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Minutes of Proceedings

44th Parliament, 1st Session
Meeting 55
Tuesday, November 22, 2022, 11:08 a.m. to 1:04 p.m.
Webcast
Presiding
Hon. Hedy Fry, Chair (Liberal)

House of Commons
• Philippe Méla, Legislative Clerk
• Jean-François Pagé, Legislative Clerk
 
Library of Parliament
• Gabrielle de Billy Brown, Analyst
• Marion Ménard, Analyst
Department of Canadian Heritage
• Thomas Owen Ripley, Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Cultural Affairs
• Michel Sabbagh, Director General, Broadcasting, Copyright, and Creative Marketplace Branch
• Joelle Paré, Acting Director, Marketplace and Legislative Policy
• Frederick Matern, Manager, Marketplace and Legislative Policy
Pursuant to the order of reference of Tuesday, May 31, 2022, the committee resumed consideration of Bill C-18, An Act respecting online communications platforms that make news content available to persons in Canada.

Michel Sabbagh and Thomas Owen Ripley answered questions.

The committee resumed clause-by-clause consideration on Clause 2 of the Bill.

The committee resumed consideration of the amendment of Rachael Thomas, — That Bill C-18, in Clause 2, be amended

(a) by replacing line 13 on page 2 with the following:

“ing an audio or audiovisual format — that is protected by copyright and that reports on, in-”

(b) by replacing line 15 on page 2 with the following:

“interest. It does not include a hyperlink that provides access to online news content and is presented without images or extracts of alphanumeric text that are part of the online news content. (contenu de nouvelles)”

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Rachael Thomas and it was negatived on the following recorded division:

YEAS: Marilyn Gladu, Martin Shields, Rachael Thomas, Kevin Waugh — 4;

NAYS: Chris Bittle, Martin Champoux, Michael Coteau, Lisa Hepfner, Anthony Housefather, Peter Julian, Tim Louis — 7.

Peter Julian moved, — That Bill C-18, in Clause 2, be amended by replacing line 15 on page 2 with the following:

“interest and includes such content that an Indigenous news outlet makes available to an Indigenous community by means of Indigenous storytelling. (contenu de nouvelles)”

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Peter Julian and it was agreed to.

Clause 2, as amended, carried on the following recorded division:

YEAS: Chris Bittle, Martin Champoux, Michael Coteau, Lisa Hepfner, Anthony Housefather, Peter Julian, Tim Louis — 7;

NAYS: Marilyn Gladu, Martin Shields, Rachael Thomas, Kevin Waugh — 4.

On Clause 3,

Rachael Thomas moved, — That Bill C-18, in Clause 3, be amended by replacing line 37 on page 2 with the following:

“cal, regional and national news content, and that prevents any political interference or partisan bias from influencing the content produced by journalists.”

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Rachael Thomas and it was negatived on the following recorded division:

YEAS: Marilyn Gladu, Martin Shields, Rachael Thomas, Kevin Waugh — 4;

NAYS: Chris Bittle, Martin Champoux, Michael Coteau, Lisa Hepfner, Anthony Housefather, Peter Julian, Tim Louis — 7.

Clause 3 carried on the following recorded division:

YEAS: Chris Bittle, Martin Champoux, Michael Coteau, Lisa Hepfner, Anthony Housefather, Peter Julian, Tim Louis — 7;

NAYS: Marilyn Gladu, Martin Shields, Rachael Thomas, Kevin Waugh — 4.

On Clause 4,

Martin Champoux moved, — That Bill C-18, in Clause 4, be amended by replacing lines 8 and 9 on page 3 with the following:

“its sustainability, including the sustainability of news businesses in Canada, including independent local ones.”

At 12:03 p.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 12:06 p.m., the sitting resumed.

Anthony Housefather moved, — That the amendment be amended by adding after the word “Canada” the following: “, in both the non-profit and for-profit sectors”.

After debate, the question was put on the subamendment of Anthony Housefather and it was agreed to.

The question was put on the amendment of Martin Champoux, as amended, and it was agreed to.

Clause 4, as amended, carried on the following recorded division:

YEAS: Chris Bittle, Martin Champoux, Michael Coteau, Marilyn Gladu, Lisa Hepfner, Anthony Housefather, Peter Julian, Tim Louis, Martin Shields, Kevin Waugh — 10;

NAYS: — 0.

Clause 5 carried on the following recorded division:

YEAS: Chris Bittle, Martin Champoux, Michael Coteau, Lisa Hepfner, Anthony Housefather, Peter Julian, Tim Louis — 7;

NAYS: Marilyn Gladu, Martin Shields, Rachael Thomas, Kevin Waugh — 4.

On Clause 6,

Rachael Thomas moved, — That Bill C-18, in Clause 6, be amended by replacing line 13 on page 3 with the following:

“ary that generates at least $100 million per year in advertising, subscription, usage or membership revenue in Canada if, having regard to the following factors, there is a”

Debate arose thereon.

Marilyn Gladu moved, — That the amendment be amended by adding the word “generated” after the word “revenue”.

After debate, the question was put on the subamendment of Marilyn Gladu and it was negatived on the following recorded division:

YEAS: Marilyn Gladu, Martin Shields, Rachael Thomas, Kevin Waugh — 4;

NAYS: Chris Bittle, Martin Champoux, Michael Coteau, Lisa Hepfner, Anthony Housefather, Peter Julian, Tim Louis — 7.

The question was put on the amendment of Rachael Thomas and it was negatived on the following recorded division:

YEAS: Marilyn Gladu, Martin Shields, Rachael Thomas, Kevin Waugh — 4;

NAYS: Chris Bittle, Martin Champoux, Michael Coteau, Lisa Hepfner, Anthony Housefather, Peter Julian, Tim Louis — 7.

Clause 6 carried on the following recorded division:

YEAS: Chris Bittle, Martin Champoux, Michael Coteau, Lisa Hepfner, Anthony Housefather, Peter Julian, Tim Louis — 7;

NAYS: Marilyn Gladu, Martin Shields, Rachael Thomas, Kevin Waugh — 4.

On Clause 7,

Marilyn Gladu moved, — That Bill C-18, in Clause 7, be amended by replacing line 27 on page 3 to line 1 on page 4 with the following:

“specifies, provide the Commission with the information that it reasonably requires for the purpose of verifying compliance”

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Marilyn Gladu and it was negatived on the following recorded division:

YEAS: Marilyn Gladu, Martin Shields, Rachael Thomas, Kevin Waugh — 4;

NAYS: Chris Bittle, Michael Coteau, Lisa Hepfner, Anthony Housefather, Peter Julian, Tim Louis, Mario Simard — 7.

At 1:04 p.m., the committee adjourned to the call of the Chair.



Aimée Belmore
Clerk of the committee