CRTC Sued a Fifth Time Over the Online Streaming Act

The Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) is adding to the litigation pile against the CRTC with a lawsuit of their own.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is lawsuit number five
One, two, three, four, five
Everybody has got the litigation vibe
To the court house around the corner
The CRTC is playing fast and loose
But some really don’t wanna
The credibility of the law is quite weak
This is something they were destined to reap

I like freedom, enjoyment, free speech and content
And as I continue, you know it’s getting better (uh)
So what can I do? I really beg you, my Lord
To me is watching is just like a sport
Anything fly, it’s all good, let me upload it
Please just give me what I want

A little bit of free speech in my life
A little bit of suggestions by my side
A little bit of music’s all I need
A little bit of gaming’s what I see
A little bit of DIY in the sun
A little bit of tutorial all night long
A little bit of content, here I am
A little bit of you makes me your star (ah)

Lawsuit Number Five (ah)
Jump up and down and criticize it all around
Shake your head to the nonsense
Put your hand on the screen
Take recommendations and my rights
Next thing you know, the platform ain’t right
Warn the CRTC once, warn them twice
And they’ll ignore you and say you ain’t right

Trumpet, the trumpet
Lawsuit Number Five, hahaha

They’re taking away what you love with a law like this
‘Cause you can’t run and you can’t hide
From the CRTC, no reason why

Lawsuit Number Five (ah)

That was way more fun to rewrite those lyrics than it probably should have been. While I’m sure it could be refined further, I need to actually write an article here.

One of the things I passively remarked about the debate surrounding the Online Streaming Act is the fact that it was basically lawsuit bait. Lobbyists and certain politicians kept insisting that the Act was simply on rock solid legal footing and there was absolutely no way that it could possibly be challenged. This despite the insane way it was crafted and is basically a massive Charter violation (among other things) as people’s right to freedom of expression gets taken away to prop up out of touch legacy media companies that has long lost its status as an entertainment medium enjoyed by many. So, in response to the head in sand politicians and lobbyists who insist that there is no Charter violation, I basically responded by saying that, don’t worry, I’ll be over here counting the lawsuits as they roll in.

Fast forward to today and, well, that’s exactly what I am doing. While I don’t think my count is perfect (as I’m sure there are other lawsuits floating around somewhere along the line), I do know that there is now five lawsuits targeting the CRTC challenging the implementation of the Online Streaming Act. So, let me count the lawsuits at this point: one… two… three… four… and what crossed my little news desk today… lawsuit number five.

This lawsuit was filed by the Canadian Media Producers Association. Since I know there are plenty of people out there who would be very interested to read this massive lawsuit itself, I’ll just kindly leave that lawsuit right here (PDF).

While it is a bit easier to figure out what other people are suing the CRTC over with regards to how they are implementing the Online Streaming Act, this one is a bit trickier. Just reading the section regarding the grounds for the lawsuit is a little vague for those who aren’t entirely living in CRTC land:

1. The ability of Canada’s broadcasting system to safeguard, enrich, and strengthen Canada’s cultural, political, social, and economic fabric depends on Canadians’ ability to benefit from Canadian programming. A clear, robust, and effective definition of “Canadian program” is central to fulfilling those objectives.

2. The Canadian Media Producers Association (“CMPA”) seeks leave to appeal Broadcasting Regulatory Policy 2025-299 issued by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (“Commission”) on November 18, 2025 (the
“Decision”). The Decision redefines what constitutes a “Canadian program” for the purposes of the Broadcasting Act, SC 1991, c 11 (the “Act”.

3. The CMPA has an arguable case that the Decision is based on errors of law in the Commission’s interpretation and application of the statutory requirements of the Act. The threshold for leave is met. Leave should be granted.

No, I don’t know what happened to the closing bracket at the end of the second paragraph, but that’s not really all that important right now. What is important is figuring out why this organization is suing in the first place. For me, personally, just reading these three paragraphs doesn’t really get me much closer to figuring out why. So, I decided to delve deeper into the lawsuit to get a clearer picture. Further down, I noted this:

18. In the Decision, the Commission acknowledges that the Act requires it to consider all of the factors set out in subsection 10(1.1) of the Act and section 13 of the Policy Direction when defining “Canadian program”.

19. Notwithstanding, the Decision does not reference the mandatory criterion set out in section 10(1.1)(d) of the Act. Nor does it explain how a 20% copyright interest ensures Canadians are able to control and benefit from the exploitation of their programs in a significant and equitable manner, as required by section 10.(1.1)(a).

20. The Decision also fails to explain how its definition of “Canadian program” supports Canadian ownership of intellectual property, as required by section 13 of the Policy Direction.

21. The Decision notes the Commission will be issuing a further notice of consultation in the “near future” calling for “comments on proposed new regulations to implement its decisions regarding the criteria for defining ‘Canadian program’”.

That notice has not yet been issued.

So, sounds like this has something to do with how Canadian content is being defined and how it’s not really all that clear. From the sounds of things, this could cost a lot of money on the part of those trying to enter into the system as it takes a lot just to obtain that certification as producers navigate things. So, I think that is at least in the ballpark where this lawsuit is coming from at least.

At any rate, this is definitely going to cost the taxpayers a pretty penny. Not just with figuring out this lawsuit, but at least the other four lawsuits that I mentioned above. On the plus side, at least we now have a partial answer as to why the Online Streaming Act is still in the implementation process. It’s because the CRTC is a little busy getting the every living daylights sued out of them.

Drew Wilson on Mastodon, Twitter and Facebook.