CCTS still controlled by industry, despite changes: PIAC

Adding another consumer representative to the new telecommunications consumer protection agency hasn't satisfied its main critic. Public Interest Advocacy Centre lawyer John Lawford says the reactionary move by the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services rings hollow because industry will continue to hold majority sway over the CCTS. The CCTS proposed the change to its board structure following its appearance before the CRTC's hearing into its structure and mandate.Lawford says the only way the CCTS can be truly independent from its members is to have an equal number of industry and consumer reps on the board, with the commissioner acting as the tie-breaker."Two is useless. It might as well have zero ," Lawford tells Network Letter, who cites Australia as having an effective complaints commission with equal representative from both consumer and industry reps. He explains that while the industry board members will vote as a block, the same can't be said for the independent and consumer members. In this type of environment, industry members will maintain control of the complaints commission. The consumer advocate also takes issue with the concept that independent directors will in fact be independent. "The flaw in the independent directors from a practical, real-world point of view...is there is some thought that those people will somehow be truly independent, but if that was the case, then why you need three industry directors," he says. PIAC, the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Centre, the Union des consommateurs and other consumer advocacy groups generally panned the CCTS last month for its lack of independence from industry and the scope of its mandate. They say they also worry that limiting the scope of complaints to deregulated telecommunications services will lead to consumer confusion. As well, Lawford is critical of the CCTS's inability to investigate systemic issues without first securing a "double majority" of both independent and industry members. "It just means complete and utter veto, and they will never give any trend report or analysis ever on anything unless there is something on which they all agree and want to stamp out," he says, adding that industry interests will never line up in such a fashion as to trigger such a broad analysis. "So the chances of them agreeing on anything to trend report is zero and the only point of having trend reporting is ‘Look, there seems to be a problem." Reply comments to the board structure and scope of complaints for the CCTS are due November 23. Network Letter will report on key issues raised in the next round of submissions in the coming days.

CCTS still controlled by industry, despite changes: PIAC

News | 11/23/2007 9:26 pm EST

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