By Connie Thiessen
The CRTC has issued an order prohibiting Gill Broadcasting from illegally operating a South Asian radio station in Winnipeg.
The decision follows numerous complaints from Winnipeg multi-ethnic station CKJS-FM, owned by Evanov Communications, over the past eight years that a tourist information station was carrying on programming without a broadcast licence. Gill Broadcasting, helmed by Gill and Baldev Gill, had been operating CKYG-FM Winnipeg at 90.5 MHz as an exempt low-power tourist information radio station.
Following a hearing last month, the commission has barred the Gills from having any involvement with any broadcast undertaking that isn’t in full compliance…
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By Connie Thiessen
The CRTC has released the mandatory bargaining framework that will apply when major online platforms and eligible Canadian news organizations negotiate agreements under the Online News Act.
The Act sets out a mandatory bargaining process that stipulates that if the two sides cannot come to an agreement during a 90-day bargaining period and 120-day mediation period, a final 45-day arbitration period would follow where a panel of independent arbitrators will select the final offer made by one of the parties. The commission will serve in an oversight role to ensure parties participate in good faith.
To allow…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC said Thursday that it has streamlined the process by which it evaluates Broadband Fund applications to speed up the process and has given indigenous communities more flexibility and control over their subsidized builds.
The regulator said it is implementing a new system that includes triaging applications so that it can focus on approving builds in priority underserved areas first, suspend the evaluation of applications that do not meet key assessment criteria, and defer some information submitted by the applicants so they are not bogged down by data collection upfront, only to repeat that process when more…
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In a decision published on its website Wednesday, the CRTC has approved Access Communications Co-operative’s April application to acquire Regina community radio station 91.3 FM CJTR from non-profit corporation Radius Communications.
The CRTC said the proposed transaction is in the public interest and will ensure the continuation of community-based radio programming for the Regina area.
In its application to the broadcasting regulator, Access indicated it will invest in equipment upgrades, expand volunteer opportunities in the community, and integrate CJTR-FM into its existing community engagement department, which “would help continue CJTR-FM’s unique voice and provide the…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC has launched an expected proceeding Wednesday into what kind of information and to what granularity consumers need when purchasing internet plans.
The commission will look at six issues, it said in the consultation document: standardizing information in a broadband consumer label, such as those on foods; providing clear and comparable information on network performance; measuring network performance and quality; providing information with examples and context; strengthening the position of consumers in their relationships with service providers; and implementing consumer protection measures and identifying associated costs.
For labels, the CRTC is soliciting comments on what kinds of information…
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The CRTC on Tuesday denied Accessible Media Inc.’s (AMI) application earlier this year to increase the monthly per-subscriber rates broadcasters are required to pay the not-for-profit media company to carry its English-language AMI-tv and French-language AMI-télé channels.
AMI had been seeking a one-cent and two-cent increase per subscriber per month for AMI-tv and AMI-télé, respectively, on a temporary basis until the next licence renewal period in August 2026.
In its decision Tuesday, the CRTC said AMI had not demonstrated an immediate financial need for the monthly rate increases and it did not propose clear and substantial…
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The CRTC has asked Bell Canada for additional information regarding the factors that may have contributed to a 911 network outage that affected all of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island on Jan. 31, 2023, which Bell subsequently reported in its annual 911 outage report for that year.
The issue reportedly occurred due to network changes with respect to implementation of 10-digit dialling required to support the 988 service on the Atlantic 911 tandems. Both the primary and secondary Atlantic 911 tandems were rendered unable to process 911 calls originating in the Maritimes, resulting in 911 callers in…
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The CRTC has asked Meta, parent company of Facebook and Instagram, for clarification on whether Canadian news is still being made available on its platforms in Canada — despite the social media giant not paying to host Canadian news links, which is a violation of the Online News Act.
The commission previously asked Meta in October what measures it is taking to comply with the Act, and has now sent additional questions to the company in a follow-up letter dated Nov. 25 and addressed to Meta’s public policy director, Dan Ball.
“You have described measures…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC on Friday launched a trio of consultations to “improve” the wireless and internet codes by making it easier for Canadians to switch plans or providers.
The consultations can be broken down into three major categories: more transparent communications from service providers, the elimination of certain fees associated with switching, and self-service options for customers to easily cancel or modify their contracts.
For the first bucket, the CRTC is looking into providing Canadians with a 90-day notice before their contracts – which cannot exceed 24 months – come to an end; requiring a notice before the end of…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC on Thursday launched a consultation into whether it should ban Rogers, Bell and Telus from using the bundled fibre networks of the large telcos in Ontario and Quebec.
The commission is asking whether it’s in the public interest to change its November 2023 decision that temporarily allowed competitors to force negotiations to access both the traffic transport and last-mile fibre facilities of Bell and Telus in those provinces.
The deadline for comment is December 12.
The consultation comes at the recommendation of federal cabinet, which expressed concern that this policy could be detrimental to smaller…
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