By Christopher Guly
OTTAWA-The federal Liberals campaigned on reducing cellphone and wireless service bills by 25% and reiterated that commitment in the government’s throne speech.
The man to ensure that happens is Innovation, Science and Industry Minister Navdeep Bains, whose ministerial mandate letter, publicly released last Friday, instructs him to “use all available instruments, including the advancement of the 2019 Telecom Policy Directive” issued to the CRTC to advance that price-reduction objective, working with telcos and mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) in the marketplace.
If the cost target is not achieved within two years, the minister “can expand…
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By Christopher Guly
OTTAWA – In leaving behind environmental activism to enter federal politics, new Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault will now be responsible for combating online hate speech; helping to develop a new set of online rights; expanding the CBC’s news coverage; and ensuring that web giants contribute to making, and carry Canadian content.
In the ministerial mandate letter he received from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, which was released on Dec. 13 Guilbeault is tasked with creating “new regulations for social media platforms, starting with a requirement that all platforms remove illegal content, including hate speech, within 24 hours or…
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No surprises in the documents
By Denis Carmel
GATINEAU – As expected, Rogers, Shaw, Vidéotron, Cogeco and Eastlink have filed an official Review & Vary application with the CRTC, requesting changes to Telecom decision 2019-288—the final rates for aggregated wholesale high-speed access services (HSA).
The themes are similar to what was filed with their appeals to the courts and to federal cabinet.
The cable carriers focused on “new facts and circumstances and on errors of fact and principle” that questions how the Commission arrived at its much-delayed decision.
“The Commission has announced an imminent review of its approach to setting…
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OAKVILLE, ON — The Weather Network’s owner, Pelmorex, announced Tuesday it has made a majority investment in Weather Source, a US-based provider of weather data products. In addition to the Weather Network, Pelmorex’s global portfolio of weather brands already included MétéoMédia, ElTiempo.es, OTempo.pt and Clima.
“Since 1989, Pelmorex has constantly been looking forward, innovating and taking the business to new levels. We have evolved from being a weather B2C player, to breaking new ground by offering specialized Data Solutions to businesses,” said Pierre L. Morrissette, founder and executive chairman of Pelmorex, in the news release.
In 2017, Pelmorex entered the big…
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MISSISSAUGA, ON — Canadian Music Week has announced the members of its CMW 2020 co-chair committee, representing a wide range of music, media and entertainment industry players.
The CMW 2020 co-chair committee includes:
Adam Countryman — Agent, Paradigm Talent Agency
Gil Moore — Owner/Founder, Metalworks Studios
Helen Murphy — CEO, Anthem Entertainment
Iain Taylor — President & CEO, Cadence Music Group
Jackie Dean — COO, Music Canada
Jake Gold — President & CEO, The Management Trust Ltd.
Kwende Kefentse — Cultural Industries Development Officer, City of Ottawa
Lisa Logutenkow — VP Canada, The Orchard
Lisa Zbitnew — Owner/Operator, The Phoenix Concert Theatre
Margaret McGuffin — Executive Director, Music Publishers Canada
…
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MONTREAL — TTP Media, the independent broadcaster which has been trying for almost a decade to launch two news-talk AM radio stations here, has faced yet another setback. A windstorm in late November has knocked both stations off the air, and it will be several weeks before they're transmitting again.
Nicolas Tétrault, a real estate agent and former politician who is one of three partners behind the company, told Cartt.ca that the storm caused damage to a lot of equipment at the transmission site on the Kahnawake Mohawk reserve south of Montreal. This included damage to the power supply,…
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TORONTO – With the national dialogue stuck on familiar battle lines of lower prices versus network investment, Boston Consulting Group’s Centre for Canada’s Future published a new report today reminding the industry, the public and especially policy makers there are no simple black and white decisions here.
It’s complicated. Government and the CRTC must balance affordability with the need for quality, availability, investment, and innovation to enable the best outcome for Canada’s digital infrastructure. It isn’t easy.
The report estimates the benefits of what its authors see as the coming digital revolution could add $200 billion or more per year to…
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TORONTO — The Canada Media Fund (CMF) announced Tuesday it has awarded a total of $7.1 million in funding to 10 innovative digital media projects through the second round of financing of its Experimental Stream’s Innovation — Production Program.
This round’s evaluation jury of Canadian and international industry specialists consisted of Pierre-Mathieu Fortin (Montréal), Domenico La Porta (Liège, Belgium), Tina Merry (Vancouver), Nadia Seraiocco (Montréal), Salar Shahna (Geneva, Switzerland) and Sarah Ellis (Birmingham, UK).
The 10 digital media projects awarded funding include seven games and three software applications.
The Experimental Stream’s Innovation Program encourages the creation of interactive digital media content and…
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MARKHAM, ON — Canadians are generally defeatist about the security of their personal data, with 65% of respondents to a recent IBM Canada survey saying they feel it’s unrealistic to expect their personal information to be secure. In addition, 71% of Canadians said they feel it is impossible to live and work using modern technology without giving up the privacy of their personal data, according to the survey.
IBM Canada released Wednesday the results of its data ownership and privacy survey, which was conducted online by global research company Morning Consult from November 14 to 16, 2019 among a…
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TORONTO – Canada's largest film and TV production equipment rental company, William F. White International, has been sold to U.K. company Ashtead Group.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
Paul Bronfman, chairman and CEO of Whites’ parent company Comweb, made the announcement Tuesday. The company, established in 1963, operates out of 13 locations across Canada and has over 450 employees.
Ashtead subsidiary, Sunbelt Rentals of Canada, will run Whites, which has benefited greatly from the explosion of TV and film production in Canada. “This growth is being fueled by the growing demand for media content worldwide driven largely by the thriving streaming…
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