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David Sparrow, president of the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) said Canada has always protected its culture, because airwaves are a public good and he said extending this to streaming services makes sense.

“We have been the owner of our airwaves and I certainly and I think ACTRA also sees the internet as just another pipeline,” he said.

The industry has never been healthier Sparrow said, but much of the work being done is for streaming services and it can make it more difficult for small Canadian productions to find studio space or other equipment.

The problem with that is our existing definitions of what is Canadian content, don’t actually result in more Canadian content

He said it’s worth looking at the current content rules, but when productions are required to have Canadian actors, directors or writers as part of their production, they tend to tell Canadian stories.

“That content is important to defining Canada and giving us a voice on the international stage,” he said.

Netflix signed a deal with the Canadian government in 2017 to invest $500 million over five years. At the time, the government said it would not require it to pay into content creation funds or charge GST. That deal was panned in Quebec because it had no requirement for the company to produce French-language programming.

The mandate letter also calls for Guilbeault to create new regulations for social media companies, requiring them to take down “illegal content” including hate speech within 24 hours or face significant fines.

“This should include other online harms such as radicalization, incitement to violence, exploitation of children, or creation or distribution of terrorist propaganda,” reads the mandate letter.

A Facebook spokesperson said there are open to a conversation about the issue and already take significant steps to police their platform.

Geist said he sees several potential issues with these rules, including that only large social media companies will be able to respond to these demands. He said that could mean big companies like Facebook or Twitter don’t face challenges from startups.

“It is entrenching that power even further, because it is only those large players that could comply,” he said.