Canada minister urges new media laws to boost local content -paper

TORONTO, April 23 (Reuters) - Canada's Liberal government is
prepared to overhaul the country's laws governing broadcasting,
media and cultural industries to support local content, Heritage
Minister Melanie Joly told the Globe and Mail in a report on
Saturday, announcing a new policy direction in what she called a
broken system.
Canada's broadcast regulator has long had requirements for
networks to carry certain amounts of local content. But it cut
that quota drastically last year under the Conservative
government, after the industry was shaken up by the arrivals of
online media services such as the streaming site Netflix
NFLX.O .
Joly told the Globe she was willing to change laws such as
the Broadcasting Act and the Telecommunications Act and modify
the mandates of the Canadian Radio-television and
Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) broadcast regulator and the
Canadian Broadcasting Corp public media organization. She added
the government would also create new laws or agencies, as
needed.
Joly's Canadian Heritage federal department on Saturday
announced a public consultation on how to support and promote
Canadian content in the current digital climate. The department
said in a statement it has made available a pre-consultation
questionnaire on media consumption habits and expectations that
will be open until May 20. The department said Joly will lead
the next phase, which will begin in the summer, though it did
not give further details.
Canadian Heritage did not immediately respond to a request
for comment.
Joly told the Globe she will start acting on the
consultation's feedback in 2017, when she will also prepare a
new cultural export strategy with International Trade Minister
Chrystia Freeland.
Last year the government eliminated its 55 percent
requirement for local shows on over-the-air TV, with the CTRC
saying the protections were no longer relevant in a world of
abundance and choice. The regulator's decision is not expected
to take effect until 2017.
Netflix arrived in Canada in late 2010 and does not have to
ensure a quota of Canadian content, which are usually less
popular than those from the United States. It and similar
services have shaken up the industry by offering more choices
than traditional subscription TV services.