Industry Minister James Moore leaving Ottawa

Media | 06/19/2015 5:53 pm EDT

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...

Channel unbundling to have ‘unintended consequences,’ says consultant

Media | 03/19/2015 7:34 pm EDT

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....

MTS lobbies senior federal officials

telecom | 03/10/2015 7:35 pm EDT

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...

Copyright Board considers changes to become ‘more efficient’

Media | 02/18/2015 10:09 pm EST

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...

CBC funding becoming political ahead of budget, election

Media | 01/22/2015 10:07 pm EST

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 lobbies PM Harper on health

Media | 11/19/2014 9:02 pm EST

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...

Regulating Netflix the least of CRTC’s concerns: Blais

Media | 11/06/2014 10:04 pm EST

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 appointed to CBC board

Media | 10/14/2014 8:07 pm EDT

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...

Blais’ differences with government come into focus

Media | 10/10/2014 9:14 pm EDT

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...

Mulcair denounces Glover statements on Netflix regulation

Media | 10/08/2014 8:11 pm EDT

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...

CRTC in tough spot after Netflix refuses to disclose: experts

Media | 09/23/2014 8:52 pm EDT

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...

Blais threatens to revoke Netflix’ exemption order

Media | 09/19/2014 7:48 pm EDT

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....

No tax on Netflix, YouTube: Harper

Media | 09/15/2014 4:43 pm EDT

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...

Shelly Glover rules out Internet-TV regulation

Media | 09/11/2014 2:22 pm EDT

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...

Yves Dupras returning to CRTC

Media | 06/17/2014 5:12 pm EDT

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...

CRTC should have more authority in telecom, PIAC lawyers say

telecom | 05/15/2014 8:01 pm EDT

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...

CRTC backs pick-and-pay while acknowledging ‘risks’

Media | 04/24/2014 6:07 pm EDT

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...

CBC chief discussed cable tax to support network

Media | 04/15/2014 5:31 pm EDT

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 lobbied PM Harper in busy February

Media | 03/18/2014 6:09 pm EDT

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...

Ethics commissioner to probe Glover’s fundraising event

Media | 01/22/2014 6:55 pm EST

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...

Government to wait for CRTC report before making decisions on pick-and-pay, Glover says

Media | 11/15/2013 1:07 am EST

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...

Canada’s new ‘hands on’ heritage minister, a former cop, takes the reins

Media | 07/19/2013 6:33 pm EDT

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...

Glover the new heritage minister as Moore moves to industry

telecom | 07/15/2013 8:58 pm EDT

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...