Pressure from Quebec could lead Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly to consider imposing taxes on foreign over-the-top (OTT) services, according to Desjardins Capital Markets analyst Maher Yaghi. Yaghi drew on a May 3 column in Le Devoir by NDP MP and heritage critic Pierre Nantel, who argued that choosing not to tax foreign online players, such as Netflix Inc. and Facebook Inc., will have a harmful effect on Quebec culture, as more people migrate to those platforms and with them go revenues that contribute to Quebec production funds. “Potential anger resulting from the absence of...
Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Wednesday posted a video of himself on Twitter standing in front of a screen with a Netflix logo and criticizing calls for taxes on video-streaming services. In the video, Harper said he is a fan of movies and TV shows, particularly Breaking Bad, which he notes is “even available on some online streaming services, if you’ve never seen it.” Harper added that he is running for re-election as prime minster and is against taxes on video-streaming services such as those offered by Netflix Inc. and Google Inc.’s YouTube. He said this is...
Industry Minister James Moore said Friday that he will not run in this fall's federal election. Moore said in a statement posted to his personal website that he will finish his term as MP before "going home to British...
GATINEAU, Que. — While the public will generally back the CRTC's decision to require TV service providers to offer pick-and-pay to customers by the end of next year, they don't understand the full consequences for the Canadian TV industry, one media consultant said in the wake of Thursday's announcement....
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. CEO Jay Forbes met with three cabinet ministers and the head of Canada’s telecommunications regulatory body over the last five weeks, according the federal lobbying registry. MTS chief...
The Copyright Board of Canada has produced a report outlining a number of changes it is considering in order to make its processes "more efficient and more productive." Recommendations included in a working document posted on its website include: improving the way it communicates proposed tariffs; requiring...
MONTREAL — NDP Leader Tom Mulcair is promising, if elected, to reverse funding cuts imposed on CBC/Radio-Canada in recent years, though political observers do not expect the Conservative government to make any surprise moves regarding the public broadcaster in the coming months when it lays out its last budget before the next federal election. The NDP would also put in place multi-year funding that is “stable” and “predictable,” as well as an independent process to govern appointments made to the public broadcasters’ board of directors, he said....
Telus Corp. communicated with high-ranking members of the federal government in October, including Prime Minister Stephen Harper about the company’s health-care operations, according to the lobbying registry. The Oct. 2...
The CRTC is concerned with “much bigger issues with greater ramifications down the road” than the question of whether it will regulate over-the-top (OTT) services like Netflix, CRTC...
Sonja Chong has been named a part-time member of the board of directors for CBC/Radio-Canada. Heritage Minister Shelly Glover announced Chong's appointment Monday in a press release that also said Chong would serve at term of...
CRTC Chairman Jean-Pierre Blais' differences with his government bosses came to the fore during two recent hearings on key telecommunications policy matters. In the two hearings, one on the future of the TV industry and another on the wholesale wireless market, Blais has had to chart a challenging course between...
OTTAWA — NDP Leader Tom Mulcair on Wednesday denounced Heritage Minister Shelly Glover's statements that ruled out regulation for online video services such as Netflix and YouTube, which...
Experts say that while CRTC must somehow respond to the refusal of Netflix Inc. to give the commission information it had been ordered to provide by CRTC Chairman Jean-Pierre Blais during a hearing...
GATINEAU, Que. — During the sometimes-contentious appearance by Netflix Inc. on the last day the CRTC’s two-week hearings on the future of television, CRTC Chairman Jean-Pierre Blais repeatedly ordered the U.S....
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Monday his government is determined not to tax Internet services such as Netflix and YouTube In a wide-ranging speech in Ottawa to kick off the new parliamentary session, he also mentioned the...
Heritage Minister Shelly Glover says the government will not allow new taxes or regulations on Internet-based television services. Glover, the federal minister responsible for the CRTC, said so in a statement sent Monday night that responded to a presentation in the CRTC's Let's Talk TV hearings earlier in the day from Kevin Finnerty, Ontario's assistant deputy minister for tourism, culture and sport. Finnerty suggested that new media broadcasting services be regulated and required to contribute to Canadian content. "At the hearings, the Ontario Liberal government made a...
Heritage Minister Shelly Glover announced Tuesday that Quebec lawyer Yves Dupras was returning as a commissioner of the CRTC. A press release from Heritage Canada said Dupras would start a five-year term as a full-time designated...
A recent paper from the lawyers representing the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) calls for changes in government structure that would give the CRTC more uncontested authority in governing the...
The CRTC has officially endorsed a move toward pick-and-pay television, though it has admitted the transition to such a model is unlikely to be pain-free. The commission proposed in a report Thursday...
Hubert Lacroix, CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada, discussed at last week’s town hall meeting the possibility of having a levy attached to bills of cable- and satellite-TV customers and using that money to support the network. The...
Rogers Communications Inc. had the ear of some of the highest officials in the federal government in early February, including Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Harper communicated with Rogers on Feb. 5, according to information in the federal lobbyists’ registry. The registered lobbyist is Rogers CEO Guy Laurence, though the online registry notes that he was not necessarily involved in the communication. Consumer issues and telecommunications are listed as the topics discussed between Rogers and Harper. Other government officials Rogers communicated with in February, according to the...
The Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner has launched an “examination” of a fundraising event involving Heritage Minister Shelly Glover that a Liberal MP says illegally sought donations from people in the cultural community. A letter Liberal MP Ralph Goodale sent to the Ethics Commissioner...
The federal government will wait to see the results of a CRTC report on how best to implement a pick-and-pay television model before deciding whether to get involved in the...
Canadian media sector, watch out. Shelly Glover’s path to cabinet included a 19-year career with the Winnipeg police, which at times involved going undercover as a sex trade worker, raiding crackhouses and investigating gangs. The Manitoba MP worked as a patrol officer and spokeswoman for the...
Canada’s telecom and media companies will be dealing with a familiar face as they plan for next year’s mobile spectrum auction, following former heritage minister James Moore’s move...