GATINEAU — From October 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021, ISED Canada’s Spam Reporting Centre (SRC) received more than 144,560 complaints (which works out to 5,560 per week), according to the CRTC’s spring 2021 snapshot of activities to enforce Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL).
During this time period, CRTC enforcement measures included 143 notices to produce, 17 preservation demands, 10 warning letters, 1 notice of violation and a $75,000 administrative monetary penalty (the largest spam penalty ever issued to an individual under CASL).
When asked their reason for complaining to the SRC, 93% of Canadians said lack of consent was the…
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Advisory firms recommend shareholders vote in favour
CALGARY — Shaw Communications announced today two independent proxy advisory firms, Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS) and Glass, Lewis and Co., have recommended that Shaw’s shareholders vote for the proposed business merger with Rogers Communications announced in March.
The proposed $26-billion purchase deal would see Rogers acquire all of Shaw’s issued and outstanding Class A participating shares and Class B non-voting participating shares.
Shaw says a special shareholder meeting will be held virtually on May 20 at 10 a.m. MT. The purpose of the meeting is for Class A and B shareholders to consider…
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And four fixes which need to be applied
By Mark Sikstrom
THEY BLAME GOOGLE AND FACEBOOK for the blow to the bottom line and social media for their shrinking audience, but mainstream news organizations may fail for another reason. Most consumers no longer believe they tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Newspaper and TV outlets have largely ignored the erosion of trust in their brands while focussing on their revenue crisis.
While understandable, it reminds me of the early 2000s when my peers were warning that online news would undermine the broadcast news model. We were met with…
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TORONTO — Music rights management organization SOCAN announced today 24 Canadian visionaries will be recognized at this year’s SOCAN Awards for the roles they played in helping to raise the stature of music made in Canada.
“Fifty years ago, they understood the need to protect and amplify Canadian music, giving rise to Cancon. These trailblazers will be awarded the SOCAN Guardian Award for their efforts in preserving and boosting Canadian culture,” reads SOCAN’s press release.
At a time when home-grown music was often considered inferior to foreign records dominating the charts, making it difficult for Canadian artists to get airtime on…
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Will hear from Lametti, Guilbeault, expert panel on amended bill
By Christopher Guly
OTTAWA – Following some back-and-forth from members of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage on a motion introduced last Friday regarding the Bill C-10 review, consensus was reached on Monday to invite Justice Minister David Lametti and Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault to appear before the group as early as Friday, with Members of Parliament on the committee to hear from an expert panel as soon as Monday.
Saskatchewan Conservative MP Kevin Waugh proposed amending Quebec Liberal MP Anthony Housefather’s motion seeking a revised Charter statement…
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Siphoning hundreds of millions from them for Cancon will give streamers leverage over government and regulators
By Len St-Aubin
THE GOVERNMENT SAYS Bill C-10 is part of a plan to rein in web giants by making them pay their “fair share” when it comes to Canadian culture. That’s their story, and Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault is sticking to it.
But you have to wonder, at what cost? Extracting up to 30% of revenues generated in Canada from the likes of YouTube (Google), Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Disney, Spotify et al, and subjecting them to outdated, unnecessarily intrusive CRTC regulation, what’s the “quid-pro-quo”?
There’s…
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COMMUNITY MEDIA’S LOW-COST participatory model has the potential to address both the crisis in local news and information, and the proliferation of fake news. Yet this sector has been relegated to a sidebar in discussions to reform Canada’s broadcasting system.
When Paul Manly of the Green Party and others recently put forward an amendment to clarify that community media Is not-for-profit, it was rejected by the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage.
The concern raised was that giving recognition to “not-for-profit” community broadcasting might somehow imperil giant for-profit cable and satellite corporations.
The 1991 Broadcast Act recognizes three distinct elements: private, public…
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GATINEAU — Having been denied access to a multi-dwelling unit (MDU) building currently under construction in Saint John, N.B., and therefore unable to offer services to incoming residents, Rogers Communications is asking the CRTC to order the developer to grant it access to the building, on a expedited basis.
In a Part 1 application filed May 6th and posted on the Commission’s website today, Rogers says Iron Gate Developments and its owner, Stephen Brittain, refuse to provide Rogers with access to a property known as Telegraph Square, located at 29 Canterbury Street in Saint John.
Rogers says in its application it…
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Second Charter review stalled by Conservative filibustering
By Christopher Guly
OTTAWA – Fraught by fears of stifling constitutionally protected freedoms, Bill C-10 could undergo a second review to ensure that the proposed amendments to the Broadcasting Act are compliant with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
At the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage on Friday, Liberal member Anthony Housefather presented a motion that would ask Justice Minister David Lametti “to provide a revised Charter statement on Bill C-10, as soon as possible, focusing on whether the committee’s changes to the bill related to programs uploaded by users of social…
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By Steve Faguy
RIVIÈRE-DU-LOUP – Canada’s public broadcaster has cut ties with its last privately-owned affiliate TV station.
CKRT-DT, based in Rivière-du-Loup, Que., learned last year that Radio-Canada was not renewing its affiliation agreement past Aug. 31, 2021. Owner Télé Inter-Rives, which also owns affiliate stations for both TVA and Noovo in eastern Quebec, says it has no other source of programming for the station and will therefore shut it down — along with its six rebroadcasting transmitters — and return its licence to the CRTC.
“Over the last year, we have been able to discuss with Radio-Canada about this unilateral decision,”…
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