We’re starting the newsletter with some updates on Canadian Broadcasting rules.

The Canadian Radio-television and telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is pressing ahead with a major expansion of streaming regulation despite ongoing court challenges from major online platforms, unveiling new rules Thursday that would triple mandated contributions from streaming platforms like Netflix and Disney+ operating in Canada. 

The Online Streaming Act, passed in 2023 under Trudeau government, imposed a rule for streaming companies making at least $25 million annually to direct five per cent in contribution to support Canadian content like movies, television and local news.

Under the new framework, foreign streaming platforms will now face a 15 per cent Canadian programming expenditure requirement – including a five per cent base contribution introduced in 2024. 

“A lot of what we’re doing today is recalibrating that contribution,” said Scott Shortcliffe, CRTC vice-president said during a media briefing.

Sydney Ko has more.

Also, the cabinet minister who set the wheels in motion for a possible referendum on Alberta separating from Canada says he wants the country to remain united.

Nate Glubish says if a referendum goes ahead, he’ll fight relentlessly for Alberta to stick with Confederation.

“I will continue to work every day to persuade Albertans that our best path forward is to stay in Canada,” Glubish, the technology and innovation minister, said in a social media post Wednesday night.

“If a referendum is held on Oct. 19, I’ll be voting to stay.

“I hope you will too.”

His comment came hours after he introduced the motion in a bipartisan legislature committee meeting. It asks for Premier Danielle Smith and her cabinet to add a separation question to a list of nine others about immigration and constitutional concerns already set for an Oct. 19 referendum.

The Canadian Press has more. 

The Supreme Court will hear British Columbia’s appeal of a December ruling that found its Indigenous rights law is inconsistent with the province’s mineral claims regime.

The legal battle began when the Gitxaała and Ehattesaht First Nations challenged B.C. ‘s automated online registry, which allows mining companies to claim mineral rights on Crown land without prior Indigenous consultation.

The nations argued that mining exploration can affect Indigenous rights as understood through the province’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) law and should trigger a duty to consult.

The lower court agreed with them, and gave the province 18 months to design and implement a new system that would include Indigenous consultation in 2023. B.C. adopted a consultation framework for mineral claims shortly after.

Read more from Aya Dufour. 

In Other Headlines

Internationally

Two police officers who defended the U.S. Capitol from a violent mob on Jan. 6, 2021, filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Trump administration, arguing that the newly-announced $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” is both illegal and dangerous. At the same time, former Jan. 6 defendants are already preparing their applications to the fund and anticipating major payouts.

The Justice Department has indicated that the fund will be used to compensate an unspecified group of people “who suffered weaponization and lawfare” under previous presidential administrations. It is widely expected that at least some of the money will go to Trump supporters who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, and later received presidential pardons.

Facing questions from members of Congress and reporters, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Vice President JD Vance did not rule out payments to Jan. 6 rioters convicted of violent crimes against police officers.

NPR has more. 

Oil markets will enter the “red zone” by July and August as stocks dwindle before the summer travel season amid a shortage of fresh oil exports from the Middle East, the executive director of the International Energy Agency warned on Thursday.

Fatih Birol added that the most important solution to the Iran war energy shock was a full and unconditional reopening of the strait of Hormuz.

Speaking to the London thinktank Chatham House, Birol said it was open to IEA members to release more strategic oil reserves, as they had previously in March, and said the IEA stood ready to coordinate. As much as 80% of IEA’s collective reserves have not been released.

He warned that while stocks were eroding, no new oil was coming from the Middle East and the demand was increasing, mainly caused by the travel season. “This may be difficult and we may be entering the red zone in July-August if we don’t see some improvements,” Birol said.

Read more from The Guardian. 

In Other International Headlines

The Kicker

And finally, the Montreal Canadiens are playing against the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh tonight.

Now, sports analysis is not exactly this newsletter writer’s strong suit, but the timing of this playoff does happen to align perfectly with the internet’s current obsession: Prime hockey romance series Off Campus. 

The show follows a college hockey star drafted by the Boston Bruins…

So between periods tonight, Canadiens fans can debate on another important question: root for the Habs, or for Garrett Graham?