The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports.
 

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CRTC chair Charles Dalfen addressed the Western Association of Broadcasters at its annual conference in Alberta on June 15. He spoke of a need for Canadians to tell their own stories and hear their own voices, and said one of his priorities was to increase the amount of Canadian English-language drama series on television. He also told broadcasters he didn't anticipate making major changes at the CRTC, but hoped his tenure would be characterized by such values as integrity, quality, civility and balance. Below is an excerpt from his speech.

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Andrée Noël and James Stuart Langford have been re-appointed as full-time CRTC commissioners for full five-year terms. In an unusual move, the re-appointments, made June 21, came five months prior to the end of their current terms. Noël's new term as commissioner for the Quebec region will begin November 1 and Langford's on November 16. The move is a surprise because CRTC chair Charles Dalfen was widely believed to be pushing for a reduction in the number of commissioners from 13 (CCR, May 9/02).
 

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Shaw joins cablecos applying for basic cable deregulation
Shaw Communications Inc. has filed an application with the CRTC to deregulate its basic service in its Class 1 systems in mainland Vancouver. In a June 12 letter to the commission, Shaw asks that its Burnaby; Coquitlan/Maple Ridge and Mission (Frasier); Northwest Vancouver, Vancouver; Surrey/Abbotsford; and White Rock BC systems be deregulated. Shaw filed an auditor's report for these systems supplied by Roger Cable Inc.'s auditor, KPMG, to show it had lost more than 5 per cent of its customer base. Rogers was the previous owner of the cable systems. According to documents submitted to the CRTC, the Vancouver system declined by 12.8 per cent. By Dec. 30, 2000, the subscriber base had declined by 35,159 customers from the 274,332 signed up on Sept. 5, 1997. Shaw becomes the latest cableco to request rate deregulation with these applications. Cogeco Cable Inc., Monarch Cablesystems Ltd., Vidéotron ltée, Rogers, and Persona, formerly known as Regional Cablesystems Inc. have already submitted applications for deregulation for some of their systems. Shaw president Peter Bissonnette had told CCR that his company had no plans to file for deregulation (CCR, Dec. 6/01), but in announcing its financials in March, the Calgary-based cableco indicated plans to go for deregulation (CCR, March 28/02).

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