OTTAWA — Ian Scott, the chairman of the CRTC whose five-year term was set to expire this weekend, will stay on as head of the regulator for another four months, a government source confirmed to Cartt.ca.
The extension is intended to allow the Heritage Department to continue its search — which began in May — for a permanent replacement, a process that is still ongoing, the source said.
It will also allow the regulator to maintain some status quo as it deals with a number of big files, including work emanating from bills intended to modernize the CRTC, such as developing regulations to better capture online streaming services.
Last week, the ethics commissioner cleared Scott of any conflicts of interest when he met with Bell CEO Mirko Bibic at a bar in Ottawa. Since that meeting emerged — and since Scott has helmed a regulator that has made decisions unpopular with independent service providers — representatives from those smaller providers had been asking for Scott’s removal.
