Words and Phrases - "broadcasting"

Canco streams movies and TV shows (the “digital content”) to its Canadian and foreign subscribers (who pay monthly fees) through a TV video stream and a digital content library. Art. 12 of the Canada-U.K Treaty exempted copyright royalties, but there was an exclusion from this exemption for payments in respect of motion pictures or of works on film, videotape or other means of reproduction for use in connection with television broadcasting. CRA rejected an argument that the definition of “broadcasting” and “radiocommunication” in the Interpretation Act had the effect of making this exclusion inapplicable to TV shows, stating:

Definitions in the Interpretation Act do not apply automatically to every treaty or legislative enactment. Subsection 3(1) of the Interpretation Act indicates that a provision of the Interpretation Act may not apply if a contrary intention appears (either expressly in the text or as part of the context of the provision being applied). Furthermore, Article 3(2) of the Canada-U.K. Tax Treaty indicates that the meaning of a term under Canada’s domestic laws may not apply if the context requires otherwise. We are of the view that the text, context and purpose of Article 12(3)(a) of the Treaty indicate that an ordinary meaning was intended to be given to the words “television” and “broadcasting” and that their meaning, under either domestic or international law, is broad enough to include the digital streaming of television content.