Good morning, and thank you very much for having us.
I would also like to acknowledge that we are gathered on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people.
I am joined today by our head of broadcasting, Scott Shortliffe, and our general counsel, Rachelle Frenette.
Let me quickly touch on three things before we get into questions: first, how the CRTC is set up; second, the context within which we operate; and finally, how we are prioritizing our work.
Starting with how we’re set up, as you know, the CRTC is an independent, quasi-judicial tribunal that operates at arm’s-length from government. We hold public hearings on telecommunications and broadcasting matters, and we make decisions based on the public record.
The commission has nine members: a chair, a vice-chair for telecommunications, a vice-chair for broadcasting and six full-time regional commissioners who are located across the country. Supporting the nine decision-makers is a team of expert staff like my colleagues who are here with me today.
That brings me to the context within which we operate. As we know, Canada’s communications sector touches every aspect of our daily lives. It’s the pathway that connects us to each other, to our communities and to the world around us. Since taking on my role earlier this year, I have had the privilege of meeting with and listening to a range of stakeholders from across the country, and I've heard about the importance of our communications sector. Let me share a couple of examples.
In Whitehorse, we heard many stories about the state of communications in rural, remote and indigenous communities. We heard about one isolated community where students could not pivot to online learning because of a lack of connectivity. Their children lost one, two and three years of education.
Another example takes us 5,000 kilometres away from Whitehorse to Halifax. As you know, there were devastating wildfires in the area over the summer. We heard first-hand from community members about how they relied on local radio stations to give them the latest updates on the location of fires and the need to evacuate. We've heard countless other stories about the importance of our communications sector. We know that the CRTC has an important role in regulating the sector.
That brings me to our areas of focus. Earlier this year, we set out three priority areas for the CRTC: first, promoting competition to deliver reliable and high-quality Internet and cellphone services to Canadians; second, modernizing Canada's broadcasting system to promote Canadian and indigenous content; and third, improving the CRTC to better serve Canadians.
Let me briefly touch on each.
I am going to start with telecommunications.
We are taking action to increase choice and affordability for Canadians, while supporting investment in high-quality networks. Our approach to cellphone competition is a good example of how we are advancing this work.
In May, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, the CRTC, established rules that allow regional competitors to operate across Canada using the networks of the large cellphone companies. With this access, regional providers can expand their reach and offer Canadians more choice. However, that approach is only a transitional step. Regional providers can use the existing networks now, but they must put their own independent networks in place within seven years.
Our work is already showing results. Canadians can go online today and find offers that were not on the market a year ago. These improvements are an indication that we are moving in the right direction in cellphone services competition. We are working hard toward promoting competition for Internet services as well.
In March, the CRTC launched a proceeding on the Internet services market to create more choice and lower prices. Two weeks ago, we released an initial decision as part of this proceeding. On a temporary and expedited basis, the CRTC is providing competitors with a workable way to sell Internet services using the fibre-to-the-home networks of large telephone companies in the provinces where competition has declined most significantly.
We are continuing our work on this proceeding and will be holding a public hearing in February.
We have a lot of other work underway on the telecommunications front.
As you know, we are also busy on the broadcasting side. Parliament has given us a mandate under the Online Streaming Act to set up a modern broadcasting framework. The changes needed to implement the modernized Broadcasting Act are substantial and complex.
In May, we published a plan that sets out a phased approach to modernizing the regulatory framework. As part of this plan, we launched four initial consultations. In response, we have received over 600 submissions. Many of them are long and detailed. All of them show that people are highly engaged.
The first consultation looked at which online streaming services need to provide basic information. The second looked at basic conditions of service. The third consultation involves the regime for fees, which recovers the CRTC's costs of regulating the industry. The fourth consultation looks at contributions that players need to make to support the broadcasting system.
Today, right after this appearance, we are on day four of a three-week public hearing on this consultation. We have heard from approximately 20 intervenors so far and look forward to hearing from over 100 more. During this hearing, we are exploring whether streaming services should make an initial contribution to the Canadian content system and, if so, where it should go. We are also asking whether this would help level the playing field with Canadian companies who are already required to support Canadian content.
Through our hearings, we are building a robust and diverse public record that will enable us to make decisions in the public interest.
As you know, we have also been given another mandate by Parliament this year. The Online News Act requires us to set up a bargaining framework for fair negotiations between news organizations in Canada and the largest online platforms. We have published our regulatory plan, and will launch a public consultation soon to gather views.
Our third area of focus is improving the CRTC to better serve Canadians. I have heard directly that the CRTC needs to move quickly and transparently, given the impact of its decisions on consumers, businesses and the Canadian economy. We have heard what people are asking for and we are becoming a faster and more transparent commission, thanks to the efforts we are making behind the scenes.
We're doing more to engage with Canadians; we are clearing backlogs; we are looking at our internal processes to see how we can do better; and we are dealing with applications in a more timely way.
I've covered a lot in 10 minutes, so maybe I can just end with an earlier thought, which is that Canada's communications sector touches every aspect of our daily lives. We understand the importance of the sector. We understand the importance of our work. The CRTC will continue to work hard to connect people through technology and through culture.
Thank you, again, for inviting us to appear today. We appreciate the opportunity, and we look forward to your questions.
