OTTAWA — Tandy Yull has joined the Canadian Association of Broadcasters as its vice-president of policy and regulatory affairs, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Yull joins the CAB from the CRTC where she worked for the last 23 years in various positions including senior manager of alternative dispute resolution, senior manager of English and third-language programming, and manager of English-language pay and specialty services.
She previously worked at the CAB as manager of television policy and social issues from 1996-1999.
Prior to that, she was a consultant at Nordicity.
Yull holds a BA in political science and history from McGill University and…
Continue Reading
The following is an abridged version of keynote address delivered to the Canadian ISP Summit last week, by Geoff White, executive director and general counsel, Competitive Network Operators of Canada (CNOC).
TORONTO – Last year, the CNOC keynote address was titled “Independents Unite: How We Are Fighting for a Fairer Today and a Stronger Tomorrow.” Well, it’s tomorrow now, and there’s a lot to reflect upon as we head into the future. So, the title of today’s remarks is “Where do we go from here?”
First, let’s take stock. Since we last met, a couple of major things that should not…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – Last Friday, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage heard from CRTC chair Ian Scott and the heritage minister, Pablo Rodriguez on Bill C-18, the Online News Act, but representatives from Meta, Facebook’s parent company were still notably absent.
The CRTC chair appeared to reassure the committee the Commission can handle implementing the bill. As with C-11, the Online Streaming Act, one of the questions that has been asked again and again is whether the CRTC will be able to handle its new responsibilities should the bill pass.
While many have doubts about the Commission, Scott told…
Continue Reading
CRTC chair attempts to explain cost awards granted to CMAC
OTTAWA – During a meeting on C-18, the Online News Act, heritage minister Pablo Rodriguez and Ian Scott, chair of the CRTC, were also asked questions about the Community Media Advocacy Centre (CMAC) and its senior consultant Laith Marouf being awarded funding by the federal government and the CRTC.
Surprisingly, Rodriguez told the committee he did not know what was going on until the media reported on it – meaning he was not clued in on the matter at any point in the month that passed by between…
Continue Reading
By Howard Law
I KEEP THINKING I have written my last post on the Bill C-11 debate over regulation of user generated content and discoverability, but I am always wrong.
The issue continues to consume almost all the Parliamentary oxygen available. The Conservatives have made it a big part of their branding and fundraising. Now there is speculation that the Poilievre leadership is thinking about a third filibuster, this time in the Senate which had previously agreed to return the bill to the House by Nov. 18.
C-11 has given us our own Canadian culture wars, divisive on the basis of ideology,…
Continue Reading
THE BIG INTERNATIONAL web platforms carry Canadian news content they didn’t create. They take it for free and use it to stock their sites, hold on to their users, attract new ones, and generate substantial revenues. The federal government’s Bill C-18 is a step in the right direction: it recognizes at last that the use and dissemination of local news content without compensation is unfair and, in the long term, threatens the very survival of Canadian news outlets.
Behemoths like Google and Facebook, which have a combined market cap in excess of US$1.6 trillion, are grabbing our content and intellectual…
Continue Reading
FREDERICTON – As of Jan. 20, 2023, 10-didgits (area code and phone number) will be needed to make local calls in New Brunswick, the Telecommunications Alliance announced today.
The CRTC made the decision to implement 10-digit dialing in October 2020. It is paving the way for the 428 area code to be introduced in the province on April 29, 2023, “as the current 506 area code reaches capacity,” a press release explains.
The Telecommunications Alliance, which is a group of major Canadian communications companies, “is leading a public awareness campaign to inform residents and businesses across New Brunswick about local…
Continue Reading
Uncertainty around whether Senate will meet Nov. 18 deadline
By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – The Transportation and Communications Senate Committee (TRCM) continued its pre-study of Bill C-11 yesterday and the committee staff should be commended for very effective casting.
The first hour featured two visions of intervenors and their approach to the bill. Peter Menzies, previously vice-chair of the CRTC, outlined some (he only had five minutes) of his objections.
“Bill C-11 seems to be inspired by a desire to assist those whose business models are having difficulty adjusting to the Internet age. That’s an understandable desire. But to the extent this overly broad…
Continue Reading
Cogeco said terms are “positive step”
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – The CRTC has defined the boundaries for regional mobile virtual network operators to lease wireless space from the networks of the large incumbent operators, stipulating carriers wanting to operate such an MVNO must actively be offering services to retail customers, not just have spectrum and facilities.
The regulator earlier today released its long-awaited terms and conditions for an MVNO regime, which emerged out of its April 2021 decision to allow established regional virtual operators with spectrum and existing facilities to lease network space from Rogers, Bell, Telus, and SaskTel.
The terms and…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – Attendees of the Competitive Network Operators of Canada’s 2022 ISP Summit received a surprise visit earlier today from MP and industry committee member Nathaniel Erskine-Smith (above) who spoke about competition, affordability and universal access.
He noted his frustration with the CRTC and its 2021 decision to backtrack on its previous wholesale rates decision, stating he viewed it “as the CRTC screwing things up and then throwing up their hands and saying oh this is actually too hard for us to fix… so we’re actually going to have to not deal with this anymore.” (He previously made his…
Continue Reading
