Proposed Amendments to Bill C-18

An Act Respecting Online Communications Platforms that Make News Content Available to Persons in Canada Brief Submitted by the Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS) and the Fédération des télévisions communautaires autonomes du Québec January 27th, 2023

What’s at Stake If the goal of bill C-18 overlaps the goals of the Local Journalism Initiative―in seeking to ensure that journalism is sustainable and available throughout Canada and especially in underserved communities―the inclusion of community media is vital. Community media have been supplying news and local information to smaller communities not served by the public and private sectors―and providing the perspective of minorities on civic issues in larger communities―since the 1970s.

Community media are a trusted and recognized part of the news and broadcasting landscape, as has recently been validated in Bill C-11, with the inclusion of a comprehensive description of the role we play in the Canadian broadcasting system.1

Section 3 (1) s: elaborates on our role in providing news and our role in combatting disinformation and in supporting dialog on matters of public concern in subsections (ii), (

v) and (vi): (ii) cater to tastes and interests not adequately provided for by the programming provided for mass audiences and include programs devoted to culture, politics, history, health and public safety, local news and current events, local economy and the arts, (

v) through community participation, strengthen th e democratic process and support countering disinformation, and (vi) be available throughout Canada so that all Canadians can engage in dialogue on matters of public concern; and We are a trusted source of credible information, meeting standards set by locally elected, accountable not-for-profit boards of directors, five different national professional associations (two for community TV and three for community radio), and via CRTC licensing. 1 A selection of the news our members are making available online through the Local Journalism Initiative can be found at Com MediaPortal.ca. 2

Smaller organizations including community media will likely face an uphill battle participating in the compensation scheme proposed in bill C-18, however. The eligibility criteria will probably exclude most not-for-profit community TV stations for the following reasons:  The CRA Rules for “Qualified Canadian Journalism Organizations”: Although we meet the criteria as written, the National Campus and Community Radio Association (the NCRA) and the Community Radio Fund of Canada report in their combined brief that four of their members attempted to qualify, but were rejected.

Although CACTUS and Fédération members have not yet tested this process, we presume we would also be rejected, as our ownership structure is similar, as part of the community element in Canada's broadcasting system.

We understand that these rules were developed for print organizations.  The Two-Journalist Minimum: While most not-for-profit community TV stations have at least two employees, because TV is a technical-heavy medium, these individuals are often technicians or have a TV broadcasting degree, and might be journalists by experience rather than training, in that they have all produced local news for years. If “journalists” are defined by experience as well as training, as they are under the Local Journalism Initiative, most of our members will qualify.

Or, if they have only one person employed right now, we could probably boost them to two by granting them a journalist under the LJI. Therefore, most of our members may meet this criteria. However, a better judge of whether community media are established news organizations and there for the long haul, would be to ask them how long they’ve served the local community with news programming, and for proof of their not-for-profit board structure; that is, that they are not-for-profit broadcasting undertakings as defined in the online streaming act (C-11) in the definition for the communty element.

This stipulation would exclude online start-ups, which we understand is the goal of the two-journalist rule. We would also point out that the modus operandi of community media is for professional producers and journalists to train and guide citizen journalists. Typically, the community sector produces ten times as much news content dollar for dollar as the public and private sectors because of these partnerships. Therefore excluding them because they don't “employ 3

two full-time journalists” excludes the considerable community investment in news production, stability, and longevity provided by non- employed individuals, who work under the guidance of professionals who exercise editorial control. • Our Limited Capacity to Negotiate with Online Giants: If community broadcasters approach Google and Facebook to engage with them voluntarily in a news compensation agreement without being specifically cited in the Bill, we believe they will be overlooked.

We note the testimony provided in the brief submitted by the National Campus and Community Radio Association and the Community Radio Fund of Canada, in which they describe how only 11 out of a couple of hundred community radio stations in Australia successfully concluded compensation deals with these giants. They can “collectively bargain” via our national associations (e.g. the Fédération and CACTUS for community TV , and the Community Radio Fund of Canada for radio), but we are tiny associations with a couple of contractors/employees each, just like our members.

Our network is large, our capacity for news production is large, but our capacity for lobbying is small. If Google and Facebook don’t agree to engage with us and we have to go to the CRTC to apply the eligibility criteria as they appear in law, we fear we will run into the kinds of hurdles we’ve encountered before as small stakeholders before the CRTC.2 So, we don’t have faith that the “community element” won’t get lost in the shuffle, as it usually is when money is involved. Lack of clarity in legislation has never served our members nor the smaller communities and minorities they serve.

Therefore, we suggested the following amendments to Bill C-18 to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. 2 As just one example, in 2016, most of Canada’s budget for com munity TV was redirected (under lobbying pressure from Rogers) to BDUs to spend on their legacy private news networks. The Independent Local News Fund was created to support “conventional broadcasters” (meaning over-the-air broadcasters), but over-the-air community broadcasters were arbitrarily excluded.

When we approached the CRTC after receiving legal advice, we were informed, “That fund was not created for you” even though it was created from funding that was supposed to support community TV. 4

Proposed Amendments (3/4) Adopted So Far The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage adopted three of the amendments we proposed along with the community radio sector, all of which underscore that not-for-profit journalism merits support under Bill C-18.

They were as follows (amended text is underlined) 4 The purpose of this Act is to regulate digital news intermediaries with a view to enhancing fairness in the Canadian digital news marketplace and contributing to its sustainability, including the sustainability of news businesses in Canada, in both the non-profit and for-profits sectors, including independent local ones. 11(vi) they involve a range of news outlets in both the non-profit and for-profit sectors and they were entered into with news businesses that reflect a diversity of business models that provide services to all markets and diverse populations, including local and regional markets in every province and territory, anglophone and francophone communities, including official language minority communities, and Black and other racialized communities, and 27(1(a)) is a qualified Canadian journalism organization as defined in subsection 248(1) of the Income Tax Act, or is licensed by the Commission under paragraph 9(1) ‍ (

b) of the Broadcasting Act as a campus station , community station or native station as those terms are defined in regulations made under that Act or other categories of licensees established by the Commission with a similar community mandate; This amendment ensures community radio and TV license holders meet the eligibility criteria. Unfortunately, only 8 of the 67 community stations in the country have their own CRTC licences. 45 of them broadcast on a BDU-owned community channel and are obligated to follow the same content regulations as the BDUs, the cable licence holders.

However, with the closures of BDU-owned community channels in small exempt systems as well as the permission to close and redirect financing from BDU-owned community channels in cities with populations over 1,000,000 (permitted by CRTC 2016-664), more and more “TVCs” (independent community TV corporations) only stream content via their web sites and social media; hence our concern that Bill C-11 recognize online streaming community channels as part of the “community element”.

With the reduction in viewership to traditional TV services and the rise in subscription to online services, it is an open question for many of them whether it’s worth seeking a license. 5

Final Amendment Yet To Be Adopted Therefore, we proposed to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage that the following clause be added to paragraph 27(1(b(i))) to ensure that unlicensed not-for-profit community broadcasters would also be eligible for online news compensation under bill C-18: 27(1(b(i))) regularly employs two or more journalists in Canada or is a not-for- profit broadcasting undertaking that produces news This amendment seemed to have been “lost in the shuffle” at the Standing Committee, because another amendment was made to this line.

We have now consulted with community stakeholders, with the Heritage Minister's office and with the Department of Canadian Heritage to adjust the wording slightly to the following: 27(1(b(i))) regularly employs two or more journalists in Canada, which journalists may include journalists who own or are a partner in the news business and journalists who do not deal at arm’s length with the business, or is a not-for-profit community broadcasting undertaking as defined in the Broadcasting Act.

Although unlicensed, by placing the phrase in 27(1(b(i))), these undertakings will have to comply with the other 3 requirements in 27(1(b)); that is, that they be Canadian, that they produce news content, and that they following a journalistic professional code. Our members satisfy these requirements. This amendment to line 27(1(b(i))) is important for two additional reasons:

i) Some not-for-profit community radio stations are also online-only ii) the licensing system may soon be overhauled by the CRTC as a conequence of the passing of Bill C-11, in favour of a service-contract regime. If the latter occurs, the part of 27 (1(a)) that ensures the eligibility of licensed community stations would not longer apply. The remainder of this brief provides background information about CACTUS and Fédération members: not-for-profit community TV broadcasters.Identification The Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS) and the and the Fédération des télévisions communautaires autonomes du Québec advocate on behalf of individual Canadians and 6

community organizations for access to digital skills training, production support, and distribution platforms so that individuals—especially minority and alternative voices—and communities have the tools they need to be heard and express themselves in the digital environment. Our vision has evolved from our roots in community television to include multimedia and multiplatform access.

CACTUS and the Fédération were formed in the early 2000s by citizens (many of them former cable community TV station employees) who were alarmed by widespread closures of former cable access productions studios and a shift in production methodology at the remaining cable studios away from citizen-oriented content to corporate and cable staff- driven content. CACTUS and Fédération members include: ● not-for-profit over-the-air community TV and radio license holders, whose content is also distributed on cable, satellite, and the Internet.

Our membership is not limited to television - one member trains the public in the creation of interactive content (web and video games) and three also distribute radio. ● unlicensed not-for-profit community TV and media corporations, which stream their content on the Internet and provide it to Broadcast Distribution Undertakings (BDUs, which includes cable and satellite companies) for playback on BDU community channels ● not-for-profit community organizations that want coverage and visibility, or which support the free speech and community development mandate of community media ● individual Canadians and media researchers concerned about the availability of local content, and their capacity to leverage technologies to get messages out. 7

What and Who Belong to “The Community Element”? CACTUS and the Fédération are two of five professional associations that represent the community element in the broadcasting system.

The other three represent community radio: ● The National Community Radio Association (the NCRA); ● L'Association des radios communautaires du Canada (l'ARQ du Canada) and ● L'Association des radios communautaires du Québec (l'ARQ du Québec) ● The community element also includes at least 60 Indigenous community broadcasters, some of whom are members of these associations Together, the community element includes over 300 not-for-profit sources of local TV and radio, which facilitate production by over 10,000 community organizations, individual Canadians, small businesses, Indigenous bands and other groups within Canadian society.

Community media organizations frequently provide local reflection in the absence of other local media. Our members produce an average of 6 hours of local content per week, 2 of which would be considered civic local news (of the kind funded by the Local Journalism Initiative) with an additional 2 hours of news coverage of non-civic topics including the cultural sector and sports. As such, we are significant producers of information in small communities across the country, in underserved neighbourhoods surrounding large urban areas, and underserved minorities in large urban areas.

We produce local content for ~500 cities and villages and are often the only source of truly local news for them. 8

The Role of the Community Element The community element in broadcasting is understood by practitioners here in Canada and in at least 50 other nations that recognize it as providing: ● a voice for smaller communities and minority voices― This role is ever more important in the wake of private media consolidation and lay-offs, such as Bell’s 2021 cuts and the CAB’s estimate that 200 stations will close this year. Because of our collaboration with local players and organizations, we serve our communities for the long haul, producing content for 1/10th the cost of the public and private sectors.

In many places, community media are the only option; for example, in most Indigenous communities, which may have only a few 100 or 1000 members. ● a platform for democratic discourse at the local level; for example through the dissemination of municipal council meetings, town halls, and other public fora, as well as through programming that community members create themselves. The unregulated Internet cannot provide this forum and in fact spread misinformation; community media are answerable to the CRTC and other regulatory authorities.

Community media rebuild trust in local institutions. ● media literacy― In the digital era, this role is ever more crucial, to ensure that individuals, community organizations and small businesses have the know-how to leverage evolving digital platforms. For example, we offer training not only in traditional media production, but also in virtual reality, augmented reality, and video game production. ● incubators for Canadian talent――Next to the massive US market, we must compete by enabling our community media network of 'farm teams' that recruit and develop talent.

Community media are the “Creative Hubs” envisaged in the Creative Canada Policy Framework, where interdisciplinary media rub shoulders, learn new skills, and develop ideas in low-risk environments. They're the “Google-campuses” of our hinterland. 9