CAB's challenge of Part II fees clears a legal hurdle

OTTAWA - The Canadian Association of Broadcasters' three-year battle to get the CRTC’s Part II fees abolished cleared a legal hurdle this week. The Federal Court of Appeal upheld a lower court decision issued last fall that if the fees charged to broadcasters are indeed a tax, then they are unlawful. The matter of whether the fees are a tax will be heard in a trial starting this November. The CAB says the decision will give it “a very good argument” to make during that trial, when it will ask for the Part II licence fee scheme to be abolished. Canadian...