Licencing decision gives CBC more latitude, concerning some commissioners about mandate
GATINEAU — Canada’s broadcasting regulator is taking a new approach to the objectives of the government-funded CBC/Radio-Canada Wednesday, as it shifts the focus on spending over certain hourly quotas in the hopes of supporting a broader range of diverse Canadian programming over more platforms.
Following a lengthy proceeding that included a 14-day public hearing in January 2021, the CRTC announced today the five-year renewal of CBC/Radio-Canada’s broadcasting licences until August 31, 2027, saying the commission is adopting a “modern approach”…
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GATINEAU — Following a lengthy proceeding that included a 14-day public hearing in January 2021, the CRTC announced today the five-year renewal of CBC/Radio-Canada’s broadcasting licences until August 31, 2027, saying the commission is adopting a “modern approach” for the public broadcaster’s traditional and digital services.
“The emergence of online platforms has changed the way Canadians consume audio and audiovisual content, including the CBC/Radio-Canada’s programming. The CRTC is adapting the way in which it regulates the national public broadcaster to provide it with more flexibility to fulfill its mandate across traditional and online platforms, while recognizing…
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OTTAWA — Bill C-11, the Online Streaming Act, passed third reading in the House of Commons yesterday afternoon and cultural associations in the country were quick to celebrate.
The legislation, which heads to the Senate and is currently in a pre-study phase, seeks to amend the Broadcasting Act to give the CRTC the ability to regulate online content, including having large tech platforms contribute more to the promotion of Canadian content.
The Coalition for the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (CDCE) said in a press release it was “relieved and pleased” Bill C-11 passed the third reading.
“CDCE…
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BILL C-11, THE Online Streaming Act, rightly raises important questions about transparency and trust — but not necessarily the ones that its critics would have you think.
I believe that C-11 is generally a good law that does what it purports to do: modernize the Broadcasting Act to ensure that online streamers and platforms play by the same rules as Canadian broadcasters do when it comes to investing in and promoting Canadian content….
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By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – Bill C-11, the Online Streaming Act which has over the past several weeks gone through clause-by-clause review, is going to the Senate.
After a long process, the proposed bill — which seeks to amend the Broadcasting Act to give the CRTC the ability to regulate more online content — passed the report stage* after dealing with amendments — two Conservative ones were defeated and one, proposed by the government, was adopted unanimously.
Meanwhile, the Senate transport and communications committee will be starting the pre-study of the bill Tuesday June 21st with two panels, one…
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OTTAWA – It has been well over a year since the federal government sent the CRTC a letter asking it to come up with a three-digit suicide crisis support phone number.
Last June, the CRTC opened a proceeding asking for comments on the implementation of such a number. The original deadline for submissions was Sept. 1, 2022, but on Nov. 30, the Commission extended the deadlines for interventions to January 31, 2022, and the deadline for replies to March 17, 2022.
It is unclear at this point how much longer Canadians will have to wait to have the phone…
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By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – On Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., the Senate Committee on Transport and Communications met to consider a draft agenda to conduct a pre-study of Bill C-11 during which it was agreed that the department of Canadian Heritage, the CRTC, Konrad von Finckenstein, Michael Geist and Pierre Trudel will be heard in the week of June 20 to 22.
The Department of Justice and the Privacy Commissioner were also mentioned.
Last night, the Heritage Committee finished clause-by-clause review of the bill, and today the chair reported the bill back to the House with amendments.
After it passes third reading,…
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OTTAWA and GATINEAU — Having determined last year Bell Canada violated the Telecommunications Act by denying Videotron access to Bell’s support structures such as telephone poles, the CRTC announced today it has imposed a total of $7.5 million in penalties on Bell for three violations of the act.
“The CRTC found that Bell Canada denied permit applications for access to its telephone poles from Videotron, its main competitor in Quebec. As a result, Videotron was not able to access Bell Canada’s poles, which delayed its network deployment and created a competitive advantage for Bell Canada,” reads a CRTC Continue Reading
OTTAWA – In a series of meetings yesterday that lasted past midnight and can only be described as chaotic, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage made it through clause-by-clause review of Bill C-11, the Online Streaming Act, and committee chair Hedy Fry reported the bill back to the House of Commons today with amendments.
Due to a motion passed in the House (which former Green Party leader and current MP Elizabeth May expressed disapproval of several times during the meetings), the committee had a limited amount of time in which to debate amendments. Two of three…
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By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – The federal government today introduced Bill C-26, An Act Respecting Cyber Security (ARCS), which proposes amendments to the Telecommunications Act.
On May 19, when François-Philippe Champagne, the minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, made the announcement that the Canadian government intended to prohibit the inclusion of Huawei and ZTE products and services in Canada’s telecommunications systems, he mentioned legislative changes were coming.
“We intend to introduce amendments to the Telecommunications Act (TA) to ensure that promoting the security and protection of our telecommunications system is an overriding objective of Canada’s telecommunications policy,” the policy…
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