BANFF – CBC/Radio-Canada announced today at the Banff Media Fest a new “commitment to diversity” for all of its English and French-language commissioned programs across scripted and factual genres.
The pubcaster made this announcement in the context of its new strategic plan, “Your Stories Taken to Heart,” which, among other things, prioritizes giving underrepresented Canadians greater opportunities to build their skills, experience and relationships in the industry.
“By 2025, CBC/Radio-Canada aims to ensure that at least one of the key creatives in all scripted and factual commissioned programs will be held by a person from a diverse…
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Tosses “incoherent” barb back at the industry
TORONTO – ISED Minister Navdeep Bains was the closer at the 2019 Canadian Telecom Summit on Wednesday and his comments made on stage – as well as after – should leave wireless industry leaders and observers more certain than ever that a major regulatory shift, especially when it comes to the long held policy bedrock known as “facilities-based competition,” is going to happen.
For three days, the major carriers did their level best to lay out a case against mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs, or wireless resellers) as well as the reasons why it’s…
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TORONTO – There may have been over a dozen topics on the hit list for this year's regulatory blockbuster session at this year’s Canadian Telecom Summit, but the six panelists kept coming back to one: MVNOs, yea or nay.
Moderator Greg O'Brien, editor and publisher of Cartt.ca, set the tone, commenting, "This panel is often fun, always a little prickly, which is part of the fun
“The industry is being transformed from all sides," he went on. "It's being changed from within, from without, and, crucially, from Ottawa."
Key among the events include the broadcast and telecom legislative review panel, a proposed…
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Xplornet says spectrum needs to be addressed by M-208
OTTAWA – Representatives from B.C.-based the RightMesh Project appeared before the Parliamentary Committee on Industry, Science and Technology in Ottawa on Tuesday, touting their product as having the potential to help put a push broadband much deeper into rural Canada.
RightMesh bills itself as a software solution that can be integrated into any application without the need for additional infrastructure or hardware, bringing last-mile connectivity to communities or areas with no internet access otherwise.
The company says Android phones form the infrastructure of its system, allowing connectivity to be achieved…
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Blames pressure on traditional TV on unfair practices
MONTREAL – Quebecor Media's TVA Group announced Wednesday morning it has eliminated 68 jobs in its television group.
“The decision was made necessary by numerous unfair practices that have been undermining the television industry for years. It is the result of government inaction and the failure to modernize the system in order to keep businesses based in Quebec and the rest of Canada competitive,” reads the TVA press release.
"The status quo is crippling our industry, weakening our culture and driving us to the cliff's edge," said France Lauzière, president and CEO, in the…
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TORONTO – In front of a backdrop of a Canadian Pacific train winding its way through the Rockies, Telus technology strategy EVP Eros Spadotto (right) offered a more creative take on the message Canadian wireless carriers are delivering at the 2019 Canadian Telecom Summit.
During his Wednesday morning keynote (just hours ahead of ISED Minister Navdeep Bains’ speech), Spadotto drew parallels between what our cross-country rail system delivered more than 100 years ago and what 5G wireless will be able to deliver very soon – saying it’s not, and never was, about the technology itself.
The developments brough on by sea-to-sea…
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TORONTO – As it faces a shrinking cable TV landscape and still needing buzzy shows to entice advertisers and compete with Netflix, the biggest headline from Corus Entertainment's upfront presentation Monday was that rookie and returning American content will remain front and center, especially on Global TV, as the media company remakes itself for the streaming era.
"We're transforming too," Corus CEO and president Doug Murphy said against the backdrop of the Evergreen Brick Works, an abandoned brick factory along Toronto’s Don Valley turned into an urban innovation hub for sustainable city-building.
Given the focus on originals at Netflix and Amazon,…
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OTTAWA – The federal government should update the rules regarding first ownership of cinematographic works; maintain the definition of “sound recording” in the Copyright Act; and amend the legislation to ensure that the radio-royalty exemption only applies to “small, independent broadcasters,” according to a House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology report on the statutory review of the Copyright Act presented to Parliament on Monday.
Last month’s report by the House Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage on remuneration models for Canadian artists and creative industries took a different approach to the three issues,…
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TORONTO – Canadian government and telecommunications carriers have nothing to fear from Huawei's 5G network products, the chief security officer of the company's Canadian division told telecom industry leaders, and it is free from interference from Beijing.
"Huawei operates in over 107 countries around the world, and in each they comply with local rules and regulations," Olivera Zatezalo (pictured) told the Canadian Telecom Summit on Monday during a panel session on cyber security. "All I can tell you is in Canada we are 100% compliant" with whatever the government asks.
Asked specifically about the company's independence, she said Huawei Canada is…
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TORONTO – Telecommunications companies had better drop their deceptive and bullying consumer sales practices before they gets smacked by Ottawa, the head of a consumer group warned industry leaders.
"This will continue to be a political issue for you and it may trip up your other businesses because it resonates with the public," John Lawford, executive director of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), said Monday during a panel discussion on improving customer experience at the annual Canadian Telecom Summit.
"You guys are too big and too important now to think that what you do for business is your only consideration."
His…
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