Change to Canadian program definition

Summary#

These final regulations update how the law defines a “Canadian program” in the Television Broadcasting Regulations, 1987 and the Discretionary Services Regulations. They tie the definition to the Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2023-90 (about how stock footage costs are treated) and say that programs already qualifying before November 1, 2023 will keep that status.

What it does#

• Updates the definition of “Canadian program” in the Television Broadcasting Regulations, 1987 and the Discretionary Services Regulations so those rules refer to Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2023-90 (the CRTC decision that changed how stock footage costs are counted). The policy is dated 23 March 2023.
• Adds a transitional rule that any program that qualified as Canadian under the old wording before November 1, 2023 will continue to qualify under these regulations.
• Brings these changes into force on November 1, 2023.

Who's affected#

• TV and streaming services that use the Canadian program rules for licensing or scheduling.
• Producers and production companies that apply for Canadian program certification.
• People who make or buy stock footage for Canadian productions.
• It is not perfectly clear from the text how large the effect will be for every project — that depends on how the new CRTC approach changes the counting of stock footage costs in individual certification decisions.

Why it matters#

• The change changes the test used to decide whether a program counts as a Canadian program for regulatory purposes. That matters for producers and broadcasters because certification affects how a program is treated under broadcasting rules.
• The transitional rule protects projects that already met the old test before November 1, 2023, so those productions won’t suddenly lose their Canadian status because of this change.