Lexpert magazine features articles and columns on developments in legal practice management, deals and lawsuits of interest in Canada, the law and business issues of interest to legal professionals and businesses that purchase legal services.
Issue link: https://digital.carswellmedia.com/i/1541334
34 www.lexpert.ca Top 10 Business Decisions AMAZON.COM.CA ULC V. CANADA (ATTORNEY GENERAL), 2024 FCA 217 THE FEDERAL COURT OF APPEAL granted a stay of payment obligations imposed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission on major online streaming platforms, tempo- rarily halting a regulatory initiative requiring companies like Amazon, Apple, Spotify, and Netflix to contribute five percent of their annual contribution revenues to support Canadian and Indigenous content. The case arose after the CRTC, exercising powers under amendments made to the Broadcasting Act by the Online Streaming Act, issued Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2024-121-1 on August 29, 2024. The policy requires certain online under- takings with $25 million or more of annual revenues to make base contributions to specified funds, with the first major payments scheduled for August 31, 2025. Justice Webb found that the streaming companies satisfied all three require- ments for granting a stay under the RJR-MacDonald test. The Attorney General of Canada did not dispute that serious issues existed for trial. The court determined that the companies would suffer irreparable harm if forced to make payments they could not recover should they ultimately succeed in their applica- tions for judicial review and appeals. The balance of inconvenience favoured the stay, particularly given the expedited litigation schedule with deadlines leading to a June 2025 hearing date. The court noted that companies mostly attempted unsuccessfully to obtain refund confirma- tions from various funds. According to Brandon Barnes Trickett of Dentons Canada LLP, "The deci- sion is significant as stays of exercises of regulatory power are rare, particu- larly with respect to financial matters. This stay is part of the procedure in a complex combined judicial review and statutory appeal proceeding in the Federal Court of Appeal that addresses the CRTC's recent decision to impose a base contributions requirement on certain online streaming services." In June 2025, there was a multi – day oral hearing of the appeals and applica- tions for judicial review. The parties are awaiting the Federal Court of Appeal's decision. In the meantime, the court's stay order remains in effect. • Amazon.com.ca ULC > Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP > Fahad Siddiqui, Christine Muir, Christopher A. Guerreiro, and Sarah Pennington • Apple Canada Inc. > Goodmans LLP > Julie Rosenthal, Nando De Luca, and Caitlin Woodford • Motion Picture Association-Canada, Crunchyroll, LLC, Netflix Services Canada ULC, Paramount Entertainment Canada ULC, and Pluto Inc. > Goodmans LLP > Peter Ruby, Monique McAlister, and Kasia Donovan • Spotify AB > Dentons Canada LLP > Margot Patterson, Brandon Barnes Trickett, David Elliott, Dina Awad, Luca Lucarini, and Thomas Nichini • Attorney General of Canada > Shalene Curtis-Micallef, Deputy Attorney General of Canada > Michael H. Morris, Joseph Cheng, Andrew Law, and Katrina Longo • Canadian Association of Broadcasters > McCarthy Tétrault LLP > Steven Mason, Brandon Kain, Richard Lizius, and Stephanie Willsey CLIENTS > FIRMS > LAWYERS