OTTAWA – The Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology will be holding formal hearings and public, open-mic sessions to inform its statutory review of the Copyright Act in cities across Canada from May 7 to 11.
In a press release, the Committee is asking individuals and organizations from all industries and sectors, experts and non experts alike, to participate to these events. The specific format of the hearings and open-mic sessions, and their specific locations, remain to be determined. Further details will be released at a later date.
Requests to appear at formal hearings in…
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OTTAWA – The federal government has pledged over $200,000 towards a new initiative designed to help Canada’s arts sector provide safe workplaces free from discrimination, harassment and sexual misconduct.
On Wednesday, Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly and the Canada Council for the Arts awarded close to $552,000 to the Cultural Human Resources Council (CHRC), earmarked for a series of initiatives to equip the cultural sector with the tools, practices and training for building and maintaining respectful workplaces under the title ‘Respectful Workplaces in the Arts’.
The Department of Canadian Heritage is providing $252,000, and the Canada Council for the Arts will be…
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How a new level of service will help Rogers customers navigate our technological revolution
HE’S BEEN ON THE JOB for a year now and when it comes to the financial performance of Rogers Communications over those 12 months, things have gone rather well for CEO Joe Natale.
The company is adding wireless customers at a very healthy clip, it’s poised to launch a brand new voice-activated video platform this year and the Media side, led by its sports properties, has been performing very well. Friday’s annual general meeting of shareholders was a happy one. It’s been a…
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MONTREAL – The Institut national de l'image et du son (National Institute of Image and Sound, or INIS) is designing a new film and television production apprenticeship program funded by Netflix, becoming the first Quebec organization to partner with the U.S. streaming giant.
Netflix said that the partnership is being funded from it's $25 million market development fund, though precise financial terms were not disclosed.
The Montreal-based organization said Friday that the three year program will target participants from First Nations, Aboriginal communities and those with diverse cultural backgrounds in Quebec in an effort to “counter the exclusion often experienced by members of these…
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YESTERDAY, IN A MEETING with a major Canadian media company, I was asked “What’s next for Netflix?”
In my role at Deloitte, I don’t ever talk about stock prices, and I usually try to avoid commenting on individual companies. But Netflix is hard to ignore: it competes for audiences and it spends a lot of money on content. So I took a swing at answering at a REALLY high level.
“Netflix just reported that they have 125 million global subscribers. If they can double that over the next ten years, and they can also double what they charge, they will have…
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$7 billion needed to get to everyone, everywhere
OTTAWA – The federal government must adopt policies and alter regulatory frameworks and wireless spectrum allocation rules in order to clear a path for smaller, independent telecom service providers to expand the reach of broadband networks in rural and remote regions of the country, according to a Parliamentary committee.
Tabled in the House of Commons on Tuesday by the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, Broadband Connectivity in Rural Canada: Overcoming the Digital Divide recommends a number of actions the Liberals could take to improve broadband deployment in Canada’s underserved communities.
The…
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TORONTO – The Canada Media Fund (CMF), the Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC), and the Indigenous Screen Office have partnered with The Banff World Media Festival (BANFF) to launch a national mentorship and market access program for 100 emerging and established independent Canadian creators with a specific focus on Indigenous, Francophone and female industry professionals, it was announced Wednesday.
The Banff Diversity of Voices Initiative is intended to jumpstart the careers of 100 participants by providing full registration access to the festival, a special market introduction curriculum plus access to networking opportunities with key industry buyers.
In addition,…
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LAS VEGAS – Don't tell Sony video-game makers can't play successfully in the OTT video market.
The company, which launched PlayStation Vue as the first OTT video skinny bundle (or virtual MVPD) service in the U.S. three years ago (and is still not yet available in Canada), sees no reason why it can't compete and thrive against such video industry heavyweights as AT&T (DirecTV Now), Dish Network (Sling TV), YouTube (YouTube TV) and Hulu (Hulu Live) in the increasingly crowded streaming market. Despite the growing number of virtual MVPDs, the company likes its prospects as the market grows.
Speaking at…
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MISSISSAUGA – The Canadian CommTech Show and Seminars recognized the winners of its inaugural CommTech Information Communications Technology Awards gala Monday night at the Mississauga Convention Centre.
Event emcee and TSOC president Imran Hasan began the evening with a moment of silence in recognition of those impacted by the Humboldt Broncos tragedy, before announcing the following awards:
– Canadian Individual, Excellence and Innovation in ICT: Serge Rochette, senior vice-president of technical operations, Rogers Communications;
– Canadian Organization, Excellence and Innovation in ICT: T2 Utility Engineers; and
– Canadian Volunteer of the Year: Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE), Ontario chapter, board of directors and associates;
U.S.-based networking equipment…
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OTTAWA – At the Women in Communications and Technology Awards held in Ottawa Monday night, CRTC vice-chair broadcasting Caroline Simard announced that the Commission is organizing a Women in Production event this fall.
CRTC chair Ian Scott introduced Simard, saying: “The industry’s potential will only be fully realized when women – half the country’s population – are in key creative and decision-making positions. And yet, women continue to face systemic barriers to career advancement in this industry. The problem has been well defined by studies over the years but unfortunately, the metrics are not changing. It is long past…
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