By Ahmad Hathout
The Federal Court of Appeal will hear a SaskTel challenge that alleges the CRTC’s decision to mandate access its bundled fibre facilities was based on a cabinet direction that conflicts with the Telecommunications Act.
The court approved the telco’s leave to appeal application on Friday, just over a year after it was filed in September 2024.
The gist of the argument is that the CRTC allegedly preordained a decision based on what it was told by the federal government, which, through section 10 of the 2023 cabinet direction, ordered it to adopt a specific policy of…
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The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) announced Monday it greenlit 16 new productions and co-productions between January and September 2025.
Now underway at NFB production units across the country, the new projects include seven feature-length documentary films, five short docs and series, and four animated shorts.
Feature documentaries being produced by the NFB’s French Documentary Unit include Après les étoiles, directed by Guillaume Fournier and François Dubé, who are also co-producers alongside the NFB’s Mélanie Brière. Après les étoiles documents the journey of three iconic Quebec City restaurants and their chefs as they prepare for the…
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Telus and Indigenomics announced Tuesday a partnership supporting indigenous economic advancement and innovation, which will see Indigenomics leverage Telus’s Sovereign AI Factory in Rimouski, Quebec, to accelerate the development of its indigenous economic intelligence platform, IndigenomicsAI.
Through access to Telus’s high-performance AI compute power at its Rimouski facility, “Indigenomics will leverage the advanced GPU technology to train AI models, conduct research on the sizing of the Indigenous economy and develop AI-driven economic development tools that elevate Indigenous voices and perspectives in business and leadership,” reads a Telus press…
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How do Canada’s independent communication providers stay competitive against industry giants?
We talk to Sheri Somerville, CEO of the Canadian Communication Systems Alliance (CCSA), the association behind the annual CCSA CONNECT conference, and Board Chair Chris Marett (CEO, Novus Entertainment) about the organization’s goals to create shared value for its diverse membership of Internet, TV, and Telephone providers. Somerville reflects on her two-year tenure as they tackle the biggest pressures facing independents today. Hear their insights on the necessity of advocacy and policy to create a level playing field, adapting to new tech like Wi-Fi 7, and harnessing AI to…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The attorney general of Canada (AG) is asking the Federal Court to reject an application filed by Cogeco and Eastlink asking the judicial body to review whether cabinet did not provide the legally required justification for rejecting their request to send back a CRTC decision that allows the three largest telecoms to access the wholesale internet framework.
The AG said in a submission last week that the parties have already filed a review of the decision directly to cabinet and have won an appeal related to the CRTC’s decision that rejected their request to…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Several internet service providers have filed petitions asking cabinet to send back a decision by the CRTC this summer that refused to back down on letting Rogers, Bell and Telus (Big 3) access the wholesale internet regime.
Rogers, SaskTel, Cogeco, Eastlink, the Competitive Network Operators of Canada (CNOC), and TekSavvy filed petitions in September – made public on Friday – requesting that cabinet send back for reconsideration the decision by the CRTC in June refusing to heed their advice to review and vary the commission’s final framework in August 2024.
That framework allows…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Iristel is asking the CRTC to provide smaller service providers money to support the commission’s policy of sending wireless public alerts.
In a Part 1 application dated October 3 but made public Wednesday, the far north service provider is recommending that the CRTC use the National Contribution Fund (NCF) to bankroll the policy for smaller service providers because of what it conveys as a crippling cost of implementing it.
“The imposition of a requirement that wireless public alerts must be served by very small wireless carriers makes their business cases nonviable,” Iristel says in the application. “The Commission must…
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The Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS) on Wednesday announced Josée Bidal Thibault will become its new commissioner and CEO, effective Jan. 1, 2026.
She will succeed outgoing commissioner and CEO Howard Maker, who will end his tenure on Dec. 31, 2025.
Bidal Thibault has 17 years of executive leadership experience, including as the CCTS’s assistant commissioner. Since the CCTS’s inception, “she has been instrumental in shaping the CCTS’ strategic direction, operational growth, and organizational culture,” said a CCTS press release announcing her appointment. With experience from both the…
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Telco focusing on content and mobility bundle
By Ahmad Hathout
Bell said Tuesday it will use the CRTC’s wholesale internet framework to launch fibre-based internet services in British Columbia and Alberta, reciprocating what its telco rival Telus is doing in eastern Canada.
The telco confirmed to Cartt that the launch of the services in western Canada “is a result of the CRTC’s recent decision,” which it does not agree with because of what it says is the policy’s negative impact on network investment. The regulator mandates that competitors have access to the bundled fibre infrastructure of Bell and Telus nationwide.
“Our position on…
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Proposing one-year trial for spoken word on FM
By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC on Friday abolished radio licence renewal periods, thereby making licenses indefinite with regular compliance audits that it says will streamline the process and reduce the burden on both the industry and the commission itself.
The regulator said it was often processing over 300 licence renewal applications every year, with multiple rounds of information requested from each station. But it found that the vast majority of stations were in “full compliance at all times, and most of the non-compliance was minor and could be addressed easily.”
The new Broadcasting Act allows…
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