There is a meeting going on to try and determine if Canadian Content (CanCon) rules should be applied to online distributors. For unfamiliar with the concept, Canadian Content rules require broadcasters in Canada to broadcast a certain amount of Canadian content. This is meant to help foster the production of content within Canada. Although debatable, the rules do make some sense for traditional broadcasters, (t.v., radio, etc). However I believe such requirements do not make sense on the Internet.
The CanCon rules for broadcasters are designed to help promote CanCon within Canada. Without these rules, lesser known Canadian content may not be available. In the past content creators needed a third party to distribute their works so that they would be exposed to a large enough audience to become successful. However, with the Internet this is no longer true. On the Internet anyone can become a distributor for a very low cost. Sites like myspace and facebook allow creators to connect with fans more directly. Future sites will undoubtably make such connections easier to make. Thus the Internet enables the content creators to connect directly with the content consumers without needing the intermediate step of a distributor. Further, the global reach of the Internet means that Canadian content can be distributed anywhere in the world, using the same website. As the content creators no longer need third parties to connect them with consumers, there is no reason to require CanCon rules for sites that are in the business of distributing media. If CanCon rules were applied to such sites, they would only serve to reduce their competitiveness in the world market. Competitor sites in other countries without such restrictions can provide a better service to their worldwide customers.
Looking into the Future
If we look further into the future, I think that the content distribution sites (like ctv.ca) is going to very different than they are today. Currently these site have a lot of U.S. content because companies like CTV has distribution agreements with the U.S. producers. These agreements give them the right to broadcast that content in Canada (and only in Canada). Similarly there are sites in the U.S. that distribute content only within the U.S. Currently those creating the content make most of their money licencing their content to a distributor, however in the not to distance future this may change. I predict that content creators will start distributing their content worldwide via the Internet, with no country specific licensing. By doing so they can directly profit from their content without needing to enter licensing agreements within each country. This means that Canadian companies, like CTV, will no longer have these shows to distribute within Canada. If foreign content is no longer available to Canadian distributors, all they will have left is Canadian content, probably content that they have created themselves. This may sound grim, however the data flows both ways, and the Canadian creators will have equal access to the world market.