BANFF – CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais will deliver a keynote address on Sunday June 7, 2015 to open the 36th annual Banff World Media Festival.
In the wake of the Commission’s decisions from its Let's Talk TV hearing, Blais will speak about where the CRTC is heading next, and, why the recently launched review of basic telecommunications services is important – not only for the Canadian content industry, but also for all sectors of the Canadian economy.
Banff organizers also announced the return of the ‘Media Leaders’ series, offering delegates the unparalleled opportunity to listen in on exclusive conversations between top media leaders…
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OTTAWA – Bell Mobility is officially appealing a CRTC decision banning it from providing mobile video applications that are exempt from counting toward customers’ cap on their wireless data plans.
After receiving leave to appeal earlier this month, Bell filed notice with the Federal Court of Appeal late Friday asking it to set aside CRTC Broadcasting and Telecom Decision 2015-26.
According to Bell’s appeal, the CRTC made errors in law and jurisdiction by ignoring Section 4 of the Telecommunications Act (which says the Act doesn’t apply to broadcasting undertakings), and by finding that Bell was giving itself…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Concurrent with its review of basic telecommunications services, the CRTC also published an inquiry report on satellite services in Canada plus called for a review of Telesat’s “market dominance”.
Conducted by Commissioner Candice Molnar, the report found that satellite dependent communities, located in Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, and Yukon, as well as remote areas of British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec, continue to rely almost exclusively on Telesat's satellite network for services including as voice, wireless, and Internet. Ottawa-based Telesat Canada is the main satellite operator in Canada providing fixed satellite services (FSS) to broadcasting, telecommunications, corporate,…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC kicked off a major proceeding Thursday designed to review basic telecommunications services in Canada.
The first phase of the proceeding will see the Commission solicit information from Canadians to better understand their current telecommunications services and determine which areas are not being adequately served or not being served at all. Noting that its current policy dictates that Canadians in all regions have access to a low-speed Internet connection, the Commission said that it must review its policies on basic telecommunications services “in order to be in step with the future and the changing needs of Canadians”.
Canadians…
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MONTREAL – Videotron has formed a nine person Citizen Advisory Committee for its French-language community channel MAtv, as directed by the CRTC in February.
As Cartt.ca reported, the CRTC found that MAtv was not complying with local and access programming requirements, and directed it to do so before its next licence renewal in August 2015. It also ordered Videotron to form a citizens' advisory committee by March 15 that will determine the mix, scope and types of programs that would best serve the needs and interests of the greater Montreal community.
“At the end of our recruitment effort, nine citizens…
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OTTAWA–GATINEAU – Canada’s new emergency alert system may have officially launched this week, but it can’t reach all Canadians after some of the country’s biggest TV service providers, including Bell and Shaw, have delayed its full rollout.
Known as Alert Ready, the system notifies Canadians of emergency situations over their radios and through their televisions. Issued by emergency management officials such as fire marshals, police officers and public health personnel, the alerts are meant to warn the public of dangers to life and property, like severe weather, water contamination and industrial disasters, as well as Amber Alerts.
While all cable and satellite…
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OTTAWA–GATINEAU – With a federal election looming, the CRTC laid out the ground rules for entities who call voters, or that engage others to do so.
As part of recent amendments to the Canada Elections Act and the Telecommunications Act, the Commission is responsible for establishing and maintaining a Voter Contact Registry during federal elections. Persons, corporations, or groups that engage in voter contact calls in relation to an election will be required to file registration notices and identifying information with the Commission for inclusion in the Voter Contact Registry.
Political entities, including candidates and political parties, corporations, trade associations and…
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OTTAWA–GATINEAU – In an effort to further “empower” Canadian TV viewers, the CRTC unveiled a new draft code to help viewers resolve disputes with their television service providers, and directed broadcasters to ensure that Canadians with disabilities have greater access to content adapted to their needs.
Thursday’s announcements are the fifth and final decision stemming from the Commission’s TV Policy Review, known as Let's Talk TV.
Under the proposed code of conduct, TV service providers would be required to provide easy-to-understand agreements to their customers, notify them of changes to their services, and clarify the terms surrounding issues such as the addition…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – CRTC chairman and CEO Jean-Pierre Blais said that he finds it “disturbing” that allegations are swirling that Bell Media and CTV may be “manipulating news coverage”.
In a statement Wednesday preaching “journalistic independence”, Blais essentially responded to a Globe and Mail report claiming that Bell Media president Kevin Crull was so “furious” over last Thursday’s CRTC decision to unbundle TV programming packages, that he ordered CTV News president Wendy Freeman to ensure that Blais did not appear on air that day.
Quoting unnamed sources, the report says that Freeman contacted CTV staff to tell them of the directive…
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OTTAWA–GATINEAU – Four air duct cleaning companies have paid $55,000 as part of a settlement over violations to Canada's telemarketing rules, and the CRTC has fined five others a total of $94,000, the Commission said Tuesday.
Acting on complaints, the CRTC launched several investigations and determined that nine companies, all based in the Greater Toronto Area, had made unsolicited telemarketing calls without being registered with the national do not call list (DNCL) operator and without having purchased a subscription to the DNCL.
Four of the nine companies, Bridge Home Services Inc., Cambridge Heating Services, HR Home Services, and Top Line Air Duct…
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