The Government of Quebec has announced that it plans to introduce new legislation in the coming year to force online streaming giants to add more media produced in Quebec to their platforms.

This was one of the nine measures revealed yesterday, Sunday, as part of the province's plan to spend $603 million over five years to protect the French language in Quebec.

Culture Minister Mathie Lacombe did not provide details about the bill.

He told reporters at a press conference in Montreal, "We are working on this, the goal is to ensure that when accessing online platforms, such as Netflix and Disney, the aim is for users in Quebec to have easier access to content produced in Quebec, which is not the case now."

The new funding will target nine priorities identified by the government to promote the French language, with more than half of the money - $320 million - allocated to ensure that temporary foreign workers speak and learn the French language, and after immigration, the Ministry of Culture is set to receive the second-largest share of funding, amounting to $187.3 million.

The Ministry of Culture and Communications and the Ministry of International Relations and La Francophonie will be tasked with increasing the availability of Francophone culture in Quebec and accessibility
on digital platforms.

According to the action plan revealed yesterday, Sunday, the two ministries will be responsible for providing leading international and developmental partnerships to ensure diversity in Francophone cultural content on digital platforms.

It is unclear how Quebec intends to force streaming giants to promote locally produced content on their services. The action plan mentioned that it would work on developing international partnerships and that the government is determined to use all available tools to elevate French-speaking culture in Quebec.