Madam Speaker, I am delighted to speak in support of Bill S-7. During the first debate on October 19 the House debated the wording of the bill which would amend the Broadcasting Act in order to allow the CRTC to award costs with respect to broadcasting proceedings. It is important at this stage to reiterate that the principles of fairness and balance which are the guiding objectives of Bill S-7 are firmly supported by all members of the House.
There are compelling reasons to harmonize the rules with respect to interveners appearing before the CRTC whether they pertain to broadcasting issues or telecommunications issues. It is equally important to level the playing field between interveners and broadcasting companies appearing before the CRTC. For these reasons Bill S-7 should be allowed to receive third reading and to proceed to committee.
Bill S-7, should it become law, would promise to offer interested Canadians more equal opportunities to engage and take part in the process of deciding the future direction of our broadcasting system as they do for our telecommunications system.
It is important to understand the context here. In order to assess the opportunity to amend the Broadcasting Act we must keep in mind the purpose of the proposed bill. Under the Telecommunications Act an intervener, a person, company or organization that wishes to address the commission in order to express their views in a telecommunications proceeding is eligible to receive an award of costs for the expenses related to the filing of the intervention.
An award of costs is usually paid by the regulated telecommunications companies as directed by the commission. The companies must pay these costs directly to the intervener. In the event that more than one telecommunications company is directed to pay, the commission determines each company's share usually based upon its operating revenues.
It should be noted that the majority of applications received for an award of costs come from consumers or other public interest groups such as the Consumers' Association of Canada and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre. The commission does not generally award costs to commercial entities or municipalities. It is interesting to note that very few individuals apply for an award of costs.
What is also interesting is that to receive an award of costs, an intervener must have an interest in the outcome of the proceeding and must also have contributed to a better understanding of the telecommunications issues by the commission. That leads me to believe that the proposed bill would actually level the playing field. It would amend the Broadcasting Act to give the commission, for its broadcasting proceedings, the same powers it now has under the Telecommunications Act when it conducts telecommunications proceedings.
Bill S-7 would give public interest groups or individuals that are or may be directly affected by a broadcasting proceeding the opportunity to apply for an award of costs to assist their participation in the commission's proceedings.
I will give an example. A party that has an interest in a broadcasting proceeding may find it difficult without legal or technical assistance to provide relative evidence pertaining to the proceeding. Bill S-7 would allow interveners who participate in broadcast proceedings to be eligible to receive an award of costs for the expenses related to their intervention as is the case now in telecommunications proceedings.
It is important for all Canadians to recognize that they deserve and can play a role in the way our broadcasting system is regulated. That is why the principle of Bill S-7 would provide for equitable financial support for interveners in both telecommunications and broadcasting proceedings.