OTTAWA – “Private broadcasters are encouraged to see that the government maintained the general exception for Canada’s cultural industries in the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA)”, said Canadian Association of Broadcaster chair Lenore Gibson in a press release Monday evening responding to the expected ratification of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).
As the government has indicated, the cultural exception “protects Canada’s broadcasting system, ensuring sustained investment in content created and produced by fellow Canadians,” reads the release. That section of the new trade deal can be found here.
“Ratification of CUSMA can now go hand in hand with updating Canada’s broadcasting…
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By Christopher Guly
OTTAWA – The much-anticipated report by the federal Broadcasting and Telecommunications Legislative Review panel has so far drawn praise from some of the industries it affects, but mainly criticism from the official opposition Conservatives.
At a National Press Theatre news conference following the release of the report on Wednesday, Michelle Rempel Garner, the Conservative shadow minister for industry and economic development (pictured in a cpac.ca screen cap), said that while the 235-page document, entitled Canada’s Communications Future: A Time to Act, is “well-intentioned, was written in one of the most heavily lobbied and regulated spaces in Canadian industry…
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OTTAWA — Somebody owes Telus some money. Maybe it’s Rogers and Bell. Or it could be the consumer groups l’Union des consommateurs and (to a lesser extent) the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC). Either way, Telus should be getting back about $1,700 as a result of a decision rendered Wednesday by the CRTC.
Back in May 2019, after the Commission denied PIAC’s request for clarification on the device unlocking rules set out in the Wireless Code, the CRTC did approve an application by l’Union and a separate application by PIAC for the awarding of costs related…
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GATINEAU – With a number of proposed substantive changes to the role and responsibilities of the CRTC recommended in the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Legislative Review (BTLR) panel report released today, it’s not surprising one of the first people to issue a statement regarding the report was the Commission’s chair and CEO, Ian Scott.
The first of the panel’s 97 recommendations is that the name of the CRTC be changed to the Canadian Communications Commission, the title of the Broadcasting Act be changed to the Media Communications Act, and the title of the Telecommunications Act be changed to the Electronic…
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TORONTO — The Broadcasting and Telecommunications Legislative Review (BTLR) Panel report released today contains a number of recommendations which Canadian content producers will consider good news — namely that all media content undertakings, including international digital giants not currently covered by legislation, should have obligations to support Canadian content.
As part of its review, the BTLR panel looked at the possibility of creating new financing models and other initiatives to support the creation, production and discoverability of Canadian content. Among its recommendations related to Canadian content are that the functions of the Canada Media Fund and Telefilm Canada be…
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Renamed Commission would oversee all media in Canada
By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – Eighteen months, thousands of pages from more than 2000 written submissions, dozens of staff and six panel members have produced a shockingly thorough 235-page report which proposes 97 recommendations to change the Broadcasting Act, Telecommunications Act and Radiocommunications Act.
The CRTC will be dead, long live the CCC
One of the many recommendations from the Broadcasting & Telecommunications Legislative Review (BTLR) panel in its report called “Canada’s Communications Future: Time to Act” is a renamed CRTC where the new moniker would reflect the sweeping new regulatory powers found in many…
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Bell vs. Quebecor battles continue
MONTREAL – In an unusual twist in a legal saga between two rivals, Bell Canada said Quebecor’s Groupe TVA should not be forced to provide its specialty services for distribution if it doesn’t want to, because that would violate the Copyright Act.
Bell, which submitted a new legal filing in Federal Court, also said the CRTC has no jurisdiction to force a program provider to “participate in a commercial relationship with a BDU without the consent.” The Regulator only has the ability to resolve disputes between those program providers and distributors about carriage, Bell said…
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GATINEAU — Canadians will have an additional week to submit their opinions on CBC/Radio-Canada’s programming as the CRTC announced Tuesday it is extending the consultation period that is part of the public broadcaster’s licence renewal process.
The Commission says it wants to hear from Canadians across the country to ensure the content produced and distributed by the public broadcaster reflects the diversity of Canada’s population, while meeting its needs in both official languages.
The deadline extension comes after the Commission posted online Tuesday a recently completed study by Cullen International which examined public broadcasters in other jurisdictions around the world….
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OTTAWA — The CRTC announced Tuesday the start of its proceeding to review the commercial radio policy framework, previously announced as part of its 2019-2020 Departmental Plan.
In its Broadcasting Notice of Proceeding CRTC 2020-25, the Commission says the intention of the review is to modernize the regulatory framework for radio in order to position the radio market to best contribute to Canada’s broadcasting policy objectives.
The proceeding will consist of three phases:
Phase 1 — conversation with Canadians through public opinion research;
Phase 2 — a notice of consultation covering several steps; and
Phase 3 — appearing public…
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By Lenore Gibson
ON WEDNESDAY, THE BROADCASTING and Telecom Legislative Review panel will deliver its long-awaited final report. Canada’s private broadcasters await that report with interest. The panel’s recommendations will set the stage for new legislation, which the government has promised to introduce by the end of 2020.
As many private broadcasters expressed to the panel, the stakes of this process are monumental. Change is needed more than ever with the arrival of new foreign streaming services in Canada. Canadian broadcasting policy was developed for a closed system. It never contemplated that massive foreign platforms would enter the market “over the…
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