But captures much of it anyway, and that’s a big problem
By Len St-Aubin
BILL C-10’s GOAL IS TO engage online streamers with Canadian creators in the production of Canadian stories for Canadian and global audiences. To do that, Bill C-10 proposes to modernize the Broadcasting Act by sweeping-in online (internet) audio and video.
The rationale is the impact of growing competition from unregulated internet audio and video on the regulated ‘broadcasting system’, as outlined in the report of the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Policy Review (BTLR) Panel.
The first article in this series showed how Bill C-10 is problematic for Canadian broadcasting,…
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GATINEAU — While renewing the broadcasting licence for Bell Media’s AM radio station CKGM Montreal (TSN 690) today, the Commission denied Bell’s request to reduce the amount of local programming the station broadcasts each week.
TSN 690 wanted to cut its local programming from 96 hours to 63 hours per broadcast week. The sports station’s condition of licence regarding local programming dates back to 2013 when the Commission approved Bell’s acquisition of Astral Media’s broadcasting undertakings, which included Montreal radio stations CJAD, CHOM-FM and CJFM-FM Montreal. Bell already owned CKGM Montreal, and in approving Bell’s acquisition of Astral Media’s stations,…
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But, Ajax/Pickering in Ontario lacks capacity to support a new station
GATINEAU — In two separate decisions released today, the CRTC has decided the community of Salt Spring Island (located about 85 km west of downtown Vancouver and 50 km north of Victoria) has the market capacity to sustain a new radio station, but the market of Ajax and Pickering (located east of Toronto) cannot support the addition of a station at this time.
Salt Spring Island (pop. 10,500) currently has no radio station of its own. The region is reached by various radio services serving Vancouver and Victoria. The only…
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GATINEAU — In a letter issued February 8, the CRTC has told Bell Canada and payphone operators SDI Telecom and AFX Communications (now defunct) that it will not step in to settle an ongoing dispute over toll-free call compensation.
In September 2020, in an application to the CRTC, Bell accused SDI Telecom of making illegitimate toll-free calls to inflate its billing charges to Bell, and asked the Commission to allow Bell to withhold payment of the disputed charges. Similarly, in August 2020, Bell had accused AFX Communications of doing the same thing and sought permission from the Commission…
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OTTAWA — The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) is asking the CRTC again for public disclosure of confidential information submitted by Canadian wireless service providers to the Commission regarding the number of unauthorized mobile telephone number transfers (ports) and SIM swaps that have occurred within their services.
Starting January 11, 2021, wireless service providers (WSPs) have been required by the Commission to file monthly data regarding the occurrences of SIM swapping. (Cartt.ca has written before about the issue of SIM-swap fraud, or wireless number porting fraud.)
A Commission letter on December 22, 2020, required mobile carriers to provide, for…
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By Christopher Guly
OTTAWA – Bill C-10 and other forthcoming federal government legislation was top of mind for Canadian Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault on Monday when he participated in a question-and-answer session at the Canadian Media Producers Association’s (CMPA’s) first virtual Prime Time conference.
He explained that in promoting diversity under C-10, which received first reading in the House of Commons last November and would amend the Broadcasting Act, the government will among other things, in a policy directive to the CRTC, ask the regulatory body to “incentivize the role of racialized minorities and Indigenous people in key creative positions”…
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By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – Tabled on November 3, 2020, Bill C-10 finally reappeared in the House of Commons on February 5, 2021 in the House of Commons, for discussion on its second reading.
It ended on a motion by the Conservatives that “Bill C-10, be not now read a second time but that the order be discharged, the bill withdrawn and the subject matter thereof referred to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage.” The amendment was not voted on.
Also on Friday, the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage (CHPC) held its second meeting on the bill to amend the Broadcasting Act….
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By Len St-Aubin
DEBATE ABOUT BILL C-10 thus far has focused on Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault’s goal to make big foreign online audio and video streamers, like Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime, YouTube and Spotify, contribute to the creation of Canadian content.
But Bill C-10’s scope is vast. It will impact broadcasting and the internet in Canada, and all Canadians
It’s a valid public policy goal to expect big foreign streamers which have significant market share and revenues in Canada to engage with Canadian creators in the production of Canadian stories for Canadian and global audiences. It’s a valid question whether amending the…
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CHATHAM, Ont. — Independent ISP TekSavvy has asked the Competition Bureau for a status update on a complaint it filed almost a year ago alleging Bell and Rogers have engaged in anti-competitive practices by abusing their dominant positions in wholesale and retail markets for broadband Internet services in Ontario and Quebec.
TekSavvy’s 57-page formal complaint was filed February 20, 2020, and the company issued a press release at the time, and made a public version of the complaint available here.
In a letter sent last Friday, TekSavvy is asking what the status is of the Competition Bureau’s investigation…
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GATINEAU — In a letter issued last week by the CRTC, the Commission has confirmed Valley Fiber Ltd., located in Winkler, Manitoba, has met the requirements to register as a proposed competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC).
Valley Fiber will be placed on the Commission’s list of proposed CLECs and is now authorized to: “Proceed with further arrangements as necessary to allow it to provide local switched services as a CLEC. However, you are reminded that you may not offer services to the public as a CLEC until all the conditions of Decision 97-8 and any subsequent relevant decisions have been…
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