“We support all forms of competition,” chair says
By Amanda OYE
OTTAWA – As he approaches the end of his term as CRTC chair, Ian Scott (above, right) is brimming with confidence – confidence in the Commission’s recent decisions, in its reputation and in its ability to take on more responsibility.
Speaking during a keynote interview with National Post reporter Anja Karadeglija at the International Institute of Communications Canada’s annual conference being held in Ottawa, Scott listed the Commission’s accomplishments during his time as chair, which is coming to an end.
He noted how hard everyone at the Commission has worked…
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By Ken Kelley
OTTAWA – Less than a week after the House of Commons voted to send Bill C-11 to Canada’s Heritage Committee, a panel gathered at the International Institute of Communications Canada’s 2022 conference weighed the details and realities of the act.
Bill C-11, also known as the Online Streaming Act, was first introduced in February 2022. Its goals include clarifying the scope of the Broadcasting Act, which dates back to 1991, and determining how the latter should apply equitably to online streaming services.
Today’s panel comes on the heels of a Globe & Mail-Nanos Research poll, which shows…
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By Denis Carmel
FOR MANY YEARS, deploying fibre has been a priority for the Government of Québec.
But the delays in interconnecting the various networks and utility poles, which were to comprise the backbone of the deployment of fibre across Québec, frustrated them to the point that a lot of the money allotted to the various high-speed Internet projects in the remote areas lapsed.
So, they decided to put together a coordination table that would have representatives of each utility company, including Hydro-Québec, sit down and resolve the issues arising from growing demand in the building of the networks.
After reviewing the…
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OTTAWA – Conservative critic John Nater (above) called into question the CRTC’s ability to effectively fulfill the responsibilities that would be handed to it by Bill C-18, the Online News Act, during second reading of the bill, which began today in the House of Commons.
Nater more specifically asked why the Commission was selected “to enforce and oversee the act when the CRTC does not have a history or experience in regulating online platforms.”
The Conservative critic further questioned the Commission’s suitability for the role by pointing to its chair Ian Scott’s “clear lack of judgement” when meeting Bell…
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By Howard Law
HERITAGE MINISTER PABLO RODRIGUEZ has promised a CRTC policy directive to implement Bill C-11’s broad mandate to sweep foreign streaming platforms into our national program to create, fund and promote Canadian content.
C-11 has now passed second reading in the House of Commons and is on its way to the Heritage Committee for amendments and further debate. It’s time for the minister to table a draft directive.
What should be in it?
The minister has said he’s receptive to strengthening the definition of Canadian content, currently codified by the CRTC, the Canada Media Fund, and the Heritage tax credit…
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By Dru Oja Jay, Amélie Hinse and Cathy Edwards
CANADA’S COMMUNITY TV stations understand that the federal government’s revisions to the Broadcasting Act represent a once-in-a-generation opportunity to address the challenges of the past two decades: the CRTC’s regulatory capture, the collapse of local news media in smaller markets, and a steady decline in confidence in institutions.
Canada once had a thriving network of cable-managed community TV stations. In the ’80s and ’90s, over 300 studios across the country supported volunteer-driven broadcasting. These stations taught a generation about media production, developing world-famous Canadian talent from Dan Ackroyd to Tom Green to…
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CRTC called out for “vague”, “unenforceable” safeguards
OTTAWA – Telus, Bell, Independent Broadcast Group (IBG), and the Canadian Communication Systems Alliance Inc. (CCSA) have each filed separate comments in support of the National Pensioners Federation and Public Interest Advocacy Centre’s (NPF-PIAC) petition to the Governor-In-Council, asking for the CRTC’s recent decision to approve Rogers Communications’ acquisition of Shaw Communications’ broadcasting assets to be set aside or referred back to the Commission.
(Cartt.ca obtained copies of the submissions from PIAC and Bell.)
Whittled down to its core, the argument put forth in NPF-PIAC’s petition and the submissions made in support of…
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By Monica Auer
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT is asking Canadians to trust the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to implement new legislation about electronic communications.
The CRTC is now responsible for implementing Canada’s Broadcasting and Telecommunications Acts, Canada’s ‘Anti-Spam’ law as well as parts of the Canada Elections Act and the 2019 Accessible Canada Act: the government is proposing through Bills C-11 and C-18 to give the Commission more powers over Canadian and foreign Internet broadcasters as well as Canada’s news media, along with new authority to levy administrative monetary penalties for non-compliance with the CRTC’s requirements.
In February the government assured…
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By Ahmad Hathout
TORONTO – The executive committee of the City of Toronto has recommended for consideration this week that city council nix two recommendations related to the city’s role in the building of a high-speed broadband network, but the city says the project will continue.
City council will review on May 11 the executive committee’s suggestion – on the advice of the chief technology officer – that the city delete two recommendations, which refer to the so-called ConnectTO project as a “municipal broadband network” (MBN).
The city told Cartt.ca this is not a drawback on the project.
“This does not suspend or…
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By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – After a victory in Federal Court in February 2022, Québecor is requesting the CRTC remove an exemption from a small broadcasting distribution undertaking (BDU) and strike its name from the list of exempted undertakings for having acted in contravention of the Broadcasting Act.
After noticing various hotels in the region of Québec City were cancelling their subscriptions, Québecor sent technicians to rent rooms in some of these hotels in 2020. They were able to determine the hotels were receiving TVA and TVA Sports through a third party.
The provider, Coopérative de câblodistribution Hill Valley, was not…
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