Bill C-444

2nd Session, 40th Parliament,

57-58 Elizabeth II, 2009

house of commons of canada

BILL C-444

An Act to amend the Broadcasting Act and the Telecommunications Act (broadcasting and telecommunications policies)

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

BROADCASTING ACT

1. (1) Paragraph 3(1)(b) of the Broadcasting Act is replaced by the following:

(b) the Canadian broadcasting system, operating primarily in the English and French languages and comprising public, private and community elements, makes use of radio frequencies that are public property and provides, through its programming, a public service essential to the maintenance and enhancement of Canada’s and Quebec’s national identities and of cultural sovereignty;

(2) Subparagraph 3(1)(d)(i) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(i) serve to safeguard, enrich and strengthen the cultural, political, social and economic fabric of Canada and, in Quebec, of the Québécois nation,

(3) Paragraph 3(1)(d) of the Act is amended by striking out “and” at the end of subparagraph (iii) and by adding the following after that subparagraph:

(4) Subparagraph 3(1)(m)(vi) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(vi) contribute to shared national consciousness and identity and, in Quebec, to the Québécois national identity,

(5) Subparagraph 3(1)(m)(viii) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(viii) reflect the multicultural and multiracial nature of Canada and, in Quebec, of the Québécois national identity;

(6) Subparagraph 3(1)(r)(iii) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(iii) reflect Canada’s regions and multicul- tural nature and, in Quebec, the Québécois national identity,

(7) Subsection 3(2) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(2) It is further declared that the Canadian broadcasting system constitutes a single system and that the objectives of the broadcasting policy set out in subsection (1) can best be achieved by providing for the regulation and supervision of the Canadian broadcasting system by an independent public authority.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACT

2. Section 8 of the Telecommunications Act is replaced by the following:

8. Subject to section 8.1, the Governor in Council may, by order, issue to the Commission directions of general application on broad policy matters with respect to the Canadian telecommunications policy objectives.

8.1 (1) The Governor in Council may delegate to any province that requests it authority to provide for the regulation and supervision of the telecommunications facilities within its boundaries in order that the province may entrust them to a provincial public authority.

3. Subsection 9(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:

9. (1) Except with respect to a province with delegated authority to regulate the telecommunications facilities, the Commission may, by order, exempt any class of Canadian carriers from the application of this Act, subject to any conditions contained in the order, where the Commission, after holding a public hearing in relation to the exemption, is satisfied that the exemption is consistent with the Canadian telecommunications policy objectives.