Q&A: CRTC chair opens door to raising base contribution level following court ruling on Online Streaming Act

CRTC chair Vicky Eatrides has raised the stakes on a forthcoming court decision on the efforts of U.S. streaming companies to be absolved of mandated funding contributions for Canadian news and cultural organizations. Currently, the Federal Court of Appeal is weighing the corporations’ arguments, which contend they should not be forced to shovel five per cent of Canadian revenues to domestic funding agencies. However, in an exclusive interview with The Wire Report, Eatrides said it’s “within the realm of possibility” that the regulator could increase the expected contribution level, adding that a CRTC decision is expected following the court’s ruling. Eatrides also spoke about the CRTC’s updated strategic plan, how she measures success in promoting competition in telecoms, as well as whether she has any relationships with federal cabinet ministers. When you break the CRTC calendar, what dates are circled? We’re expecting a decision on wholesale rates, and we also should have a decision from the Federal Court of Appeal on the Online Streaming Act, but what are the other important dates you’re looking toward? There’s a lot on the go. The rates decision is coming soon and we’ll be able to tie up HSA (high-speed access) for now, but obviously we’ll continue to be looking very closely at that. Obviously, we’re waiting for the court’s decision on base contributions. That’s a biggie. But we have a lot going on on other fronts. For example, with the Online Streaming Act and putting into place a new broadcasting framework, we have big decisions coming out on financial expenditures, and the second block of Canadian content. And, we also have a lot of stuff coming out on the consumer side, so lots of dates are circled. On the Online Streaming Act, you’ve said that implementation work is ongoing. But, the federal government just cut your funding by $4 million. Will that impact the CRTC’s work? We always knew that would be temporary funding, so it was expected. That being said, a lot of heavy lifting on the Online Streaming Act will be done this year. What will that look like? This has been a massive endeavour because we’re overhauling decades of broadcasting regulatory frameworks. So far, with all the proceedings and hearings, we’ve had 1,700 submissions from organizations and individuals. We’ve heard from over 300 people at hearings, so it’s been a huge endeavour. We’ve decided to do this step-by-step, as opposed to waiting until the end to do one big thing. We’ve issued some decisions, like the base contribution and Canadian content, but we’re also coming out with something over the next little while in terms of expenditure requirements. We’ll also have more coming out on discoverability and other things. So, the idea is to get all these big policy pieces wrapped up in the coming months, and then we’ll move to the conditions of service, which will be more specific to the companies. On the base contribution of five per cent under the Online Streaming Act, I understand that’s being challenged in court, but is it in the realm of possibilities the amount will be increased, if the court’s decision goes in the CRTC’s favour? Yes, it’s within the realm of possibility. With base contributions, the idea was always to get money into the system quickly because we were told repeatedly there was urgency. It was estimated to be about $200 million, so that was the initial base contributions with another decision coming out soon. Since the Federal Court of Appeal granted a stay on base contribution funding, has that process of injecting money into the system been disrupted? That one’s tricky. We’re a regulatory tribunal, we issued our decision, and it is before the courts. We’ve certainly heard some of the money is flowing, and a CRTC official said that before a parliamentary committee as well. Some of the big tech companies involved in the court challenge have complained that they shouldn’t be required to fund the production of news content in Canada, especially if they’re not connected to the broadcasting or news industry. How would you respond to that? Again, the decision was the decision and it is before the courts right now. What I would say is we consulted on this and, again, we had a very large public proceeding and three-week public hearing on the issue of base contributions, but one of the things we were tasked to look at was support for news. Going out across the country, you hear about how critical news is, and that’s something we hear repeatedly from everyone. Switching gears, the CRTC just updated its strategic plan, though it was very short. Does that mean nothing has changed? Are you keeping the core priorities the same? The core priorities are staying the same. Like everybody else, we’re busy. I would say, in terms of the workload, we issue a decision, notice, or order every day. We’ve seen an increase in our applications, we’re trying to get things out quicker, and there’s a lot we need to prioritize. So, we looked at the areas that have the biggest impact on Canadians, and what we hear has the biggest impact on Canadians. The areas that we set out, which, in very high terms, are telecommunications, so competition and investment for cell phone and internet, updating the broadcasting framework, and doing better as an organization. Those are the three key pieces. Speaking of telecommunications, one of the bigger stories in the industry recently was the dispute between Telus and Bell regarding wholesale fibre access. There was an application before the CRTC, but, rather abruptly, both parties reached an agreement and withdrew any complaints. Do you prefer it when the CRTC doesn’t need to get involved in company-to-company disputes? We have put in place a framework, and we feel very strongly that the framework needs to be abided by because there are benefits for Canadians in that framework. Obviously, whatever is the most efficient way to resolve these issues is what we prefer. We are absolutely here. We are absolutely engaged in these issues, so we’re very aware and very much ready to get involved to the extent we need to, but whatever is the most efficient way is the best way. What problem do you spend most of your time thinking about? There are a lot of different challenges going on right now. Some of them are on the telecom side and ensuring people have access to communication services. You always hear horror stories when people don’t have that access, in terms of safety, employment, education, and all those things. So, that’s troubling. We also hear about making sure people have choice and affordability. We hear about that all the time. On the broadcasting side, it’s news that we hear about a lot, but obviously we’re putting in place massive changes, so that takes up a lot of time. It really lines up with our priorities because it’s also about how we can do better. How can we move more quickly? Because we’re always trying to balance that. On telecom affordability and competition, how do you measure success? A lot of Canadians might not be looking at Statistics Canada data, so is that the best metric? It’s a combination of things. First of all, in terms of my background, I’m the child of immigrant parents who came here without speaking either official language. They worked low-paying jobs and there were times my mom didn’t get paid, so fairness and hard work are really ingrained in me and my sister. That’s really a driver for me. So, we’re trying to help Canadians. I also spent 12 years at the Competition Bureau trying to make sure there’s competition, not for the sake of competition, but competition for the sake of choice, lower prices, and innovation. You talked about data, and, no, my parents aren’t going to look at StatsCan, but we look at data to see the trends. Cell phone prices, for example, are down 37 per cent from 2021 to 2025, and that’s quite significant, especially when other things are going up. For a long time, we would see improvement and more choice, but Canadians weren't feeling it. Now, we’re starting to see more people say they have enough choice for internet or cell phone services. In 2025, the number of people who say that is 40 per cent for internet and 47 per cent for cell phones, so people are starting to feel it. Is there anything the CRTC is working on that you feel is flying under the radar? Honestly, one of the things we’re just really proud of is the Broadband Fund, and I think that doesn’t get enough attention. It’s really about connecting people who were not connected. Just hearing the stories, the impact that it has on the community is huge. Just being able to connect people to high-speed internet, I’m really proud of being able to help. Again, it’s a small part of a big effort, but the impact that it has on rural, remote, and Indigenous communities is huge. Finally, I understand the CRTC is a quasi-judicial tribunal and an arm’s-length organization, but do you ever meet with the government? When was the last time you met with a government representative? We do not meet with ministers or ministers’ offices. The only interaction we would have with ministers’ offices would be in the context of appointments for new commissioners. There may be some discussion there, but that hasn’t happened recently. Have you ever met the prime minister? No. dlegree@thewirereport.ca Editor’s Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q&A: CRTC chair opens door to raising base contribution level following court ruling on Online Streaming Act

Regulatory |
By Davis Legree
|March 6, 2026

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Q&A: CRTC chair opens door to raising base contribution level following court ruling on Online Streaming Act

Regulatory | By Davis Legree |March 6, 2026

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