Heritage and Industry could announce joint review of CRTC within a month

Senior political forces could scuttle attempts to launch a mandate review of the CRTC, if such a review threatens to re-open the Broadcasting and Telecommunications acts, industry experts warn. The review, which could be announced as early as March, appears to have support from the deputy ministers at Industry Canada and Canadian Heritage, although it’s still uncertain if Industry minister Brian Tobin and Heritage minister Sheila Copps have bought into the idea. Insiders also question if the prime minister has any appetite for a CRTC review that could lead to a possible restructuring of the Copyright Board and the Competition Bureau. There is even talk of having a single federal minister responsible for broadcasting, telecom, radiocom and copyright legislation. Support for such a review is divided, and depends on its scope. Some sources believe the process will be conducted over two phases, with the first lasting about three months and dealing with reforms that can be done within the existing legislation, such as re-interpreting the CRTC’s powers and reducing the number of commissioners. "The legislation doesn’t require 13 commissioners. It permits 13 commissioners," explains Janet Yale, president/CEO of the Canadian Cable Television Association. "First, you have to look at what you can do to improve the effectiveness of the commission," she adds. "Some things may be able to be done within the existing legislative framework, while other stuff, because of legislative constraints, you can’t do those without legislative change." A second phase could deal with broader issues, such as whether various pieces of legislation and various communications tribunals are working towards common goals. "You’ve got a serious question about what the relationship of the commission is to the Competition Bureau and to the Copyright Board," says Hudson Janisch, a professor of telecomunications law at the University of Toronto. "Of course, that would be a fairly ambitious review," he adds, "and should probably wait until the second stage. For the first phase, I would suggest a performance review, and an evaluation of the commission’s effectiveness in responding in a new environment, with its mega mergers on the broadcasting side and its acting as an expert referee on the telecom side." This wouldn’t be the first time the government has contemplated a more streamlined approach to dealing with the CRTC, the Copyright Board and the Competition Bureau. Last year, the Senate Sub-committee on Communications was directed to do just that, but the federal election was called before it got to the third phase of review, focusing the commission’s relevance and timeliness in responding to industry and consumer issues in a converging marketplace. The call for reform is also in keeping with a position paper released by the CCTA last April that proposed a new policy approach to technology, culture and commerce. "This new framework should provide an integrated approach to issues associated with information technology, communications, media, copyright, competition and culture," it stated (CCR, Apr. 13/00). How many wise "men" and who? Yale’s trailblazing initiatives at the CCTA, combined with her past work at the CRTC and the Consumers Association of Canada, could be why her name is being floated as one of three-to-five people who may head a government-appointed task force looking into the CRTC’s structure and mandate. Sheridan Scott, chief regulatory officer at Bell Canada, and Charles Dalfen, a lawyer, and former vice-chair of the CRTC, are also being considered. The task force is expected to be kept small in size, and regardless of who is appointed to it, not everyone will be happy. Andrew Reddick, director of research at the Public Interest Advocacy Centre in Ottawa, warns that weighting the panel with industry representatives is like "putting the fox in charge of the chicken coop." "One would hope, seeing as it’s the public that ends up watching and paying for much of this stuff, you would want to start with at least three of the five being on the consumer or the public side because you know the industry is basically going to pursue self interest." But Yale points out that when taking on a high-level review of this type, it’s important to have people who understand both the regulatory environment and the industry affected by those regulations. "At the end of the day, you’re not trying to make a CRTC decision in which you have to represent every aspect of the public interest," she explains. "Instead, what you’re trying to do is get people who understand the strengths and weaknesses of the current environment and who have some useful insights on how you can do it different or better." CRTC acting chair David Colville says he hasn’t heard anything definitive about a review, and like some others interviewed by CCR, wonders if the political will exists to tackle a broad-based review that could re-open the Broadcasting and Telecommunications acts. "It could be healthy (to have a review). There’s not a government organization that can’t be improved overtime in terms of the way it operates," he told CCR. "I think one has to be careful with the kind of committee they’re talking about because some of the people involved, backed by the companies they represent, could well have a vested interest in the outcome... If they do go ahead with this, it will be very important as to the people they pick to do it."

Heritage and Industry could announce joint review of CRTC within a month

News | 02/28/2001 5:00 am EST

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