OTTAWA – The House of Commons decided last week that Bill C-327 should not proceed further. On May 13, it adopted the April 9, 2008 Report of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, which made such a recommendation.
As a result, the legislative process on Bill C-327 will go no further in this session of Parliament. The bill proposed to alter the Broadcasting Act so that the CRTC would have to come up with new rules to curb violence on television. The Commission would also be required to police TV programming for any content that crossed those standards on…
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OTTAWA – Timothy Denton, a specialist in legal and policy issues related to the Internet and communications, has been appointed as CRTC commissioner, Canadian Heritage announced Friday.
He was involved with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers and the governance of the domain name industry and helped introduce long-distance voice competition in Canada as counsel to the Canadian Consumers’ Association.
From 1985 to 1987, Denton was involved with the creation of the Broadcasting Act and later took part in the creation of the Telecommunications Act while working as a policy advisor to the Minister of Communications from 1985…
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OTTAWA – George Cooper and the Honourable Joseph Handley have been named to the board of directors of the CBC/Radio-Canada, it was announced Friday by Canadian Heritage.
Handley is the retired Premier of the Northwest Territories, a position he occupied from 2003 to 2007. Throughout his political career in the Northwest Territories, he held many positions, including Minister of Finance; Minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development; and Minister of Aboriginal and Intergovernmental Affairs and Housing.
Before entering politics, Handley was Deputy Minister for the Government of Northwest Territories. A teacher by profession, he also helped shape public and…
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OTTAWA – G. Grant Machum has been appointed to the board of Telefilm Canada, it was announced Friday by Canadian Heritage.
Machum is a partner in the law firm of Stewart McKelvey, with a specialization in employment law, alternative dispute resolution, human rights, and labour relations. He serves on the board of directors of several arts and education organizations, including the Atlantic Theatre Festival, the Halifax Adult Learning Society, and the Nova Scotia Art Gallery.
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OTTAWA – A fund aimed at supporting not-for-profit, local radio that launched Thursday will dole out $1.4 million over seven years. Seed money for the fund, called the Community Radio Fund of Canada (CRFC), is coming from Astral Media Inc.
“Canadians may have more media choices than ever, but there has been a clear decline in the amount of programming that reflects local communities and their concerns, from both commercial and public media,” said Charles-Eugene Cyr, president of Alliance des radios communautaires (ARC) du Canada. “The Community Radio Fund will help community broadcasting reach its full potential as an…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC will launch a public consultation on new media on Thursday – the same day on which it will release a document entitled Perspectives on Canadian Broadcasting in New Media.
CRTC Chair Konrad von Finckenstein told the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage on May 13 that the Commission is looking to the public to confirm the CRTC has correctly identified the issues (in the document) and to help it structure a framework for a public hearing to be held in early 2009.
“I would like to be clear on one point. Our interest primarily lies in…
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TORONTO – Looking to ensure certain levels of TV production is maintained across Canada, the Canadian Television Fund today announced the creation of a new production incentive.
The pilot program is designed to encourage production where volumes have declined significantly, said the press release.
The first production areas to benefit from this $5 million incentive include Atlantic Canada and Quebec, where production activity fell below the target level in 2007-2008, reads the statement. As such, two separate CTF allocations of $2.2 million and $2.8 million have been created for productions based in Quebec and Atlantic Canada, respectively, for 2008-2009….
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OTTAWA – New CBC president and CEO Hubert Lacroix today urged the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage to push the Federal Government to implement the committee’s report CBC/Radio-Canada: Defining Distinctiveness in the Changing Media Landscape.
"The report highlights the importance of public broadcasting in Canada, and the belief, that I strongly share, that CBC/Radio-Canada should continue to play a pivotal role in the social, cultural, and democratic life of this country," Lacroix said in his opening remarks to the Committee Thursday afternoon.
Lacroix, along with Sylvain Lafrance and Richard Stursberg, the executive vice-presidents of French and English Services, respectively,…
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TORONTO – CTVglobemedia today announced a $400,000 grant to the Canadian Broadcast Museum Foundation/Fondation du musée canadien de la radiodiffusion (CBMF/FMCR).
This grant is part of the public benefits package that was approved by the CRTC following CTVgm’s acquisition of the CHUM properties.
"We are pleased to continue our support of the CBMF and salute their mission to ensure our nation’s broadcasting history is preserved as an important component of Canada’s cultural heritage," said Paul Sparkes, executive vice-president corporate affairs, CTVgm, in a press release.
"This sustaining commitment by CTVgm has really set the bar for Canada’s broadcasters. In…
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Dear Editor,
THE SIMMERING FEUD in correspondence to Prime Minister Harper seems a little juvenile and very disrespectful of due public process.
Messrs. Shaw, Asper and Fecan should know better. And now apparently, Bell has gotten the scribing urge! But at least Bell asks for some integrity re: the public hearing process – which is a very good thing.
Perhaps it is a tit-for-tat balancing act; but it is not consistent with the Broadcasting Act — and the latter trumps offside rhetorical flourish, we should hope.
Indeed, it is regrettable for all Canadians, and I believe ill-advised, for both…
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