TekSavvy will return its complaint to the federal integrity commissioner
OTTAWA – The Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner will not initiate an examination into CRTC chair Ian Scott’s alleged bias related to meetings with telecommunications service providers, according to the commissioner’s report on the matter, which was published online today.
“It was alleged that Mr. Scott had several meetings with large telecommunication providers while they had open and active files before the CRTC, thereby failing to avoid apparent conflicts of interest in breach of the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector and CRTC practices,” the…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has asked Northwestel for information about a service outage in Nunavut lasting from Aug. 3 to Aug. 4, 2022.
According to reports, the “outage was caused by an internal network issue, which impacted various services including Internet and cellular services,” says a letter from the Commission to Northwestel dated Aug. 17.
The CRTC has asked for more information about what happened including the cause, timeline of events, services affected, number of customers affected, whether there was an impact on the ability of residents to access emergency services and steps taken to restore service. Northwestel must submit a…
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No set rates means decision will require a lot of work and time to implement, CEO says
By Amanda OYE
OTTAWA – Last week, when renewing independent broadcaster OUTtv’s licence for a five-year term, the CRTC also granted the service dedicated to the LGBTQ2 community, “must-offer” status for three and a half years in the English-language market starting next March.
Noting that with the decision the CRTC has recognized the distinctiveness and vulnerability of the LGBTQ2 community, OUTtv CEO Brad Danks said in an interview with Cartt.ca the decision was also an indication the Commission recognizes that without regulatory support, OUTtv…
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Asks for Telus’ application to amend its general tariff to include the new charge be suspended
OTTAWA – The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) and National Pensioners Federation (NPF) are asking the CRTC to launch a consultation on the implementation of credit card surcharges by Canadian telecoms and broadcasting distribution undertakings.
In a letter submitted today to the CRTC, obtained by Cartt.ca, the two consumer advocacy groups point out surcharging “soon will become possible as a result of a 20 year legal saga”, and, referring to an application to amend its general tariff to implement such a charge that was…
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Will rule on the tariff application within 45 business days
OTTAWA – The CRTC has informed Telus it will not approve the telecom’s request for permission to charge customers a 1.5% credit card processing fee on an interim basis due to the “many” interventions it has received in opposition of the request.
In a letter dated Aug. 15, the CRTC said it will make a decision on Telus’ application to change its general tariff to include the added charge within 45 business days of receipt of the filing.
Telus submitted its application on Aug. 8. Since then, over 2,500 interventions on…
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OTTAWA – Earlier this month, the CRTC asked Rogers for more information about its July nationwide outage, according to a letter posted on the CRTC’s website last night.
The letter, sent to Rogers on Aug. 5, asks the telecom to submit answers to a second series of questions about the outage. The request was made after Rogers filed a report on July 22 responding to a list of initial questions from the CRTC.
In the second list of questions, which is partially redacted as it refers to some information Rogers filed in confidence, the CRTC asks Rogers to “quantify…
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City Wide petitions the Governor in Council to vary the decision
By Amanda OYE
OTTAWA – Eastlink is arguing Dartmouth, Nova Scotia-based independent Internet service provider City Wide Communications merely restated its original argument in its application to have the CRTC review and vary its decision to deny its request to order Eastlink to move its third-party Internet access (TPIA) point of interconnection (POI) in Nova Scotia.
Eastlink’s TPIA POI in Nova Scotia is currently located in the rural community of Pennant Point but City Wide has been asking for it to be moved to a location in the core of Halifax.
The…
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By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – On Aug. 4, the CRTC sent a letter to Pelmorex regarding the impact of Rogers’ Canada-wide service outage on its role as the operator of the National Alert Aggregation and Dissemination (NAAD) system.
“As an initial step, comprehensive information is required in order for the Commission and Canadians to understand what happened, and, just as importantly, what can be done to improve the system including how to mitigate impacts on the National Public Alerting System,” the letter reads.
The CRTC mentions that while it is considering a public inquiry on this telecommunications failure, it wishes to…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has sent Lixo Investments a request for information regarding claims from Rogers Communications it is refusing to grant the telecom access to 70 Yorkville Avenue in Toronto despite the Commission having issued a decision on June 8 granting the telecom’s request for access.
The Commission’s decision indicated increasingly stringent measures would take effect 30 and 45 days from the date of the decision if Rogers did not report it had “been granted timely access under reasonable terms and conditions.”
At issue is Rogers ability to access the building to service facilities installed in the 1980s. Rogers indicated…
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GATINEAU – The CRTC today announced on Twitter that its Quebec Commissioner Alicia Barin (above) was appointed by the Governor in Council as interim vice-chair, broadcasting on Monday for a six-month period.
Barin takes over the role from Caroline J. Simard, who is set to begin her new role as Commissioner of Elections Canada starting Aug. 15.
Simard was previously scheduled to leave the Commission in September. She was a dissenting voice on two recent CRTC decisions regarding the CBC – the decision to renew its licences with significant changes to its conditions of licence, and the decision…
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