This Spring, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has planned two important hearings: on the definition of Canadian Content (beginning May 14), and on Market Dynamics and Sustainability (how to ensure our content is seen). Beyond the discussion about whether Canadian programs are defined by creative points, ownership, subject matter, or plaid shirts, it is important to take note of the fact that these consultations may pose a serious threat to documentary creators. This is because the CRTC is proposing removing protections for “Programs of National Interest” (PNI) from future regulatory frameworks on spending obligations for Canadian programming.
For years, these PNI regulations have been the primary framework to try to ensure that broadcasters buy documentaries: within a spending obligation of approximately 30% on Canadian programming, a fixed percent of approximately 5–7% had to be spent on PNI. The CRTC sees Canadian broadcasters clamouring for reduced PNI obligations and is assuming that streamers will likely reject these types of rules—expressed in the form of a CRTC “preliminary view” that documentaries are within the business models of the big streamers and are no longer “at risk.”
It is important to note that PNI obligations for documentaries have not always had the intended impact on our sector, due to the general definition of a “documentary program” being used to describe everything from reality-tinged factual shows to topic-driven investigations to observational docs to experiments with form and content. The result of this catch-all definition is that broadcasters tend to put their mandated spend toward content that mirrors the documentaries of choice for major streaming platforms: bingeable content, true crime, and celebrity-focused topics.
With all the talk about a modernized mandate for Heritage files such as the CBC, NFB, Telefilm, and the CMF, it is high time for a modernized definition of documentary. This is the only way that the CRTC can ensure that the programs receiving regulatory protections are the types of programs it actually intends to protect: content that is outside of a corporate business model, but key to Canadian culture.
One of the central institutions of Canadian culture, the National Film Board of Canada, has seen some significant shifts that have a direct impact on how we tell and disseminate our stories. In September 2023, Richard Cormier was appointed the Director General, Programming, Creation, Distribution and Marketing, and Head of Programming for the NFB. In December, the NFB began sweeping staffing cuts that saw the loss of deeply valued executive producers Rohan Fernando in Nova Scotia and David Christensen in Alberta. The sudden changes alarmed DOC members across the country, and many expressed deep concern for the NFB’s direction under Cormier’s leadership. One year later, in December 2024, the NFB announced that Cormier was no longer an employee.
With Cormier’s departure, the documentary community is hoping for a shift in the NFB’s relationship with creators. There have been encouraging murmurs that DOC’s recommendations to the NFB (based on four months of community consultations) may be part of their vision moving forward, and that local producers may become more empowered to greenlight projects in their communities. What is certain is that documentary filmmakers want a decentralized, nimble hub for creative documentary projects. With market-driven platforms pushing the documentary genre into the corporate age the principles that the NFB aspires to have never been more important.
For the last year, our sector had been preparing for a shift towards a more conservative, austerity-driven government. Although the outcome of the federal election took a different direction [this article went to print at the end of March 2025] , it will be time to get serious about new models for financing and distributing our films. Innovation will always come from the ground up, and filmmakers need to be able to try out new means of connecting to audiences with projects that burst out of the box. How can this massive shift to the grassroots take place, at every level?
The next four years will see some new and urgent actions on how to think about new models for a modernized sector, a conversation documentary filmmakers are born to lead.
