OTTAWA – There are just under 40 independent telephone companies left in Canada – little telcos that for one reason or another, were never swallowed up by Bell Canada.
All of them, save one, are in Bell’s Ontario or Quebec territory. Of those, there are six which are owned by municipalities: Bruce Municipal Telephone System, Cochrane Public Utilities Commission, Dryden Municipal Telephone System, Kenora Municipal Telephone System, The Corporation of the City of Thunder Bay – Telephone Division, all in Ontario, and Prince Rupert City Telephone, in British Columbia.
This week, the Department of Canadian Heritage closed a comments…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – The Canadian-content-advocate side of the creative industry issued a press release this morning saying they are appealing the CRTC’s satellite radio decision to federal cabinet.
“The coalition is seeking an early opportunity to brief the Minister of Canadian Heritage and the opposition critics. A similar initiative is being announced today in Montreal by a coalition of francophone cultural organizations,” said the release.
The organizations who make up the appealing coalition are: ACTRA, the Canadian Independent Record Production Association, the Communications, Energy & Paperworkers Union of Canada, the Directors Guild of Canada, Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, the National…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – Amendments to the Copyright Act, tabled in Parliament today, say in part that Internet service providers are not liable for copyright violating acts done over their networks on the Internet.
This is good news for cable ISPs, says the Canadian Cable Telecommunications Association.
"The cable industry is pleased that the Government of Canada recognizes that as intermediaries, ISPs have no control over the copyright material that passes over their networks," said Michael Hennessy, CCTA president. "The Internet is fundamental to business today and the Copyright Act needs to support and encourage technological advancements."
Minister of Canadian Heritage Liza…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – The day after her speech to the Banff TV Festival, promising stable funding for the Canadian Television Fund, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters publicly praised Canadian Heritage Minister Liza Frulla.
As reported by www.cartt.ca Sunday, Frulla announced that the next federal budget will include the renewal of the federal government’s contribution of $100 million for 2006-2007 to the Canadian Television Fund (CTF).
“Long term, adequate and sustainable funding is needed for this fund and the CAB is pleased to hear from the minister that this will be considered in the context of the 2006 federal budget,” said…
Continue Reading
AT A UNESCO MEETING in Paris from May 25 to June 3, negotiations will resume on the draft Convention on the Protection of the Diversity of Cultural Contents and Artistic Expressions. I believe this is a good time to examine what is at stake for Canada – particularly since on May 21 we celebrate World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development.
The draft convention has considerable importance for the future of our culture, our languages and indeed our identity. The strength of our identity derives from the tools we have to promote the vitality of our own…
Continue Reading
THE WORD DIGITAL IS A conundrum to Canadian broadcasters of any stripe.
It means digital specialty channels, or digital migration of analog channels, or digital over-the-air TV (better known as high definition), or even digital audio.
Investing in digital is an expensive proposition. For an over-the-air broadcaster there is no immediate return on investment in upgrading to HD, so many here haven’t done it. Consumers are forcing that change, meaning HD Cancon should be in the offing this fall..
On the radio side, any transition to digital audio broadcasting (DAB) was halted last year once the CRTC decided to…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA-GATINEAU – As reported last week by www.cartt.ca, Astral Media executive Michel Arpin has been appointed as vice-chair, broadcasting at the CRTC.
As predicted here last week, Arpin is Astral’s senior advisor of government and regulatory affairs and spent from 1971 to 1979 at the Commission (overlapping current chair Charles Dalfen’s ’70s tenure there).
While at the CRTC in the 1970s, Arpin held the positions of director of operations and director general, programming. He has also served as vice-chair and chair of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, as director and secretary general of BBM, president of the Association canadienne…
Continue Reading
Liberals fulfill pledge to up CBC funding by $150M
By Christopher Guly
OTTAWA – While the federal government announced some $51 billion in cuts and savings and projected a deficit of about $78 billion in its budget delivered on Tuesday by Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne to address what he characterized as a “level of uncertainty higher than what we have seen and felt for generations,” Canada’s film and television industry welcomed a significant funding allotment as part of the government’s plans for $141 billion in new spending.
The Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) “applaud groundbreaking cultural sector investments” in the budget.
“Today’s budget…
Continue Reading
Warning their sector is on the brink of collapse, independent third-language community television producers are asking the federal government to include a $10.52-million annual program in the upcoming federal budget to safeguard Canada’s local news sovereignty.
“Without immediate intervention, hundreds of thousands of Canadians could lose access to trusted local news in their own languages — creating an information vacuum that hostile foreign actors could exploit to spread disinformation,” reads a Monday press release from the Canadian Ethnic Media Association (CEMA). “The warning comes in an open letter to Prime Minister Mark…
Continue Reading
Bell Media and iHeartRadio Canada last week announced Windsor radio station Pure Country 89 (CIMX-FM) has been returned to its previous alternative rock format 89X after a five-year hiatus.
The shift in format officially began at 8:08 a.m. ET on Thursday, Aug. 28. Bell Media said details around 89X’s locally programmed morning, workday and drive shows will be announced in the coming weeks.
Initially launched in May 1991, 89X operated as a modern rock station introducing new music, supporting local artists and promoting Canadian bands for nearly 30 years until it was flipped…
Continue Reading
