Lack of focus, length of process could hinder committee’s broadcast review

Hearings by a House of Commons committee reviewing the broadcasting system have just begun, but already the process is coming under fire for its lack of a firm agenda and the lengthy review period. Some industry leaders are expressing concerns that the broadcast landscape could radically change by the time the committee completes its planned 18-month review and issues its report and recommendations to the government. Michael McCabe, president and CEO of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB), is among the critics of the length of the process. "(An 18-month review) lands us within a year of the next election. Governments start getting very concerned and edgy about what they do in the year before an election. It’s not clear that they would take the recommendations of the committee and do something with them," he told CCR. "That means it may be 2004 or 2005 before anything happens. And you know the world is moving at Internet speed, and they’ve got to catch up with that. They’ve got to give some thought to perhaps an interim report – something that will deal with the problems here and now and not wait to 2005." The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage is assessing whether the 1991 Broadcasting Act remains relevant in an era of increased media concentration and globalization. Hearings opened Nov. 8 with Canadian Heritage minister Sheila Copps fielding questions from committee members about the scope of the investigation. Even the committee members themselves seem unsure of their precise mandate. Canadian Alliance MP Jim Abbott, who is vice chair of the committee, asked whether the intent was to look at the role of the regulator in the proceedings, or if the minister planned to go ahead with a separate mandate review of the CRTC (CCR, Feb. 28/01). Leaving out the CRTC would be like "ignoring the elephant in the living room," he contended. Copps told the committee that she has abandoned plans for a separate panel to review the mandate of the CRTC. The standing committee was "the process and place" for discussion of the commission, she clarified. There were also requests at a town hall plenary with some committee members on Oct. 29 at the CAB convention that copyright issues be included in the review. The suggestion was made despite the fact a consultation process on copyright is already underway by the departments of Canadian Heritage and Industry Canada. Little consensus emerged from the committee members in attendance on whether the broadcast hearings were an appropriate place for copyright matters. On the first day of the hearings, committee member Wendy Lill, the New Democratic Party’s critic for culture and communications, challenged the minister on the legitimacy of the review. Lill asked how the committee’s work could be taken seriously when decisions affecting the broadcasting system were being made independently. She noted, for example, that the CRTC licence renewals for CTV and Global entrenched TV and newspaper cross-ownership and that Copps had pledged to reduce broadcast licence fees (see story on page 6). Lill filed a Cabinet appeal seeking to overturn the CTV and Global licence renewals (CCR, Oct. 11/01), which Cabinet has denied (see Short Takes). "What other changes will be occurring in the next 18 months?" Lill asked the minister. Copps responded, "We have to continue to work in the framework of the legislation we have until we change it, and we have to change it in thoughtful ways." She added that changes were occurring in the broadcast system, regardless of the government’s involvement. "You can’t freeze everything in time," she said. In her presentation, Copps asked the committee to keep in mind throughout its examination that countries that don’t regulate domestic television programming find themselves dominated by foreign content. "(Canadian) programming is the heart of the broadcasting system," she said. She added that the broadcasting system should ensure a diversity of voices by having "all communities particularly visible minorities feel the sense of inclusion. ...How can we give even more groups and cultural communities access to the broadcasting system?" she asked. The minister also stressed the importance of local broadcasting. "I’m concerned that small-market broadcasting is experiencing difficulties and that local programming is being cut back," she said. Under questioning, Copps spoke of direct-to-home satellite TV distributors "starving out" local advertising by beaming in distant signals (CCR, Oct. 11/01). She suggested Canada adopt a U.S. model, whereby local stations have veto power and can have distant signals blocked out if they are carrying the same programming. In Canada, DTH distributors negotiate with the CAB to compensate local broadcasters in exchange for the right to bring in out-of-market signals.

Lack of focus, length of process could hinder committee’s broadcast review

Broadcast | November 9, 2001

Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need.

FREE TRIAL

SUBSCRIBE

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us

Lack of focus, length of process could hinder committee’s broadcast review

Broadcast | November 9, 2001

Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need.

FREE TRIAL

SUBSCRIBE

Trump’s trade rep targets Online Streaming Act, Online News Act, raising questions about future of Canada’s cultural exemption

Producers challenge 20 per cent copyright threshold in new CanCon policy

Streamers challenge CRTC decision to publicly disclose financial information

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us