CRTC called out for “vague”, “unenforceable” safeguards
OTTAWA – Telus, Bell, Independent Broadcast Group (IBG), and the Canadian Communication Systems Alliance Inc. (CCSA) have each filed separate comments in support of the National Pensioners Federation and Public Interest Advocacy Centre’s (NPF-PIAC) petition to the Governor-In-Council, asking for the CRTC’s recent decision to approve Rogers Communications’ acquisition of Shaw Communications’ broadcasting assets to be set aside or referred back to the Commission.
(Cartt.ca obtained copies of the submissions from PIAC and Bell.)
Whittled down to its core, the argument put forth in NPF-PIAC’s petition and the submissions made in support of…
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By Monica Auer
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT is asking Canadians to trust the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to implement new legislation about electronic communications.
The CRTC is now responsible for implementing Canada’s Broadcasting and Telecommunications Acts, Canada’s ‘Anti-Spam’ law as well as parts of the Canada Elections Act and the 2019 Accessible Canada Act: the government is proposing through Bills C-11 and C-18 to give the Commission more powers over Canadian and foreign Internet broadcasters as well as Canada’s news media, along with new authority to levy administrative monetary penalties for non-compliance with the CRTC’s requirements.
In February the government assured…
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LAS VEGAS — Taoglas Waste Technologies, a leading provider of smart waste management enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions, today announced a strategic collaboration with Telus Communications to deliver smarter waste management solutions and services to enable cities to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of their operations.
San Diego-based Taoglas made the announcement at WasteExpo, being held this week in Las Vegas.
“The collaboration will combine Telus Smart City solutions with the Taoglas Waste Insights software platform, allowing for cities to vastly enhance the operation of waste management systems,” reads a press release.
Citing research from the World Bank Group, Taoglas’…
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By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – After a victory in Federal Court in February 2022, Québecor is requesting the CRTC remove an exemption from a small broadcasting distribution undertaking (BDU) and strike its name from the list of exempted undertakings for having acted in contravention of the Broadcasting Act.
After noticing various hotels in the region of Québec City were cancelling their subscriptions, Québecor sent technicians to rent rooms in some of these hotels in 2020. They were able to determine the hotels were receiving TVA and TVA Sports through a third party.
The provider, Coopérative de câblodistribution Hill Valley, was not…
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TORONTO — The Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) today announced the appointment of Alain Strati (above) as senior vice-president of industry, policy and general counsel.
In this role, Strati will oversee legal, industry, legislative, regulatory and public policy files for the organization, explains a CMPA press release announcing his appointment.
Strati is joining the CMPA from his most recent position as assistant general counsel, regulatory affairs, at BCE and Bell Media, “where he worked on a variety of files related to the Canadian broadcasting system,” the press release says.
Prior to his time at Bell, Strati worked at Rogers where he…
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By Brad Danks
THE GOVERNMENT’S BILL C-11, the Online Streaming Act, is now making its way through the House of Commons. The legislation has its share of critics, many of whom fear its intent or the role it gives to the CRTC to regulate the Internet. They fear something they currently have will be lost. I think this fear is unfounded. Those of us in the more traditional broadcasting industry understand that this legislation is critical to ensure that the Canadian audio-visual sector evolves to meet the threats and benefit from the opportunities present in the online streaming environment.
Let’s be clear…
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TORONTO – TeraGo Inc. announced today Philip Jones will be the company’s new chief financial officer, effective May 24, 2022.
Jones is taking over the role from TeraGo’s vice-president of finance and interim CFO Andy Ramsey, who is moving on from TeraGo to pursue other opportunities, according to a press release.
“Jones brings more than 25 years of financial experience, with 18 of those years in CFO roles across public and private corporations within the software, technology, and media industries space,” the release says.
He previously served as CFO of Redline Communications and prior to that, served as CFO of Maru Group…
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TORONTO – CBC/Radio-Canada is on a mission to make things safer for journalists at a time when attacks on them are becoming increasingly troublesome.
“We no longer have the luxury of believing that attacks on journalists don’t happen in a country like ours,” CBC/Radio-Canada president and CEO Catherine Tait (above, right) said yesterday afternoon during a speech at the Canadian Club Toronto for World Press Freedom Day.
“I’m concerned by three trends in particular: how social media is being used to abuse and intimidate journalists; how state actors and extremists are weaponizing these platforms to silence journalists; and how some are deliberately…
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By Konrad von Finckenstein
IN AN OPINION PIECE regarding C-11, the Online Streaming Act, Douglas Barrett on April 8 pointed out that the bill allows the CRTC to determine what constitutes a Canadian program for the purpose of act. He asked the logical question:
“How are they to do this? The first and most obvious approach would be to require the streamers contribute to a fund in the same manner as the BDUs currently contribute to the CMF. This could be a completely new fund established just for online undertakings.
The big question is – OK. But who would have access…
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By Douglas Barrett
IN MY LAST PIECE for Cartt.ca (Observations on the definition of a Canadian program, April 8, 2022), I focussed on the various rules concerning the certification of a program as Canadian and analysed the differing approaches of the CRTC and the Canadian Audio-Visual Certification Office. I also posited that, “When Bill C-11 is passed and the CRTC takes over, the real question will not be whether the foreign streamers are required to make a contribution to the system, it’s who will ultimately own and control the contribution they make.”
Digging a little deeper into this I am…
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