Canada not yet in substantive telecom trade discussions with EU: Verheul

OTTAWA--Canada has not yet engaged in substantive discussions with the European Union about opening up its telecom sector to foreign ownership, Steve Verheul, Canada’s chief negotiator for the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), told The Wire Report Monday. A recently leaked October draft of the CETA shows that, as part of the trade deal, the European Union has proposed that Canada liberalize its telecom sector to allow for European ownership. Despite a pledge to liberalize the sector in the 2010 speech from the throne, the federal Conservative government has not released any policy position on loosening the foreign ownership restrictions. Right now, Canada’s Telecom Act restricts foreign investment in the sector to 20 per cent direct investment and 33 per cent indirect. In an announcement last December, Industry Minister Tony Clement effectively delayed a decision on foreign ownership when he tied it to the government’s spectrum auction for the 700 MHz band, scheduled for 2012. Following an appearance before the House of Commons heritage committee Monday, Verheul said that Canada has not put forward a list of concerns, or a request for exemptions, with European negotiators about the telecom policy proposal. He said the negotiations have not yet reached that stage. “No, we haven’t engaged in that yet. We will, down the road, but we haven’t had any discussions about that yet,” Verheul said. One industry source said they were not surprised that Canada has not engaged in substantive negotiations about the issue. The source said foreign ownership has become the “third rail” of Canadian communications policy, having been studied for years but never acted upon. The source said the federal government is more likely to open up Canada’s telecom market to foreign ownership in a deal with the United States before it would with Europe. But Canada could pass legislation opening up the sector to all foreign companies, a move that would still align with the EU’s interests. A sixth round of CETA negotiations took place in January in Brussels. The EU and Canada say they hope to conclude the agreement by the end of the year. International Trade Minister Peter Van Loan also appeared before the heritage committee Monday, where he said there has been “significant progress” on the agreement in areas such as goods and services, investment, and procurement. Critics of the trade agreement, such as the Trade Justice Network, have expressed concern that, as the stakes grow higher in the negotiations, Canada may agree to open up its cultural industries to increased levels of foreign investment. “Foreign ownership of cultural industries could reduce the amount of Canadian material produced and seriously restrict Canada’s ability to implement policies that require the production and distribution in the digital environment of Canadian music, stories and other forms of art,” the Trade Justice Network says on its website. But Van Loan pointed out to the committee Monday that Canada is seeking a so-called “cultural exemption” that says all chapters of the agreement are exempt if they affect the cultural industries. “We’ve made it clear throughout that we wish to obtain protection for our culture and our cultural industries in the same fashion as has been the case in previous agreements,” Van Loan said. He said the EU’s interests are “quite in line” with those of Canada on the cultural exemption. The trade agreement also includes an intellectual property chapter that would require amendments to Canada’s copyright law. The EU, for example, is proposing the strict legal protection for digital locks, consistent with Bill C-32, the Conservative government’s copyright reform legislation, and the EU Copyright Directive. Van Loan suggested that the agreement’s intellectual property chapter could affect how the cultural exemption plays out. “I’m getting a bit philosophical here, but if you’re going to have protections for artists through an intellectual property chapter, then why are you going to exempt them in the name of protecting culture?” he said. “It really comes down to, in the end, how do you draft an agreement that protects culture?” Van Loan said the EU is challenging Canada in only one area affecting the cultural industries. It takes issue with government programs that support the publishing industry. “Their concern is that they have access to the same kind of support, or that we not provide that support for the publishing industries,” Van Loan said. “The position we are taking in the negotiations is that we wish to be able to continue those programs and have them covered by an exemption.” Van Loan said no chapters in the agreement have been finalized in substance because negotiating offers have not yet been made. The agreement has only been concluded in “form,” he said, and offers from the parties have yet “to be dropped in.” The federal government says CETA could bring economic benefits to industrial sectors across the country, boosting Canada’s GDP by $12 billion by 2014. MPs on the heritage committee also questioned Van Loan Monday about the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) and how it squares with Bill C-32. The most recent consolidated text of the ACTA, a copyright trade agreement, released last October, is viewed as a watered down version from earlier drafts that included provisions modelled on the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Van Loan said that Canada is waiting for the passage of Bill C-32, the government’s copyright reform legislation, before signing the ACTA. The minister did not say whether Canada would ratify the ACTA if Bill C-32 passes. Signing the agreement would indicate support for its principles, but ratification would formally bring Canada in line ACTA’s provisions and their enforcement. sdoyle@thewirereport.ca

Canada not yet in substantive telecom trade discussions with EU: Verheul

News | February 2, 2011

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