OTTAWA – The CRTC has dismissed, in part, a complaint against the Bell Fund by a group of broadcasters and the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) over the composition of its Board of Directors and the guidelines of its new TV Program.
In its first decision of the calendar year on Tuesday, the Commission determined that the manner in which the Bell Fund has structured its TV Program is consistent with the CRTC’s policies and requirements of Certified Independent Production Funds (CIPFs), and therefore do not need to be revised at this time.
However, it did direct the Fund to amend a bylaw regarding the composition of the board in order to meet the requirement that at least two thirds of the members be independent, as per its CIPF Policy.
The revised bylaw, which must be filed with the Commission within 30 days of its approval by the board of directors, will read: “The board shall consist of a minimum of five (5) and a maximum of nine (9) directors. Unless otherwise provided in this by-law, a majority of votes shall decide any resolution at any meeting of the board provided that Independent Board members shall cast no fewer than two thirds (2/3) of the votes in a meeting.”
Since May 2017, the board of the Fund has been composed of eight members, five of which are independents, including the Chair, and three of which are representatives of Bell’s BDUs or its affiliates, meaning that independents comprised 62.5% of the board, less than the two-thirds requirement.
The Fund said that it filled the vacancy on its board with a new independent director in August, prompting the CRTC ask for written confirmation within 30 days of the name of the board member and the date they were appointed.
