Survey also shows few Canadians are following C-18
CANADIANS ARE NOT very familiar with the Bill C-18, the Online News Act, but after hearing about Google’s concerns, most still want government to amend it, according to data from an Abacus Data survey commissioned by Google Canada that was released last week.
“The results clearly indicate that while few Canadians are paying close attention to what is happening with the Online News Act, the issues with Bill C-18 raised by Google resonate with Canadians and cause them to want legislators to amend the bill to address concerns they have with it –…
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OTTAWA – Telus may have to wait until the beginning of December for a decision from the CRTC on its application to amend its general tariff so it can start charging customers a 1.5% credit card processing fee, according to a letter the Commission sent the company last week.
The letter notes the CRTC’s staff are still working on the application and as such, a decision will not be possible within the timeframe initially given (45 business days). The Commission is now saying it will issue a decision within 120 calendar days of Aug. 8, the date of…
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GATINEAU – CRTC chair and CEO Ian Scott (above) issued a statement today explaining the funding mechanisms in place for participation in Commission proceedings and announcing they have launched an internal review of the criteria for cost awards in light of recent events, which have called into question the funding awarded to the Community Media Advocacy Centre (CMAC) and its senior consultant Laith Marouf.
Back in August, the federal government cut the funding it awarded to the organization to develop an anti-racism strategy after it was brought to the minister of housing and diversity and inclusion’s attention that Marouf…
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Globalive (and Wind Mobile) founder adamant national wireless only player the solution
TORONTO – Canadians are more fed up with the nation’s telecommunications industry than they are with airline delays and real estate prices, according to the 2022 Canadian Telecom Sentiment Report, released late last month.
The survey, conducted by Pollara Strategic Insights and commissioned by Globalive, shows 59% of Canadians “are angry or annoyed when they think of telecom companies, the highest of all major Canadian industries surveyed,” a press release announcing the report says.
Furthermore, 71% of Canadians “are angry about telecom bills specifically, the third highest of 13 cost-of-living…
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BPF reviewing whether it will continue awarding funding to CMAC moving forward
OTTAWA – A month and a half after the federal government announced it was cutting funding it awarded to the Community Media Advocacy Centre (CMAC), the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage is trying to figure out why the organization received the funding – to develop an anti-racism strategy – in the first place.
Funding was cut to CMAC’s project after numerous concerns were expressed about antisemitic and other racist tweets posted by Laith Marouf, a senior consultant with the organization.
At a meeting last Friday, committee members, who argued CMAC…
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OTTAWA – The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) is expecting Canadian news businesses will receive around $329.2 million per year in total compensation from digital platforms if Bill C-18, the Online News Act, is implemented, according to a cost estimate report for the bill released yesterday.
For context, the heritage committee was told last month the Australian news media bargaining code is currently generating over $200 million for news businesses from digital platforms.
In Canada, the PBO estimates the revenue generated from digital platforms will equal around 30% of the costs of content creation for news organizations. “For broadcasters, the cost of content…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC put out a call for comments today on an application from Quebecor Media on behalf of its subsidiary TVA Group to remove the limit on advertising currently imposed on TVA’s discretionary services.
The Commission is also considering the possibility of removing the limit for other discretionary services as well.
Right now, TVA’s AddikTV, CASA, Évasion, MOI ET CIE, PRISE2, Yoopa and Zeste, as well as LCN (is national news service) and TVA Sports and TVA Sports 2 (its mainstream sports services) are restricted to airing no more than 12 minutes of advertising per clock hour, the CRTC…
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OTTAWA – While telecommunications service providers continue to deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona, the CRTC is seeking more information on how they prepared for and responded to the storm.
The Commission sent a request for information last week to Bell, Eastlink, Rogers and Telus. By Oct. 7, the companies are expected to submit information including “a high-level estimate of the number of customers affected by service outages of 24 hours or more caused by the hurricane, for each of the phone, mobile wireless, and Internet access services,” as well as “The status to date of any…
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Academics explain algorithms and weigh in on whether the CRTC can handle implementing the bill
OTTAWA – If Bill C-11 becomes law the side effects “could break stuff”, Frédéric Bastien Forrest, a Canadian radio personality and content creator, told the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications yesterday.
“That’s what’s scary about the business model we have already… a lot of people assume that digital media works just like traditional media, a top-down approach, but it’s more of a grassroots thing so we need separate ways to address these two industries,” he said.
Forrest called on the committee to keep user-generated…
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By Konrad von Finckenstein
This is the second article in a two-part series. For part one, please click here.
BILL C-18, THE Online News Act, is being discussed in committee. The stated purpose of the act is “is to regulate digital news intermediaries with a view to enhancing fairness in the Canadian digital news marketplace and contributing to its sustainability, including the sustainability of independent local news businesses.”
The motivation for the act stems from the idea that local newspapers do not get the appropriate recompense for news that they produce but that reaches the public via digital platforms and that platforms…
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