OTTAWA – After a Parliamentary committee decided yesterday to pull back from a 10-year-old request asking the CRTC broaden its rules applicable to false and misleading news, Commission chair Konrad von Finckenstein confirmed that the public notice will be withdrawn.
Speaking to the Canadian Media Production Association annual Prime Time event, he explained the rule has been in place “for a donkey’s age”, but a decade ago the Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations – a joint Commons and Senate committee that studies government regulations – determined that the CRTC’s rules regarding false and misleading news ran…
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TORONTO – Canadian Satellite Radio shareholders today approved the merger of XM Canada and Sirius Canada at CSR’s annual and special meeting of shareholders.
John Bitove, executive chairman of CSR said the company will now continue to work with the CRTC and the Competition Bureau to obtain regulatory approval.
"The proposed merger of equals will create a leading Canadian media company and nationwide audio entertainment provider that will deliver exceptional value to shareholders and subscribers, and enhance the long-term success of satellite radio in Canada,” says Bitove.
It is expected that a combined XM Canada and Sirius Canada will yield synergies…
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GATINEAU – The CRTC has denied a request from SaskTel to deregulate business telephony in Regina.
In its submission, Sasktel argued that Regina’s existing telecommunications service providers, Access and MTS Allstream, were capable of serving the area and that the market was therefore competitive enough for deregulation.
However, Access noted in its submission that it does not provide a business service that is capable of serving at least 75% of the number of business local exchange service lines in the exchange. SaskTel claimed that Access meets the competitor presence test, and, in support of this claim, SaskTel conducted a survey of…
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OTTAWA – Partisan politics were on full display during Minister of Canadian Heritage James Moore’s appearance before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage yesterday. While Moore was there to talk about the mandate and funding of the CBC/Radio-Canada, a good part of his time was spent responding to criticisms regarding the appointment of Tom Pentefountas as vice-chair broadcasting at the CRTC.
During Moore’s hour in front of the committee, the chair had to interject a number of times to ensure MPs remained on track with their questions. The committee also passed a motion requesting that Pentefountas appear to…
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GATINEAU – The CRTC Tuesday said no to adding the U.S. cable channel National Geographic Wild to the eligible satellite list for distribution in Canada.
Shaw Communications had made the application and High Fidelity HDTV, which runs a similar, Canadian service here (Oasis HD) opposed the application, as did CTV.
Fox Cable Networks-owned NatGeo Wild airs wildlife and nature programming, including a variety of documentaries, series, events and specials.
CTV and HiFi said the U.S. channel would be at least partially competitive with their respective Category B specialty services Animal Planet and Oasis HD. “Specifically, CTV and High Fidelity highlighted several documentary…
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TORONTO – With the Commission expected to rule shortly on a proposed $5.7 million accessibility fund (proposed by BCE as a piece of its tangible benefits package in acquiring CTV), Media Access Canada is cautioning the Regulator to choose an administrator of that fund wisely.
CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein suggested the creation of such a fund to Bell executives during the hearing into the acquisition of CTV. He asked if $5.7 million of the benefits package still unspent from the first time BCE bought CTV in 2000 could be used for such a fund. Bell said sure.
The aim…
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OTTAWA – Saying he’s defending consumer choice and competition, Industry Minister Tony Clement announced Tuesday that the Conservative government will appeal a Federal Court of Canada ruling that quashed a cabinet order allowing Egyptian-backed Globalive Wireless (whose retail brand is Wind) to operate in Canada.
The Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP), ACTRA, and Friends of Canadian Broadcasting were intervenors in the case.
"Overturning the Cabinet decision is a victory for Canadian ownership rules and a victory for Canadian culture," said Stephen Waddell, ACTRA’s national executive director. "Globalive was potentially the beginning of the end of our…
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OTTAWA – National media folks have written this morning that “big telco” rose up to defend itself yesterday in front of the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology which met again Thursday to discuss wholesale usage-based billing.
We listened in – and to be honest took few notes. There was nothing said by the likes of MTS Allstream, CAIP, OpenMedia, Bell and Shaw that we have not heard many, many times already – be it over the past number of days, or dating back months to prior CRTC hearings.
(And we still believe UBB has now become a poisonous…
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GATINEAU – Without indemnifying broadcasters and distributors and limiting their legal liability, ongoing development of a national emergency alerting system may be at risk, the CRTC’s hearing on Pelmorex Communications Inc.’s licence renewal heard this week.
But Commission chair Konrad von Finckenstein (a former judge) suggested that the whole liability issue may in fact be a red herring.
David Townsend, a professor in the Faulty of Law at the University of New Brunswick, who was appearing with the Canadian Association for Public Alerting and Notification (CAPAN), agreed.
“It’s overblown, but when parties are refusing to participate and really help the…
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NOT LONG AGO I ASKED A CRTC senior policy advisor I know how work was going. It was one of those just-making-conversation questions we all ask, but I was a little surprised at his response:
“Livin’ the dream,” he excitedly told me. Now, I’m not sure my facial expression betrayed my wonder at that statement and I don’t remember what I said next, but he continued to add that he found it exciting, interesting and fun to debate and then help craft what would become the “law of the land.”
Upon reflection, it shouldn’t have come as such a shock –…
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