OTTAWA — The Conservatives called on the Liberals Thursday to “reject” the CRTC’s recent decision tripling streamers’ financial contributions, but the government says it doesn’t have that power.

The broadcast regulator said last week large online streaming services must contribute 15 per cent of their Canadian revenues to Canadian content.

Conservative MP Rachael Thomas put forward a motion in the House of Commons calling on cabinet to use its powers under the Broadcasting Act to reject that increase.

The motion says the cost will “be passed on to consumers who are already struggling with the rising cost of living,” will discourage investment in Canada and act as a trade irritant with the United States.

But Kevin Lamoureux, parliamentary secretary to the government House leader, replied that the government doesn’t have that authority.

The Broadcasting Act only allows the federal cabinet to set aside CRTC decisions if they involve broadcast licences. It gives cabinet the ability to set aside or refer back to the commission a decision made “under section 9 to issue, amend or renew a licence.”

The decision on financial contributions doesn’t fall under that provision, the culture minister’s office confirmed.

Monica Auer, executive director of the Forum for Research and Policy in Communications, said the current Broadcasting Act does not allow the government to overturn the CRTC’s financial contribution decision.

Auer said in an email it is “not a licensing decision and consequently cabinet cannot overturn it.”

She said the CRTC’s ruling on financial contributions for foreign streamers can’t be interpreted as a licensing decision because the CRTC is prohibited from issuing licences to non-Canadian applicants.

The CRTC’s decision has drawn criticism from the Motion Picture Association, the U.S. group representing streamers like Netflix and Amazon, which called on cabinet to “reconsider” the current approach.

Later in the afternoon in the House of Commons, Thomas pointed to the powers the government has to guide CRTC policy.

Under the Broadcasting Act, the government is able to issue a general broadcast policy direction to the CRTC.

In 2023, the government issued a policy direction to the CRTC setting out how to implement the Online Streaming Act. The CRTC said in last week’s decision that it was guided by that policy direction.

Auer said if cabinet wanted to issue a policy direction saying the CRTC shouldn’t implement last week’s decision, it would have to cancel that 2023 order, which “still binds the commission.”

She said that process would be “tricky and time consuming.”

The U.S. ambassador to Canada also took aim at the policy Thursday and called for it to be rescinded.

Pete Hoekstra said he met with U.S. streaming companies who “stressed the (CRTC’s) Online Streaming tax will drive away investment and job creation in Canada’s creative sector.”

“This unfair tax will drive up costs for Canadian consumers and targets U.S. companies. This law should be immediately repealed,” he said in a post on X.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 28, 2026.