Evidence of meeting #45 for Canadian Heritage in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was crtc.
A recording is available from Parliament.
3:45 p.m.
Liberal
3:45 p.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Cultural Affairs, Department of Canadian Heritage
There will be an ad campaign. The details have not yet been finalized, but there will be a multimedia campaign. I would give you more information, but we did not want to do the campaign before getting a final decision from the CRTC on the public service announcements.
3:45 p.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Cultural Affairs, Department of Canadian Heritage
Yes, of course. As for the public process undertaken by the CRTC regarding the public announcements, if you read the comments, you will notice that most of the participants said that starting the campaign too early was risky. I know you have questions for me, but if we start getting the message out too soon, people will forget about it.
3:45 p.m.
Liberal
Pablo Rodriguez Liberal Honoré-Mercier, QC
That is debatable. You may be right, you may be wrong, I am not sure. The fact remains, though, that no one knows about it. We talk about it here in our little bubble, but aside from that, what your average person knows about the conversion—
3:45 p.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Cultural Affairs, Department of Canadian Heritage
You need to know the information in order to get it out there. We have Web sites, we have the 1-800 number. Broadcasters still do not know exactly when they will be transitioning. It may not necessarily be August 31. That is when analog over-the-air broadcasting will end in certain markets. The conversion may, however, happen before then.
3:45 p.m.
Liberal
Pablo Rodriguez Liberal Honoré-Mercier, QC
It can happen any time, but that is the deadline. We are about five months away from that, are we not?
3:50 p.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Cultural Affairs, Department of Canadian Heritage
Indeed.
3:50 p.m.
Liberal
Pablo Rodriguez Liberal Honoré-Mercier, QC
What is too early? You might be right, you might not. It is happening in five months, and nothing has been announced. That does not seem too early to me. Regardless, you are going to have to start telling people.
3:50 p.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Cultural Affairs, Department of Canadian Heritage
We still do not know exactly when broadcasters will convert.
3:50 p.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Cultural Affairs, Department of Canadian Heritage
No, but it is extremely complex. As my colleague mentioned, you need a licence from the CRTC and a permit under the Radiocommunication Act.
3:50 p.m.
Liberal
Pablo Rodriguez Liberal Honoré-Mercier, QC
You said the converter would cost around $45. I thought the CRTC had said it would be around $30.
3:50 p.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Cultural Affairs, Department of Canadian Heritage
Sometimes there are remote controls, and those cost a bit more. The price we give is an average.
3:50 p.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Cultural Affairs, Department of Canadian Heritage
Some cost as little as $30.
3:50 p.m.
Liberal
3:50 p.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Cultural Affairs, Department of Canadian Heritage
I have also seen some for $75.
3:50 p.m.
Liberal
Pablo Rodriguez Liberal Honoré-Mercier, QC
Seriously, how sure can you be that it will cost around that much and not $100? Do you know?
3:50 p.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Cultural Affairs, Department of Canadian Heritage
We know the prices have a tendency to drop, if we go by what we have seen in the U.S. As I said, in the beginning, it was $75; at one point, it was $45, and now it is closer to $30.
3:50 p.m.
Liberal
Pablo Rodriguez Liberal Honoré-Mercier, QC
I have one last question, and I will keep it brief. Mr. Dupuis, if we free up part of the spectrum, how much would those licences fetch at auction?
3:50 p.m.
Director General, Engineering, Planning and Standards Branch, Spectrum, Information Technologies and Telecommunications Sector, Industry Canada
We are not in the habit of saying how much money we can make through auction, because it can vary tremendously. It can be less than a billion up to several billions, or even a few hundred million. It has a lot to do with the economic situation.
3:50 p.m.
Director General, Engineering, Planning and Standards Branch, Spectrum, Information Technologies and Telecommunications Sector, Industry Canada
It is a big chunk, but just how big? That depends a lot on the economic conditions and who wants a piece of the spectrum. So we do not make any forecasts about how much money we can raise through auction.
3:50 p.m.
Conservative
