OTTAWA – A Federal Court of appeal decision last week that overturned an earlier Federal Court Trial Division ruling regarding broadcast licence fees will be appealed by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, the organization announced Monday afternoon.
In December of 2006, the Federal Court Trial Division ruled the CRTC Part II Licence Fees collected by the federal government from broadcasters and broadcast distributors were an illegal tax. The Crown appealed that decision to the Federal Court of Appeal, which ruled on April 28th that the fees are valid regulatory charges. The CAB launched this challenge in 2003 and also challenged the 2006 ruling which did not demand the repayment of the money, worth an estimated $700 million.
“CAB members are disappointed with the outcome of the appeal. Based on members’ stated intentions, there is no doubt the CAB will seek leave to appeal this decision to the Supreme Court of Canada,” said Glenn O’Farrell, president and CEO of the CAB in a statement.
The Part II Licence Fees are over and above payments made to the CRTC to defray the cost of the regulation and supervision of the industry. The fees exceed $100 million dollars annually and go directly to the government’s Consolidated Revenue Fund, notes the CAB.
(Ed Note: as an aside, that kind of scratch would go a long way towards the additional resources CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein has been asking for, but the CRTC is no longer collecting the fees, pending the outcome of the court case…)
The CAB has 60 days from April 28 in which to serve and file an application for leave to appeal with the Supreme Court. Once that happens, the Crown has 30 days in which to serve and file its response. Then the court will decide whether or not it will hear the appeal.
– Greg O’Brien
