Finestone hopes to give non-profit groups a stronger voice in broadcast proceedings

Senator Sheila Finestone has introduced an amendment to the Broadcasting Act that, if approved, would provide financial assistance to consumer groups that intervene in broadcast proceedings. Bill S-24 moved into second reading on June 29. Below is below is an edited transcript of Finestone’s comments to the Senate on that day. The purpose of this bill is to amend the Broadcasting Act such that the CRTC has the discretionary power to award costs when warranted by clear CRTC criteria to groups, organizations or individuals who appear before the commission for proceedings involving broadcasting or cable television matters. This amendment brings the Broadcasting Act into concordance with the Telecommunications Act, where the same rights for cost recovery have existed for years. This amendment is necessary and will be extremely beneficial to the Canadian public. The ability to recover significant costs, when warranted, permits consumer and public interest groups, as well as individual consumers, to develop credible and substantive research and evidence that will allow them to represent more effectively the interests of citizens in broadcasting and cable television policy and regulatory proceedings. For example, such proceedings could involve national issues, such as television policy or cable TV distribution regulations, or more specific issues, such as the rates consumers pay for cable television services - something we all know about around here. This level of participation in broadcasting matters, comparable to their historic level in participation in telecommunications proceedings, is something that these groups and individuals have not been able to afford to do. With convergence and the information highway, there has been an increasing blur between telecom and broadcasting services used by the public, such as new media and the Internet. Obviously, this blurring has also spilled over into CRTC proceedings. Consumers and consumer groups are only able to apply to have their costs recovered under matters that are clearly telecom-related, regardless of how much a service in question straddles both acts. This amendment brings into symmetry and balance both acts, so that consumers will be fairly and equally treated in all matters in proceedings before the commission, whether conducted under the Broadcasting Act or the Telecommunications Act. The ability to receive a cost award when this is appropriate and warranted is important to ensure effective citizen participation in the regulatory and policy processes. Under current procedures, anyone can make a submission to the CRTC in a proceeding. However, without adequate funding for consumers and their representative groups, there has always been an imbalance and inequality in the scope and substantiveness of the submissions made by consumer organizations, in comparison with those of media companies. No non-commercial organization outside of government has the resources to intervene on a consistent basis without financial assistance. It is vital that the process of decision making is conducted in a demonstrably fair fashion. This amendment speaks to the importance of openness, transparency and fairness for users of these services. Who will be funded? Not everyone who appears before the CRTC will automatically qualify for a cost award. With the passage of this amendment, the CRTC will draw up rules of procedure that will be used to determine the criteria for awarding costs. Cost awards in broadcasting will not be a financial burden on media companies. Companies and industry associations spend hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars on regulatory proceedings to represent their own interests. A relatively small number of public interest, consumer groups and organizations have demonstrated expertise in this area. There is a real need for this amendment. It will bring the Broadcasting Act into concordance with the Telecommunications Act, which is critical with the convergence of our communication policies and the communication industry. For full text of speech, link to: http://www.piac.ca/senbill.htm

Finestone hopes to give non-profit groups a stronger voice in broadcast proceedings

News | 07/19/2000 4:00 am EDT

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