Industry committee  Thank you for the question. I do not foresee significant impacts on industry, because the consultations include measures to strike an appropriate balance for industry. Furthermore, the order published in February by the government regarding telecommunications policy renewal outl

Finance committee  If I understand correctly, this would be if there are two projects from different proponents that are intending to serve the same area. This is something that occurs occasionally, not just between us and the CRTC. It is something that is able to be managed. It depends on the natu

Finance committee  That's correct.

Finance committee  In the context of the legislation, we are not defining that, given that technology and what is an adequate level of service can evolve over time. In terms of the government's overall connectivity strategy and the targets embedded in our current programming at ISED, the CRTC or e

Finance committee  The government has committed to extend service at this target speed to 100% of Canadians, so yes, the intent is to address gaps wherever they exist. These amendments are minor and involve some coordination issues, but cumulatively, $7.2 billion has been allocated for the expansi

Finance committee  That is correct.

Finance committee  I would draw a distinction between what is in the Telecommunications Act and what is in the government's overall strategy or what is in program criteria. Historically, the Telecommunications Act has been technologically neutral because technology changes over time. In terms of th

Finance committee  No, there is not—not in the act itself. The price charged, though, of course, is an important consideration in program criteria, and it is assessed as part of the broadband project applications.

Finance committee  Certainly, yes, if people cannot—I'm sorry.

Finance committee  I would say there is a range of actions that ISED and other departments have taken to help speed up the rollout of broadband programming. This amendment is not intended to be the main tool for that. However, there are concerns that appeals could be launched against individual p

Finance committee  Applicants would still have recourse to the Federal Court of Appeal if they wished to challenge a funding decision on matters of law or jurisdiction. They just would not have recourse to file a parallel appeal with the Governor in Council or with the CRTC itself. There would stil

Finance committee  We already have processes in place to avoid duplication in funding projects. A key instrument of this is broadband maps that ISED maintains in partnership with the CRTC; if you can imagine a jigsaw puzzle between existing project infrastructure coverage, as well as proposed proje

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good evening. My name is Andre Arbour. I'm the acting director general of telecommunications and Internet policy at Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. Clause 203 is an amendment to the Telecommunications Act intended to help facilitate t

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. My name is Andre Arbour. I'm the director general of telecommunications and Internet policy at Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. I'm joined by my colleague James Nicholson. I'm happy to speak about division 17, which involves amendments t