discussion also focused on ways to strengthen local news coverage, an issue Guilbeault has been vocal about since his appointment to cabinet in November.
READ MORE: Modernized federal fund will support the creation of Canadian content, industry groups say
In an exclusive year-end interview with iPolitics in December, Guilbeault said he hoped to work with CBC to find a way for them to produce more local content. Guilbeault said this could be achieved through hiring more people and opening more offices, or by partnering with existing media and having a shared agreement where smaller outlets content is being used and promoted on CBC platforms.
Guilbeault reiterated his commitment to broadening the CBCs mandate Wednesday, saying the public broadcaster is essential to Canadas media ecosystem and contributes to shared identity.
The news media mandate is changing, he said, adding that the feds plan to respond with rigour necessary to support the media while ensuring its continued independence.
The minister also pointed to a pilot project between the CBC and the Winnipeg Free Press where the CBC put parts of news articles on its website, but readers must visit the Winnipeg Free Press website to view the full story.
READ MORE: Heritage Minister has path to expand CBCs mandate, funding under new report
Bloc Qubcois MP Martin Champoux said Canadians agree that big businesses need to be paying taxes in Canada. He said in French that Guilbeaults intention to help the local news sector is music to my ears.
Champoux also asked about the aid program for regional media, and wondered whether the minister would be willing to amend the criteria for aid, to which Guilbeault said the aid program is in its first year and that there is room to amend the program if it doesnt meet the needs of the sector.
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Heritage Minister looks to tax Netflix, Facebook within the year - iPolitics.ca
