In issuing the new Broadcasting Fees
Regulations (the “Fees Regulations”) on
March 21, 2024, the Canadian Radio-television and
Telecommunications Commission (the “CRTC”) has taken
another step in fulfilling its new mandates under
the Broadcasting Act (the “Act”),
which was amended in April 2023 following the enactment of Bill
C-11, the Online Streaming Act.
The Broadcasting Licence Fee
Regulations, 1997, which will be replaced by the Fees
Regulations, imposed two types of fees on “licensed”
broadcasting undertakings: Part I fees, which allowed the CRTC
to recover its costs; and Part II fees, which were collected
by the CRTC and remitted to the Government of Canada. Broadcasting
undertakings that were exempt from the requirement to hold a
broadcasting licence, including online undertakings (i.e., online
streaming services that transmit programs over the Internet), were
not required to pay these fees.
