OTTAWA-GATINEAU – CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein tells Shaw Communications CEO Jim Shaw in a letter that the three commissioners overseeing the public hearing on the Canadian Television Fund (CTF) “have the most experience in the broadcasting industry.”
“Their in-depth understanding of television production is essential to achieve the above-mentioned goal [using the contributions of the distributors to the CTF to build a viable Canadian television production industry and delivering high-quality, culturally significant programming that Canadians will want to watch],” states his February 4 letter to Shaw.
Von Finckenstein’s response comes after Shaw sent a letter to the CRTC chair on February 1, saying “we are disappointed that you have chosen to not chair the panel.”
Shaw’s letter continues, “Your presence is a powerful signal to the industry and all the stakeholders; likewise, your absence is duly noted.”
Although Shaw Communications is due to appear at the public hearing on Thursday, Shaw told the Globe and Mail he will not be there to represent his company because the composition of the CRTC panel shows the commission isn’t taking the issue seriously.
On Monday, the opening day of the week-long hearings, Shaw referred to the three-member CRTC panel – consisting of regional commissioner Rita Cugini, CRTC vice-chair of broadcasting Michel Arpin and national commissioner Michel Morin – as “the B team.” In response, Morin noted during the proceeding that the B team, not the A team, had won the Super Bowl the day before.
(Ed note: The B Team boasts dozens of years, collectively, working in the television industry in Canada.)
Shaw’s letter also states that the time has come for the CRTC “to bite the bullet and make the serious changes required to stop the waste of millions of taxpayer and subscriber dollars…Mr. Chairman, tinkering doesn’t work…We will continue to push hard on this issue until those meaningful changes are made.”
Shaw concludes the letter with: “We will watch with continued interest. We will not go away.”
Von Finckenstein’s letter notes the CRTC is committed to effecting meaningful change and concludes with “You can rest assured that we never feared that you ‘will go away’.”
– Norma Reveler
