Pablo Rodriguez’s family fled to Canada after his home was bombed in Argentina.

His father had run for governor in the northern province where they lived. He arrived in Montreal at the age of 8 speaking only Spanish, but eventually learning French and English.

Now the former political refugee finds himself, perhaps a little improbably, as the guardian of Canadian culture.

“That’s so Canadian, right?” says an animated Rodriguez, who has been the Heritage Minister for just over a year, in an exclusive interview with the Star.

Learning Canada’s languages as a child through film, television and books, Rodriguez says he became a passionate defender of the culture he was immersed in. But the landscape is changing. Big digital platforms are transforming the way Canadians consume their culture.

So, he says emphatically, sitting at a table in the lobby of Toronto’s busy Fairmont Royal York Hotel, there will be “no more free rides” when it comes to digital platforms and their contributions to Canadian culture.

“Anyone who benefits should contribute, and that includes the big internet players. It’s only fair,” says Rodriguez. “There are so many players in the industry, but they should all be treated equally if we are to maintain our culture.”

Rodriguez is giving the clearest statement of intent yet by the Liberal government about where they are headed on legislation in regard to the culture industry in the digital era.

“We intend to create a level playing field. The structure and foundations of what we are used to has changed so fast that we need to address how we will deal with this so Canadians benefit.”

It’s been a contentious issue that has an impact on all Canadians. Digital platforms such as Netlfix and Amazon and the soon to be launched Disney Plus streaming service are carving away audiences from Canadian broadcasters. Unlike domestic cable operators, they are not required to fund and produce original Canadian content — shows that tell Canadian stories to Canadians and are also exported to the world.

Rodriguez’s fighting words seem to be setting his department up on a collision course with Big Tech.

At the request of Rodriguez, as well as Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains, there is currently a legislative review panel looking at how to update the Broadcasting Act for the disruptive digital age. But that report won’t be available until January, well after the upcoming October federal election.

So the jury isn’t out just yet. But is the minister effectively gaming the system with his comments?

Rodriguez says he isn’t “telling the committee how to do their job. That’s up to them to draw their own conclusions.” However, when asked if panel chair Janet Yale should hypothetically come up with a recommendation that says foreign digital platforms don’t have to contribute after all, Rodriguez says, “We will certainly take into consideration her recommendations. But the government will make their own decisions at the end of the day.”

Rodriguez’s words are also a dramatic shift from his predecessor Mélanie Joly, who was heavily criticized for making a $500 million, five-year development deal with Netflix to produce content. Critics say the Los Angeles-based streamer would have likely spent that anyway and what was needed were regulations to force foreign platforms to put a percentage of revenue into original productions.

Netflix doesn’t agree. “It would effectively force foreign online services to subsidize Canadian broadcasters,” the company says.

With a tight race expected in the upcoming election, this may be a moot point. There is a solid chance Rodriguez may no longer wield influence this time next year.

But he says he is aware of the urgency to update laws created before the digital age. Local news has been decimated. And domestic broadcasters say they can’t compete with deep-pocketed streamers who don’t have the same requirements and regulations to pay into funds that support Canadian culture.

“We say our culture is important. I think most people would say that we have to give our creators and artists the means to succeed and that requires participation from everybody.”

Rodriguez says he is passionate about the subject because he came to understand the need to have a vibrant culture from a young age.

Rodriguez learned French from reading books, listening to music and watching television. As a child, he watched Quebec’s popular Bobino puppet show to pick up the language.

Now he oversees a department created through the amalgamation of the Minister of Communications and Minister of Multiculturalism and Citizenship posts in 1996.

As an adult, his tastes veer toward historical drama. He recently binge-watched the French-language version of History TV’s Vikings, a Canadian-produced show starring Etobicoke actor Kathryn Winnick, which he declares is “fantastic.”

“Listening to the music, watching television, it immersed me in the culture and made me understand where I was and who I was as a Canadian,” says Rodriguez. “That’s why culture is so important, and that’s why we must cherish it. It is your introduction to who you are.”

Taylor Owen, an associate professor at McGill’s Max Bell School of Public Policy and author of Disruptive Power: The Crisis of the State in the Digital Age, says the Liberal government’s “change in positioning” over the last four years has been dramatic.

“The issue has evolved, they now know a lot more and there is more awareness about how the platforms function and they are realizing that a laissez faire approach to governing does not work in a democratic world,” said Owen.

As minister responsible for the communications file, the 52-year-old Rodriguez says it is not just scripted content he is concerned about. The lack of local news is a problem.

“Journalists play a fundamental role in our society,” he says. “We need to protect what that stands for in terms of democracy.”

Rodriguez says recent European copyright legislation that has placed stringent rules on digital platforms seems like a positive step toward figuring out a complex issue.

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“They have been working on that for a long time. For them, it’s the end of a marathon. We are just starting our sprint. But we are moving as fast as we can.”

He says his department is looking at issues such as discoverability and more transparency for the algorithms that determine what music, film, television and published works appear at the top of search fields.

“Discoverability is key. I don’t want my daughter watching TV or listening to music or reading a book and everything that’s suggested to her is American,” he says. “In the old days, you burn a CD then you sell it through a record store. Today, to make money, someone has to find it if it pops up on your search. That’s a huge difference.”

Rodriguez says he isn’t sure what tools Canada will eventually use to ensure that local news stays healthy.

“There are a number of things we can do, but I will wait for the recommendations.”

Canadian publishers have lobbied for a “link tax” similar to legislation implemented by the European Union that would allow publishers to share in the proceeds from search engines readers click on.

And there is the issue of advertising deductibility, where Canadian advertisers are not allowed to deduct advertising costs from print editions of foreign publications, but they can do so in digital publications — a clear example of a regulation made in the print era that has created an unlevel playing field.

“Those are some of the things we are looking at, certainly,” says Rodriguez. “But we don’t have any specific direction at the moment. We know the urgency and are working on everything that relates to this.”

So far, Rodriguez has supported the news industry with a controversial $650 million, five-year tax credit. The tax credit was pointed out as a potential way to support the Australian news industry by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission inquiry looking at regulating digital platforms.

In Canada, critics including the Conservative party and some journalists, have said the move is tantamount to the Trudeau government buying off the media in an election year.

“The government shouldn’t choose who gets extra money to cover its re-election campaign,” said Conservative leader Andrew Scheer.

Rodriguez argues it has nothing to do with elections, but whether legacy media will continue to thrive.

“I think we’re lucky to have the kind of professional journalism we do in this country and we should support it,” he says

At just over a year on the job, the Member of Parliament for Honoré-Mercier and former vice-president of non-profit aid group Oxfam Quebec has been busy. His department has been working on projects including $45 million for an anti-racism strategy, cultural infrastructure projects including $8.3 million for Toronto’s Massey Hall and $6 million for the Evergreen Brick Works, and $50 million in funding for festivals.

“Why festivals? Because they gather people. It’s about your friend, your family, your neighbour. It plays a social role that is also important. This is also culture.”

Culture, he says, is that invisible bond that holds Canadians together. And perhaps something we take too much for granted.

“You have to understand. When we got here (in the 1970s) we barely survived a bomb attack on our home. Many people we knew over the years were killed,” says Rodriguez. “But culture through playing Canadian music on the guitar, to learning language on television, kept me going.”

His father told Rodriguez Canada was the land of opportunity. But please, don’t get into politics. The family had had enough.

“I think he was just being protective. But it’s in the blood. Politics is the best way to change the world. And culture is the best way for Canadians to see and appreciate their world. And that’s why I’ve always felt that it’s important that everyone contribute.”

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