There seem to be two questions there, one of which is about the Broadcasting Act. The CRTC’s mandate is to implement the legislation that you as parliamentarians have voted for. It is up to you to decide whether the act has to be updated. Our role at the commission is to implement and put in place what you as parliamentarians have entrusted to the commission as an administrative tribunal.
We are going through a period of unprecedented change in terms of broadband connectivity. That changes the way in which traditional telecommunications companies deliver voices. One might even say that telecommunications services deliver much more than that these days. Some young people do not even use their phones to make phone calls. That changes business models.
Today, the biggest taxi company in the world owns not a single taxi. I am referring to Uber. The biggest hotel company in the world, Airbnb, owns not a single hotel. This is a very significant movement. Some have talked about a fourth industrial revolution. The words “the age of disruption” are often used to describe it.
With radio and television broadcasting, we must realize that a major change is on the horizon. The way in which people consume audiovisual product is being turned on its head all over the world, in Canada in particular, for both anglophones and francophones. Some people feel comfortable applying old mechanisms like quotas as a solution for a new ecosystem. That’s where I part company with them.
A few decades ago, when there were 10 television channels, and a quota was imposed, the chances were good that people would watch. In today's environment, we have to think of other ways.