Cable / Telecom News

Proposed Commission Directive: Federal government orders the CRTC to put Canadians at the forefront (Updated with the official Gazetted order)


OTTAWA – In something of a surprising move, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, Navdeep Bains announced Tuesday during Question Period he planned to issue a Policy direction to the CRTC requiring it to improve the affordability of Internet and cellphone services for Canadians.If this is truly a shift away from market forces and facilities based competition (hard to tell for sure with the legalese), then this could be the most significant shift in the federal government's thinking on telecom in decades.Even though the CRTC is independent, the government can, according to the Telecommunications Act “issue directions of...