The loss of the Montreal Canadiens on Radio-Canada accounted for most of questioning of CBC president and CEO Robert Rabinovitch during his appearance before the Standing Joint Committee on Official Languages on June 4 (see story in this issue). But in introductory remarks to the committee, Rabinovitch updated it on how Radio-Canada is conforming to section 41 of the Official Languages Act. In the excerpt below, Rabinovitch elaborates on initiatives taken by the French-language public network to serve Anglophones in Quebec and provide transcultural programming.

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Gordon Whittaker has been named a new investment analyst at Telefilm Canada’s operations in Atlantic Canada. For the last two years, he was VP and COO at Helix Animation Inc. Previous to that, he was executive director of the Atlantic Film Festival. As well, Michel Pradier has been appointed director of Telefilm’s Quebec operations. An employee of Telefilm since 1997, he has been in the position in an acting capacity since Nov. 1, 2001.

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ARTV and WETV Canada seek licence amendments
The arts channel ARTV Inc. is asking the CRTC to amend its licence so that it can broadcast in prime time a weekly one-hour program pertaining to events, artists and Canadian artisans – Broadcasting Public Notice 2002-27. The deadline for filing comments on the matter is June 18. As well, WETV Canada Corp., which operates The Green Channel, has asked the CRTC to amend its licence to change its times of operation from the current 18 consecutive hours beginning each day no earlier than 6 a.m. and ending no later than 1 a.m. the following day. It wants the new condition to read within a 24-hour period beginning just after midnight to "ensure the availability of the service to its subscribers at any time in any time zone" – Broadcasting Public Notice 2002-28. Comments on the proposed licence changes are due July 3.

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Even though the federal government recently denied an appeal by satellite users including broadcasters of the CRTC’s contribution regime, the executive director of the Canadian Satellite Users’ Association (CSUA) believes the petitioners still made some progress on the issue. Don Braden notes that the parties were able to make the case that contribution funds should not be used for purposes other than supporting the provision of local telephone service in high-cost areas.

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Bill S-7 was sent back to the House of Commons for a vote unchanged although some members of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage did want changes made. The bill’s sponsor, Liberal MP John Harvard, and Bloc Québécois MP Christiane Gagnon wanted small broadcasters to be exempt from subsidizing third-party interventions to the CRTC. The bill proposes to amend the Broadcasting Act to allow public and consumer groups to recoup part of their costs associated with intervening in CRTC broadcasting proceedings, with industry players footing the bill (CCR, Apr. 25/02). The committee had to suggest changes to the bill by June 4 or it would be sent back to the House of Commons unchanged.

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JumpTV.com Canada Inc., in its bid to retransmit over-the-air television signals via the Internet, has told the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage that if compulsory Internet retransmission is permitted, it will abide by the same conditions as cable and satellite TV operators (CCR, Mar. 28/02). Jump’s promise came during a contentious committee hearing on June 4. That same day, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) and the Canadian Cable Television Association (CCTA) agreed to new language for an amendment proposed by the Canadian Motion Picture Distributors Association (CMPDA) to the Copyright Act that would create a permanent Internet "carve-out" and prohibit what JumpTV is proposing.

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Opinions are split on the need for a greater harmonization between CRTC content rules and those for funding purposes, according to submissions filed with Canadian Heritage in the government’s review of Canadian content definitions (CCR, Apr. 12/02).

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A Parliamentary committee pondered out loud this week whether it should get involved in a programming agreement that excludes coverage of the Montreal Canadiens hockey team on Radio-Canada on Saturday nights. Robert Rabinovitch, president and CEO of the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., told members of the Standing Joint Committee on Official Languages that he had not approached government when the CBC learned that it would not be getting the games because it operates at arm’s length.

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Now that it’s been confirmed that Drew Craig will keep his licence for a conventional television station in the crowded Toronto market, he can move ahead with plans for expansion. Calling the Toronto licence "critical" for Craig Broadcast Systems Inc., the president and CEO of the Calgary-based broadcaster says the company plans to apply for more TV licences to serve additional markets.

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