Industry committee  These are very complicated questions and the decisions that go with them will have a lot of impact. My minister clearly said that we are going to take our time, that the government really must consider all options and consequences. He has also made it clear that culture and broadcasting are not to be touched; we are dealing only with telecommunications.

Industry committee  The government must take time to study all these issues, but it is clear that we are not dealing with cultural or broadcasting matters in terms of the commitments made in the Speech from the Throne and in the budget.

Industry committee  I think Minister Clement has been quite clear that the commitment to look at the issue of foreign investment restrictions will not extend to culture and broadcasting.

Industry committee  Yes, it is in fact true that this committee, in 2003, did produce a report on this very subject, and that report made a number of recommendations. It looked at the issue of foreign investment restrictions from a variety of perspectives and it made a number of recommendations regarding minimum ownership requirements, changes to ownership and control requirements, and recommendations regarding a further review of the governance structure of both telecommunications and broadcasting in the area of technical convergence.

Industry committee  We will follow up.

Industry committee  I would be happy to get you a copy of that study. My understanding is that it was at a point in time, as they normally are. It would have been looking backwards at the impacts of liberalization. But obviously it would have been done at a certain point in time.

Industry committee  I think it would be important to recognize that foreign investment regulations are but one element of the regulatory framework--that, and the policy framework that regulates telecommunications, the provision of telecommunication services in Canada. We have the CRTC, for example.

Industry committee  The Telecommunications Act regulates the provision of telecommunications services, which I guess would be as clear as mud, but basically they are telephone services, broadband Internet services received in your home, and wireless services. These are regulated as telecommunications services.

Industry committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. This is obviously an issue that is very complex, and it will take some time for the government to look at particular options, particular models, and also to come forward with a process and a timeline for consulting with industry on a path forward on this issue.

Industry committee  Sure. The Red Wilson panel was set up to look broadly at issues around competition in the Canadian economy. The reason for the Red Wilson panel was, I think, a view that the world is changing quickly, and Canada needs to remain competitive. The Wilson panel was tasked with looking across a range of sectors to see what we could do in terms of our legislative and regulatory framework and our policy framework to ensure that Canadian industry would have the best chance to compete in this global environment.

Industry committee  In looking at the benefits of more competition and allowing more foreign direct investment, we have found, in general, that when we look across sectors and over time, foreign direct investment brings two kinds of benefits. The first is that foreign investors bring assets. They bring technology and new technology.

Industry committee  Mr. Chair, first of all, I would like to note that under section 12 of the Telecommunications Act, Parliament provided to the Governor in Council the authority to vary decisions by the CRTC. In this particular case, the Governor in Council chose to vary this decision of the CRTC based on a very careful examination of the facts and a rigorous application of the Canadian ownership and control requirements.

Industry committee  This is an issue that has been debated in many sectors of the Canadian economy, and there is much evidence, particularly on the economic side, that shows the strong benefits of foreign investment to Canada. What we have seen when we look across the board at many sectors, including telecommunications, is progressive liberalization over a number of decades of foreign investment regulations, across many countries and in many sectors.

Industry committee  I think it's important to be clear that it is the Broadcasting Act that regulates the delivery of content in Canada, content provision, and my minister has been quite clear on this point, that we are not looking at culture here and we are not looking at broadcasting.

Industry committee  Let me give an example. I think the satellite sector is actually quite a good example of this, where Telesat provides services to Canadian broadcasters. Telesat provides the mechanism, the satellite signal, the satellite space, for broadcasters to diffuse their signal to Canadians, but it's those broadcasting distribution units, the BDUs, who are regulated under the Broadcasting Act.