OTTAWA – NBCUniversal will head to Parliament Hill to lobby on favourable tax measures for the company that has created content in the country, as it prepares to push new products in the new year.
It’s the first time the mega media company out of New York (and of course owned by Comcast Corp.) has registered to lobby the feds after having done so with Alberta and Ontario this past fall. The federal registration, effective January 6, targets Canadian Heritage and seeks to “monitor” and “assist” in the “development of policies that encourage and not hamper the development of film…
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By Steve Faguy
MONTREAL — Cogeco is closer than ever to launching a wireless service, but it still requires regulatory change before it can do so properly, company CEO Philippe Jetté told journalists on Wednesday as the company held its annual shareholders meeting in Montreal.
It’s one of several dossiers where Cogeco is seeking to either change the rules or fight to maintain them depending on their business interests.
Jetté (pictured, standing), who took over from controlling shareholder Louis Audet (seated) as CEO in 2018, said he is looking forward to presenting his company’s proposal for a “hybrid mobile…
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By Konrad von Finckenstein
THE RECENTLY PUBLISHED mandate letter for the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry (ISI) is extensive and deals with many large and difficult issues including climate change, copyright legislation, and new broadcast and telecom legislation.
The letter also focuses in an unprecedented way on consumer rights and privacy. Indeed, other than cell phone bills, it seems to look at most consumer issues through a privacy lens. It introduces several new terms which need to be conceptualized, explained, and put in context.
The mandate letter, in terms of consumers, provides that the Minister shall:
Use all available instruments, including…
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OTTAWA — The CRTC has agreed to direct the Competition Bureau to disclose certain confidential information that was redacted in the economic report submitted by the Commissioner of Competition in November to the CRTC’s wireless policy review proceeding. That is, the CRTC is agreeing to disclosure requests from Bell and Rogers; but it’s still considering similar requests from Telus and CNOC.
In a letter posted to the CRTC website on January 10, the CRTC says it is of the view that, generally speaking, the public disclosure of the redacted information, as requested by Bell and Rogers, would pose minimal…
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OTTAWA – Following the Liberal government’s election win in October, Friends of Canadian Broadcasting has filed new subjects of discussion in its federal lobby files which aim to hold the new government accountable on election promises to tax foreign digital services.
The advocacy group seeks “equal enforcement of the Broadcasting Act” and the “application of the Broadcasting Act to non-traditional media,” according to the December 10 registration under Jacob Homel, a member of the organization.
“Everything from taxes to collecting HST to being liable for what is published on a social media platform – that’s a euphemism for applying the…
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QUEBECOR’S GROUPE TVA FORMALLY filed in December its appeal in Federal Court against a CRTC decision that forced it to continue to provide a sports channel signal to Bell customers.
But the submission to the court came before the Supreme Court of Canada determined in a set of cases late last month how it would exercise its ability to review decisions made by administrative bodies such as the CRTC – otherwise known as the standard of review. Bell was successful in having the highest court in the land reverse a 2016 decision by the CRTC that said it could…
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GATINEAU – Having received a radio station licence application for one of the last known available frequencies in Ajax, Ont., the CRTC (as is its policy), opened a consultation on whether a new radio station in the community of 121,000 in Durham region, just east of Toronto (sandwiched between Pickering and Whitby) is a good idea.
The applicant is a numbered company which wants to launch a Commercial Ethnic FM radio station at 91.7 MHz (channel 219A) with an average effective radiated power (ERP) of 880 watts (maximum ERP of 2,000 watts).
Those wishing to intervene have until February 10 to…
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GATINEAU — Cloudwifi and Bell Canada are each asking the CRTC to respond on an expedited basis to their ongoing dispute regarding access to in-building fibre owned by service providers such as Bell.
On December 16, the CRTC issued a notice of consultation asking for comments regarding changes to the framework for access to in-building wire as well as appropriate rates, terms and conditions for in-building fibre connections. The Commission gave interested parties until April 2 to comment, with reply comments due by May 4.
However, Cloudwifi has now submitted a Part 1 application for the CRTC to review and vary…
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GATINEAU — With two CRTC commissioners reaching the end of their terms this spring, applications to fill their positions are still being accepted until February 9.
The appointment opportunities were first posted to the Governor in Council Appointments website back in June, and with a month left before the application deadline, the Commission on Tuesday reminded its Twitter followers about the job openings.
The CRTC term for Commissioner for Alberta and Northwest Territories Linda Vennard (pictured left) ends May 10, while the term for Commissioner for Atlantic Region and Nunavut Christopher MacDonald (pictured right) ends June 16.
The job title…
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Wants independent experts to examine Competition Bureau’s confidential information
By Denis Carmel
GATINEAU – Telus has asked the CRTC to again delay the public hearing portion of its wireless policy review hearing because it says the Competition Bureau’s handling of confidential information filed with to the Commission in November is unfair to other participants.
In its November 22nd submission to the CRTC’s wireless policy review proceeding, the Competition Bureau, “makes a number of findings that directly contradict Telus’s own submissions,” reads a document sent to the CRTC on December 23. “These findings are based on data that certain providers were directed…
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