Senator Gauthier pushes ahead with private bill to amend Broadcasting Act

Senator Jean-Robert Gauthier’s failure to change a recent CRTC broadcasting decision through the courts has prompted him to use what he knows best – the political process – to bring about changes in Canada’s broadcasting regulatory system. Gauthier’s recent unsuccessful attempt to convince federal courts to overturn the CRTC’s tfo decision is the main reason behind his push to steer a private bill through the Senate and eventually Parliament (CCR, July 4/01). Bill S-29, which would allow the CRTC to review and vary broadcasting decisions, a power it currently has only on the telecommunications side, received first reading in June and Gauthier presented it Sept. 26 for second reading (CCR, Aug. 30/01). "I’m just trying to make things equal for the Telecommunications Act and the Broadcasting Act," Gauthier told CCR in an interview in his Senate office. "I want to level the playing field for both. I’m saying the CRTC should have the same authority to reconsider its decisions with regard to broadcasting as they do with telecommunications." According to Gauthier, the telecommunications and broadcasting acts should not be "distinct and separate" in this age of convergence. "We must harmonize and rationalize our legislative approach and dismantle the barriers between the various media," he says. He adds, "I was unable to convince the court to hear (my case on tfo). They didn’t give me reasons. The CRTC didn’t want to hear me either, but I realized that even if they had cared, they couldn’t do much because their decisions were final under the Broadcasting Act." Gauthier says he’s not sure what kind of support he will have for his bill. "I have no crystal ball; I’m just one of maybe 100 senators that are working regularly on these things. I don’t know who is interested." Private member’s bills, more accurately called private Senate bills in the Senate, generally receive fairly good support in the Senate, but most fail to make it through the House of Commons. As such, Gauthier may have better success pushing his proposed legislative change to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, which is conducting an 18-month review of the broadcasting system and the Broadcasting Act. Gauthier notes that he is "quite sensitive" to the review and vary issue, which could potentially have a big impact on some of the big players in the broadcast industry, especially if tough decisions are made about their licences. In the Internet age when new technologies are bringing down boundaries between broadcasting and telecommunications, Gauthier argues the CRTC could become irrelevant if it doesn’t have sufficient power. "If the CRTC is to be taken seriously as a broadcast regulator, it should be given real authority in determining broadcast policy," Gauthier says. "In some cases, this might require that the commission reconsider decisions they made in the past, or hear further evidence before it renders a decision. As well, it should have the authority to reconsider the terms of existing licences, and even revoke licences where the circumstances require." Gauthier says he has a unique perspective on these issues as an independent observer unconnected to any broadcasting interests "I’m not in the wheel; I’m outside looking in, saying ‘hey, let’s be fair’," he says. Gauthier supports Senator Sheila Finestone’s Bill S-7, passed by the Senate in June, which would allow public interest groups to recoup some of their costs associated with participating in CRTC broadcasting proceedings. The awarding of costs to public and consumer groups is currently only possible under the Telecommunications Act. Gauthier says he had wanted to combine his bill with Finestone’s, but was unable to do so because Bill S-7 was further along in the Senate process.

Senator Gauthier pushes ahead with private bill to amend Broadcasting Act

News | 09/27/2001 4:00 am EDT

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