Expiring terms present opportunity to reduce commission size, analysts say

With a slate of CRTC commissioners set to reach the end of their terms over the next two years, it may be time for the government to consider reducing the size of the commission, analysts say. In all, 9 of 13 commissioners are scheduled to end their terms between now and August 2013. Four will expire this year, including those of chairman Konrad von Finckenstein (Jan. 24) and vice-chairman Leonard Katz (Oct. 11). Another five will expire next year, including three national commissioners and two of six regional commissioners. While each of those potential openings would attract interested applicants, several analysts say the commission could benefit from positions left vacant. “I’m one of that camp that would actually see huge, huge benefit in having a smaller CRTC,” Sheridan Scott, a partner at Bennett Jones LLP and former head of the Competition Bureau, said in an interview. “It’s really a question of what’s the right size.” A smaller commission could reduce the sense that each commissioner has a niche focus, Scott said. This could help diversify each commissioner’s knowledge-set and allow them to learn more about issues that are beyond their areas of expertise. “The more commissioners you have, the more there’s an idea that each of them carry a particular brief,” Scott said. Another benefit could be more consistent policy decisions, she said, as a smaller group of people would each hold more sway in the decision-making process. That process could become faster and more fluid with fewer commissioners, Michel Arpin, former vice-chair of broadcasting at the CRTC and currently an industry consultant, said. Under the commission’s consensus-style decision-making process, he said, it can be difficult to hash out decisions with all 13 members, particularly if they all have differing points of view. This can force the commission to accept compromises it might not make otherwise, he said. “The smaller the group is, the more effective the organization is,” he said. “If the commission was only made up of five people, then you only have to hear five points of view.” Arpin agreed with Scott’s suggestion that 13 current commissioners is “too many,” but said it is important to have a variety of personalities on the commission to help ensure that various interests are represented. He said any reduction should protect positions reserved to serve regional interests. “It’s a huge country, so I think having regional commissioners is a good idea,” Arpin said. Under the commission’s current composition, six represent regions across the country. The rest is comprised of the chair, a vice-chair of broadcasting, a vice-chair of telecommunications, and four national commissioners. Arpin said that, in his opinion, the “ideal” number of commissioners would be nine: six regional commissioners with a chair and two vice-chairs. He noted that the CRTC's U.S. equivalent, the Federations Communications Commission (FCC), has five commissioners, while the British equivalent, Ofcom, has one full-time commissioner who is supported by part-timers who work one day a week. David Elder, a communications lawyer at Stikeman Elliott LLP in Ottawa, agreed with the idea of reducing the size of the commission while preserving the role of regional representatives. “But when it came to the decision table, the idea would be that they would make the best decision taking into account both the regional needs and the interests of the country as a whole,” he said. Elder said he can appreciate a larger commission if it means each commissioner sits on fewer panels and spends more time deliberating each decision. “ once you start getting seven or nine commissioners on a particular panel, you kind of wonder whether there really is an advantage to having more,” he said, adding that commission panels appear to have grown over the past decade or so. John Lawford, counsel with the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, said a reduction in the number of commissioners could impact the CRTC's ability to conduct fulsome research. He said it is unfair to compare the CRTC to the FCC, which is supported by a wide web of staff. “They don’t have any research assistants. They don’t have any backup,” he said of the Canadian regulators. “If you take a commissioner out, you’re taking out a voice.” Lawford added that a reduction could also leave the commissioner’s positions in the hands of industry insiders and lobbyists who might not be on the side of consumers. “If you get it down to five it’s going to be so political … It will just be a purely industry-sponsored five people,” he said. Although the government has not provided any indication that it intends to reduce the size of the commission, Lawford said that, if it was to move in that direction, it should conduct an extensive study of the issue beforehand. “It could have affects on people that they wouldn't think of if they just start doing it off the cuff,” he said. Arpin noted that the previous Liberal government that took steps to reduce the commission’s size. “That’s why when the Conservatives arrived into power, there were only 11 ,” he said. nkyonka@thewirereport.ca

Expiring terms present opportunity to reduce commission size, analysts say

News | 01/17/2012 11:16 pm EST

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