Search Results for: industry canada
UBB decision to be reversed
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OTTAWA – It’s pretty safe to say that when the Prime Minister is moved enough by an issue to tweet about it, the country’s big ISPs are going to be feeling some heat.
Tuesday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, buffeted by the ever-growing digital wind which is howling about the CRTC’s usage-based billing decision of January 25th (and some UBB decisions before that), took to Twitter (well, his people who write that sort of stuff for him, anyway) to say that he has asked for a review of the decision.
This came a day after his Minister of Industry, Tony Clement,…
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OTTAWA – When Shaw Communications purchased Canwest Global’s TV assets last year, the Competition Bureau gave the transaction its blessing.
The Bureau’s statement on that deal said: “this transaction would not likely give rise to a substantial lessening or prevention of competition,” and rubber-stamped it.
No such simple approval was forthcoming from the Bureau today when it commented on the acquisition of CTV by BCE. Instead, it seems worried about the extent of vertical integration among big media companies and distributors in Canada. While the statement from Commissioner of Competition Melanie Aitken said “at this time”, the Bureau doesn’t have…
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MONTREAL and GATINEAU – On the first day of the CRTC hearing into the proposed marriage between BCE and CTV, the companies upped the tangible benefits package associated with the deal as a condition of approval of the transaction.
The new benefits package includes:
– Support for new Canadian independently produced programs of national interest, such as dramas, documentaries and new media content; – Enhanced local news content and HD news production, especially in the “underserved Western Canada market”, including 100 hours of incremental news programming a week and 80 new jobs in Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver;…
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MONTREAL and VANCOUVER – The resurgence in the Canadian economy has boded well for the telco industry in Canada.
Videotron said that it created 827 new jobs in 2010, driven by its entry into the mobile market, which was 230 jobs more than the hiring targets it announced in January 2010. This boosted its workforce to more than 6,000, the company said, and it still has a number of openings available in engineering, network operations and management, installation, sales, marketing, IT and customer service.
“Videotron operates in a leading-edge industry and our people work in a heady swirl of technology, entertainment…
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TORONTO – A coalition of some of Canada’s largest accessibility organizations is accusing BCE of ignoring Canadians with disabilities.
Access 2020 says that Bell’s response to interventions filed in regards to its pending purchase of CTV “failed to address the issue of accessibility – or even mention the word”. In fact, the group continued, not only did Bell’s reply not respond directly to the coalition’s suggestions, paragraph 111 of its response says that “all Canadians with access to television can view the programming”.
Not so, said Beverley Milligan, executive director of Media Access Canada, which is heading up the coalition.
“Over 800,000 blind Canadians…
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OTTAWA – The complexity – some might say silliness – of Canada’s telecommunications foreign ownership rules were on full display last week as the Federal Court heard arguments on a petition to overturn Cabinet’s decision to approve Globalive Wireless’ ownership structure.
According to people at the hearing, Globalive Wireless’ lawyers argued that because the Telecommunications Act says Canadian telecom firms can’t be controlled by non-Canadians doesn’t mean they must be controlled by Canadians. Therefore, a telecom company can find itself in the situation of being controlled by neither Canadians or non-Canadians.
Globalive, of course, is in business under the Wind…
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“COME WITH ME. I’LL show you why I wanted to be president of the CBC.”
Those were CBC president and CEO Hubert T. Lacroix’s first words to me last week as we sat down in the meeting room overlooking the Montreal skyline and St. Lawrence River at Radio-Canada’s headquarters. I jumped to my feet and followed him into his office.
Just inside his door is a headless mannequin dressed in a whimsical suit, topped with a bowler cap. “It might be a bit before your time but do you know who this is?” he asked me, excitedly. I wrack my brain…
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OTTAWA – A coalition of cultural organizations is pleading with the Federal Court to consider the “devastating” impact that foreign ownership in the telecom and broadcasting industries would have on Canadian culture.
ACTRA, the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP), and Friends of Canadian Broadcasting were granted intervenor status for the Court’s judicial review of the government’s decision to licence wireless provider Globalive, which began on Wednesday. The coalition said that telecom companies “have a responsibility under the Telecommunications Act to strengthen and safeguard Canadian cultural sovereignty”.
“This case raises fundamental questions about the relationship between foreign ownership and Canadian…
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UBB: The heat is on
BCE/CTV: Competition Bureau is keeping its eye on the industry
Bell/CTV sweetens tangible benefits pot at CRTC hearing
Videotron, Telus announce hiring plans
BCE turns blind eye to accessibility, coalition claims
Globalive ownership case provokes interesting arguments
Cartt.ca In-Depth: Smashing the CBC’s silos hasn’t been easy, says CEO Hubert T. Lacroix
Federal court must consider Canadian culture in Globealive review, say cultural groups
