OTTAWA – After looking quickly at an appeal filed with the governor-in-council, the Federal Government backed the CRTC’s decision to grant a pay-TV license to Allarco Entertainment.
A disabled advocate by the name of Joe Clark (not the former PM) had appealed the decision, saying it was illegal because the license did not require 100% closed captioning.
"It is a matter of settled legal fact that a failure to proved accessible programming is a violation of the Canadian Human Rights Act," reads Clark’s appeal, which was filed on July 2.
The CRTC granted a new pay television license to the western-based company in May and they said then the new channel would launch in 2007.
"After careful review of the concerns surrounding this decision, the governor-in-council is of the view that the CRTC decision meets the policy objectives set out in the Broadcasting Act," says the government’s release sent out Wednesday.
Canadian law allows CRTC decisions to be sent back to the Commission for reconsideration (like this one), but the government decided not to this time.
– Greg O’Brien
