OTTAWA – A coalition of cultural organizations is pleading with the Federal Court to consider the “devastating” impact that foreign ownership in the telecom and broadcasting industries would have on Canadian culture.
ACTRA, the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP), and Friends of Canadian Broadcasting were granted intervenor status for the Court’s judicial review of the government’s decision to licence wireless provider Globalive, which began on Wednesday. The coalition said that telecom companies “have a responsibility under the Telecommunications Act to strengthen and safeguard Canadian cultural sovereignty”.
“This case raises fundamental questions about the relationship between foreign ownership and Canadian cultural sovereignty” said Ian Morrison, spokesperson for the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, in a statement. “It also raises serious questions about the willingness of the Federal Government to play by the rules and suggests the need for tighter controls to ensure that Industry Minister Clement doesn’t misuse his powers under the Telecommunications Act.”
The group also said that increasing convergence between telecom and broadcasting has made the need to maintain Canadian-ownership of both “even more acute”, in reference to the recent mergers between Shaw and CanWest and BCE with CTVglobemedia.
“You can’t open up telecommunications to foreign investment without impacting broadcasting, these two industries are increasingly becoming one and our ability to control our media and protect our culture depends on owning and controlling both”, added Peter Murdoch, CEP Media Vice President.
