Quebec's proposed French-language quotas for streaming giants could spark a constitutional battle
OTTAWA — The Quebec government wants major digital platforms to emphasize and boost access to francophone content and is ready to penalize them if they don't oblige.
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And it could set up a constitutional battle with the federal government.
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When the Quebec Minister of Culture and Communications Mathieu Lacombe outlined his government's intentions regarding the streaming giants earlier this week, Peter Menzies thought: 'Oh boy, here we go.'
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The former vice chair of Telecommunications at the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) saw the province —again — acting and asserting powers over what seems to be a federal jurisdiction.
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'There's constitutional issues over who has jurisdiction over communications and broadcasting control,' he told National Post.
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Bill 109 would allow the government to set quotas for francophone content such as music, films and television series on streaming platforms like Netflix, Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.
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Those platforms would also have to offer an easier way for users to find francophone content.
'We can't choose something that isn't offered to us. We can't like something we don't know,' Lacombe said earlier this week.
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'Access to our culture, to films, to TV series, to songs in French, it must be easy, it must be simple when we're in Quebec,' he added.
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If Bill 109 is passed, it would establish the 'quantity or proportion' of original French-language content that must be offered on digital platforms with a default French-language interface. It would also enshrine the right of access to French-language cultural content in the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.
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Lacombe's argument is based on data that isn't very encouraging for Quebec's cultural sector. Citing government data, Lacombe claims that 92 per cent of young people have difficulty identifying French-language cultural goods available on online platforms.
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Of the 10,000 most-streamed songs in Quebec in 2023, only five per cent were French-language titles from the province. Not so long ago, in the era of compact discs, Lacombe said, one in two sales was by a Quebec artist. Currently, among the 50 most-streamed songs online in Quebec, there is only one song in French.
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