Regulatory, Telecom & Media News – Industry groups laud passage of Bill C-11

The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB), Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA), and Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) are among the industry groups lauding the passage of Bill C-11, the Online Streaming Act, in the Senate, ahead of a long policy journey yet to come. Bill C-11 received Royal Assent late Thursday afternoon – more than two years after the tabling of the original Bill C-10 (which died before clearing the Senate when an election was called) – aimed at compelling digital platforms like Netflix, Amazon, YouTube and Google to adhere to Canadian content guidelines and invest in Canadian culture, similar to traditional broadcasters. The legislation will task the CRTC with new regulatory powers, following policy direction consultations with stakeholders and Canadians. The bill is short on specifics with publication of a draft version anticipated in the coming month. Read more here.

The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association has rebranded as the Canadian Telecommunications Association. The organization says the new name reflects an expanded role “promoting the importance of both wireless and wireline telecommunications to Canada’s economic growth and social development, and the crucial role of ongoing investments by facilities-based service providers in delivering world-class internet and mobile-wireless services to Canadians.” Founded in 1975 as the Canadian Radio Common Carriers Association, the association’s name and branding has evolved over the decades to reflect the changing nature of telecommunications in Canada.

Air Canada and Bell have announced a multi-year partnership that will make it easier for travellers to stay connected. Starting May 15, Air Canada and Bell will offer free messaging for all Aeroplan members worldwide on all wi-fi equipped aircraft across Air Canada’s fleet, including Air Canada Rouge and Air Canada Express flights, enabling customers to send and receive text-based messages via messaging apps like iMessage, WhatsApp, Messenger, Viber, and Google Messages. The benefit will also be available to strategic partner airline loyalty members, including customers of United MileagePlus, Lufthansa Group Miles & More and Emirates Skywards when their account numbers are associated with an Air Canada booking. Newcomers and visitors to Canada will be offered complimentary mobile SIM cards on select inbound international flights under the partnership. 

UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Day marked its 30th year Wednesday with Canadian journalists  recognized at a luncheon in Ottawa, including La Presse’s Vincent Larouche, the winner of the 2023 Press Freedom Award. The award is presented annually by World Press Freedom Canada (WPFC) to a journalist who has overcome secrecy, legal maneuvers, political intimidation, interference, or other safety risks to produce public interest reporting. WPFC also recognized Rachel Pulfer, executive director of Journalists for Human Rights (JHR), with the 2023 Spencer Moore Award for Lifetime Achievement, honouring sustained and demonstrable commitment to improving press freedom and freedom of information. WPFC awarded a Certificate of Merit to freelance journalist Justin Ling, and Charlie Pinkerton, who broke the story of Greenbelt developers attending the wedding party of Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s daughter, who resigned from iPolitics-owned QP Briefing over alleged interference. Read more here.

The Michener Awards Foundation has announced the finalists for the 2022 Michener Award for meritorious public service journalism: CBC News Saskatchewan, The Eastern Graphic, The Toronto Star, Radio-Canada and The Globe and Mail. Founded in 1971, the prize honours excellence in public-service journalism with the judges’ decisions heavily influenced by the degree of public benefit generated by the stories submitted for consideration. Read more about the work of this year’s finalists here.

The Canadian Journalism Foundation (CJF) has announced Leïla Ahouman, Serena Lopez, Mzwandile Poncana, Rahma Shafi and Daniel Reale-Chin as recipients of the Black Journalism Fellowship Program, in partnership with CBC/Radio-Canada, CTV News, The Globe and Mail and the Investigative Journalism Bureau (IJB). The program aims to amplify Black voices, improve coverage of Black issues in the news and cultivate future Black media leaders. Each fellowship provides a unique opportunity for an early-career Black journalist to be hosted for six months in one of the aforementioned newsrooms or at the IJB at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health Sciences.

Rise, a virtual conference sponsored by the Canadian Association of Black Journalists and Communicators (CABJ), is set to take place May 26-27. Among the topics to be explored are crime reporting in Canadian newsrooms, sinophobia in media coverage of China; and mindful journalism methods.

RTDNA Canada’s upcoming webinar on May 8 will feature CTV National News correspondent Tom Walters on powerful writing. Walters will share tips on writing to pictures and emotional engagement. Click here to register

WAB (Western Association of Broadcasters) has confirmed that CRTC commissioners Joanne Levy (MB/SK), Claire Anderson (BC/YK) and Nirmala Naidoo (AB/NWT) will be on hand for a meet and greet at this year’s WAB Conference, June 7-8 at Banff Fairmont Springs. This year’s gala will feature British Columbia-by-way-of-Manitoba country act Tim & The Glory Boys.

The Jack Webster Foundation has opened nominations for the Shelley Fralic Award, celebrating a B.C. woman journalist who exemplifies the late Shelley Fralic’s legacy of making her community a better place. In choosing the recipient, the all-women judging panel will consider the nominees’ commitment to both journalism and their communities. Find out more here. Nominations close June 9.