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Search Results for: crtc

Radio / Television News November 16, 2022 3 years ago

C-11: CRTC chair appears in front of senate committee

By Denis Carmel OTTAWA — This evening, the Transport and Communications Committee of the Senate (TRCM) heard from CRTC chairman Ian Scott (above) who took the opportunity to clarify some concepts and asked to remove amendments passed by the House of Commons Heritage Committee to Bill C-11, the Online Streaming Act. The chair started by stating again that the Commission has no intention of regulating the user-generated content (UGC). “Bill C-11 draws a distinction between the users of social media on one hand, and the platforms themselves on the other. Its intent is to exclude individual users from regulation. I want… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News November 15, 2022 3 years ago

C-11: The end is near

Or is it? By Denis Carmel OTTAWA – Another meeting of the Transport and Communications Senate Committee brought an Aboriginal perspective on C-11, the Online Streaming Act, from the Indigenous Screen Office (ISO, represented by its co-executive director, Jesse Wente; above), the Aboriginal Multi-Media Society of Alberta, an assistant professor in Indigenous Communication Arts at the First Nations University of Canada and an Aboriginal digital content creator. To complete the picture, we heard from the Music Publishers Canada. Beyond the expected message on the need for better reflection of Aboriginal languages they spoke about the importance of telling Aboriginal stories in English… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News November 14, 2022 3 years ago

COMMENTARY: The Devil is in 204 Bill C-11 details

By Monica Auer IN JUNE 2022, the House of Commons passed Bill C-11-3, the Online Streaming Act, to amend Canada’s 1991 Broadcasting Act. The bill was then sent to the Senate for study and debate. The Senate’s Transport and Communications Committee (TRCM) began its pre-study of C-11 in early June, and has so far heard nearly 130 separate witnesses. It is unclear precisely when TRCM will submit its report and recommendations about Bill C-11 to the Senate, but the latter is expected to sit from now until Dec. 22, 2022, and to resume sitting in early 2023, perhaps as early as… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News November 3, 2022 3 years ago

Quebecor Q3 2022 revenue falls slightly

CEO accuses Bell of refusing to negotiate MVNO rates in good faith MONTREAL – Quebecor announced today its third quarter 2022 financial results, which show the company’s revenues were $1.1 billion – a slight decrease from Q3 2021. Adjusted EBITDA was also slightly down at $518 million. In Quebecor’s telecommunications segment specifically, the company reported $942.2 million in revenue, which is an increase from $939.5 million in the same quarter the previous year. Adjusted EBITDA in the segment was $489.5 million, up from $476.8 million. In the media segment, the company reported revenue of $170.1 million – down from $190.6 million in the… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News November 3, 2022 3 years ago

COMMENTARY: Local TV news gets no love from Parliamentarians considering C-11

By Howard Law IF JOURNALISTS IN politics are the friends of news media, perhaps it needs new friends. At the Commons Heritage Committee, former CTV reporter and Conservative MP Kevin Waugh continues to thunder that major TV networks Bell CTV, Rogers City-TV and CBC should be excluded from the “FaceGoogle” Bill C-18. This Monday at the Senate committee studying the Online Streaming Act Bill C-11, former Edmonton Journal columnist Paula Simons and former CBC TV correspondent Julie Miville-Dechêne suggested Unifor’s recommendation for better cable and streamer funding of local news was unnecessary because TV companies are set to cash in under… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News November 3, 2022 3 years ago

C-11: TRCM’s last witnesses make more of the same arguments

By Denis Carmel OTTAWA – It now appears senators on the transport and communications committee (TRCM) are suffering from witness fatigue. On Wednesday evening, five associations of artists involved in the creation of content in various forms came in front of committee to offer their comments on the Online Streaming Act, but they generally repeated the same arguments the committee had heard before. This prompted Senator Julie Miville-Dechêne (above) to quip that they all had heard these arguments, which were presented, in writing, by the Coalition for the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (CDCE) and supported by them and others before. So,… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News November 1, 2022 3 years ago

CRTC grants The News Forum 9(1)(h) status

OTTAWA – The CRTC today approved an application for 9(1)(h) status made by The News Forum Inc. for its national news service.
“That order does not require broadcasting distribution undertakings to distribute national news services as part of the basic service. Rather, Broadcasting Order 2013-735 requires national news services to be offered to subscribers and establishes requirements relating to packaging and the negotiation of affiliation agreements,” the CRTC’s decision explains.
Back in May, the Commission approved The News Forum’s application for a broadcasting licence to operate its national news discretionary service, which was launched in 2020 and was previously… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News November 1, 2022 3 years ago

CRTC hosts five-nation meeting to combat scam communications

OTTAWA and GATINEAU — The CRTC announced today regulators from Canada, Australia, Ireland, Hong Kong and the United States, for the first time, have met in person to try to find better ways to combat scam communications. “Hosted by the CRTC, the Combating Scam Communications meeting was an opportunity to share their strategic insights on current initiatives and cross-border enforcement challenges. The participants also explored opportunities for greater international collaboration to disrupt scam communications,” reads a press release. The meeting preceded the International Regulators Forum and International Institute of Communications’ annual conference being held in Ottawa from Nov. 1-4, the release… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News October 31, 2022 3 years ago

CRTC clarifies definition of “manufacturer’s suggested retail price”

OTTAWA – The CRTC last week sided with Quebecor in a dispute with Bell, Rogers and Telus over what the term “manufacturer’s suggested retail price” (MSRP) means as it pertains to the Wireless Code. Section G of the Wireless Code deals with early cancellation fees and factors in the MSRP of devices when the device was subsidized as part of the contract. In April, the CRTC launched a show cause proceeding on the use of the term after Quebecor, on behalf of its subsidiary Videotron submitted a letter claiming it observed Bell, Rogers and Telus inflating the retail price of… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News October 31, 2022 3 years ago

Facebook appears in front of heritage committee – and nothing was accomplished

By Denis Carmel OTTAWA – On Oct. 29, the heritage committee of the House of Commons (CHPC) held a meeting to study Bill C-18, the Online News Act. Before this, on Oct. 21, Facebook (owned by Meta) published a blog post about not having been invited to speak in front of the committee. The committee “appears to have concluded calling witnesses for its study of the Online News Act (Bill C-18),” the post reads. “But faced with adverse legislation that is based on false assumptions that defy the logic of how Facebook works, we feel it is important to be transparent about the… Continue Reading
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