Canadian Heritage Committee on Oct. 4th, 2012

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Moore]

Thank you, Mr. Coderre.

Now we're moving on to Mr. Young for seven minutes.

[Terence Young, Conservative, Oakville, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I know you've only been at the head of the CRTC for a short time, 100 days, but I know you're an expert on the Internet and how it impacts Canadian culture. You stated that you want informed and empowered consumers, which is very positive from my viewpoint, and you stated that without the public's participation, you can't serve the public interest as well.

The CRTC website is very difficult to navigate, so how are Canadians supposed to find matters that are relevant to them and engage the commission when it's so difficult to use?

[Jean-Pierre Blais]

You're absolutely right. One thing I learned when I was travelling on the regional visits and meeting folks is the very difficult nature of our website. It is organized around the way we organize things, around proceedings with numbers, and that's no way to give individual Canadians easy access. Even sophisticated companies have to have one person who knows how to navigate our website.

In our three-year plan, we have proposed a fundamental rethink of our website. Beyond that, to get Canadians to participate in our hearings, we're trying to set the hearings up in a less intimidating format, making sure that we use new technologies. Monsieur Coderre will be happy to learn that we're going out of our way to get communities to participate. Official language communities, for example, will participate in our CBC renewals. Distance sometimes prevents participation, though, so we're hoping to have evening sessions so Canadians who have work in the daytime can come and share their views.

It's through the website strategy and our way or organizing our proceedings that we intend to improve participation.

[Terence Young, Conservative, Oakville, ON]

We have a growing problem of cellphone theft, and the victims are often young people. They get bullied or they get threatened or they get mugged, and I'm wondering what the CRTC plans to do about this. There's a concern that some telecommunications companies are allowing stolen cellphones to be registered under new plans.

[Jean-Pierre Blais]

We contacted a wireless organization to ask what they're doing. We felt that they weren't grasping the importance of this issue and the priority that it has for us. I don't know if you had the opportunity to read one of the editorials in La Presse this morning, but Ariane Krol, whom I have always respected because she does good research work, has put her finger on our concern. We don't want to regulate it. We just think that this is the social responsibility of certain companies and that they should do the right thing and make sure this doesn't become an object of bullying and theft, which are both on the rise. I'm convinced that Mr. Lord and his colleagues in the wireless industry will come around and do the right thing.

[Terence Young, Conservative, Oakville, ON]

You haven't given them any kind of ultimatum, a date or anything?

[Jean-Pierre Blais]

We've asked them to respond by a particular date. We would rather not go down the regulatory route, because I don't think this requires a regulatory answer.

[Terence Young, Conservative, Oakville, ON]

Results are what's important.

[Jean-Pierre Blais]

Yes.

[Terence Young, Conservative, Oakville, ON]

With respect to companies that you have charged under the do-not-call list, can you tell us how you targeted those companies, how you came to investigate them, and how you enforce the law in Canada with companies that are based in foreign countries?

[Jean-Pierre Blais]

I'm not going to get into too much detail about the investigation, because there are criminal aspects to it and some of our partners might object. This is a relatively new regime, only in force since 2008. It has been a success. We have 11 million telephone numbers and fax numbers registered now. We have over 9,300 registered telemarketers that are part of the system, but our work is done mostly through complaints.

In any given year, we do over 1,300 investigations. We ask for information. We study it and we have over the past eight years levied AMPs, administrative monetary penalties, and other payments of over $3.2 million, so this is considerable. It's quite a deterrent, but I don't want to be in the business of giving out AMPs. I want people to comply with the list, and it's a particular challenge when the calls are coming from offshore. That's why we need to coordinate with Canadians.

It is complaints-based, and there are easy ways for Canadians to note the information—when they've been called, when it's not appropriate—and to inform us of that so we can follow up.

[Terence Young, Conservative, Oakville, ON]

Thinking way back to the 1960s, I remember my mother sitting in a chair watching TV at night. She'd be watching something and just relaxing, and then a really loud TV commercial would come on. When the commercials are louder, it actually can be painful, particularly for people who are hard of hearing. It's annoying for everyone.

Is there anything you're doing to address the situation of stations or networks allowing the soundtrack of TV commercials to be much louder than the programs being broadcast?

[Jean-Pierre Blais]

The commission has heard a lot from Canadians about that problem. It's a problem that has been around for years, but in September we adopted a regulation to address loudness in television, and we have a framework to ensure compliance and reporting in this matter. In fact, we're quite proud to have done it ahead of the Americans. Unfortunately, that means that anybody listening to over-the-air television right now from the United States may still hear that shockingly loud advertising, but we understand that this problem will be fixed by January.

[Terence Young, Conservative, Oakville, ON]

That's good news.

Thank you, Chair.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Moore]

Thank you, Mr. Young.

Now we have our five-minute round.

Go ahead, Mr. Cash.

[Andrew Cash, NDP, Davenport, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I'd like to congratulate Mr. Blais on his new position. We look forward to working with you, and I'm glad to hear you brought up the issue of the public trust in the commission and your interest in leaving it in a more trusted space among Canadians than it may well be now.

Recently, of course, in the media we've heard that the vice-chair of broadcasting was sharing beer and hot dogs in the Bell box at the Bell Centre, just coincidentally a couple of months before Bell came with the merger.

In terms of just the lobbying, we know from the federal lobbyists registry that—

[Paul Calandra, Conservative, Oak Ridges—Markham, ON]

I have a point of order, Mr. Chair.

I believe the CRTC chair is here on a specific mandate. He's not here to give his opinions on the Lobbying Act or the role of the other CRTC commissioners with respect to their responsibilities under the Lobbying Act. I think we have a commissioner who can handle that, and not necessarily the CRTC chair.

[Andrew Cash, NDP, Davenport, ON]

I haven't asked the question yet, so if my colleague can hang on there, we'll get to it and he'll be satisfied.

The question really is that Canadians need to know when and what things are being said behind closed doors. That's the issue, and there's no one more appropriate to ask this question to than the chair of the CRTC.

Therefore, in your view, if private meetings between CRTC commissioners and the large companies they regulate raise concerns about impartiality, would it be a bad idea for Parliament to identify when it is or is not appropriate for you and your colleagues to meet in private with those you regulate?

[Paul Calandra, Conservative, Oak Ridges—Markham, ON]

Mr. Chair, I have a point of order again.

The chair is here to talk about the future of the CRTC. The question Mr. Cash is asking is a question that is the responsibility of parliamentarians, not the responsibility of the chair of the CRTC.

I think we should try, as well as we possibly can, to stick to the terms of the motion and stick to the terms of why we brought the new CRTC chair in front of us. If Mr. Cash would like to change certain aspects of the act, he has an opportunity under private members' business and other opportunities to address that concern.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Moore]

It's not a point of order.

Go ahead, Mr. Cash.

[Andrew Cash, NDP, Davenport, ON]

I'd like to carry on with my questioning. I'm very hopeful that the interventions from my friend across the way aren't cutting into my time.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Moore]

No, we're stopping the clock every time, apparently—

[Andrew Cash, NDP, Davenport, ON]

Thank you so much.

I don't know of a better venue to talk about the future of the CRTC and to talk about Canada's trust in the commission than right here and right now, and I think it's an appropriate question.

We've got a commissioner—

[Terence Young, Conservative, Oakville, ON]

On the point of order, Mr. Chair, we're trying to work with the NDP on this committee. It was their suggestion that we bring the CRTC chairman here, and they said they wanted to talk about the future of the CRTC. We didn't agree to that idea so that the members could play “gotcha” or go off topic.

We do want to hear what the chairman has to say and we're far better off staying on topic. Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Moore]

Go ahead, Mr. Nantel, on the point of order.