Lincoln calls separate foreign ownership study by Industry committee “unfortunate”

The chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage says it’s "unfortunate" that Industry Canada has decided to move ahead with a separate review of foreign ownership restrictions in the telecommunications industry. Clifford Lincoln, whose committee’s study of the Canadian broadcasting system is currently in the midst of hearings on media consolidation and foreign ownership (see story in this issue), worries that public confusion might result if the separate reviews result in conflicting recommendations. The Heritage committee launched its review, which includes a look at foreign ownership, last year (CCR, Nov. 9/01, May 24/01). Industry minister Allan Rock, on the other hand, announced a review of foreign ownership in the telecommunications industry last month, with hearings to begin by the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology in January (CCR, Nov. 22/02). "It’s very tricky. It’s literally a rock in the pond," Lincoln said in response to questioning following a speech he gave at a November 28 conference in Ottawa. He told delegates to the Canadian Chapter of the International Institute of Communications conference: "The timing and everything is very awkward. One issue we want to avoid completely is confusion in the minds of the public if the recommendations (of the two committees) are potentially conflicting. Instead of achieving consensus, it would create the reverse. That’s a fear. These two systems (telecommunications and broadcasting) are so integrated today that it’s very hard to separate the two. How do you separate the one from the other?" Lincoln noted that a motion put forward in the Industry committee to hold a joint hearing between the two committees wasn’t passed. "I’ve tried as much as I can to keep abreast of what they’re doing with the chair of the (industry) committee...All we can do is liaise as much as possible," he stated. He added that his committee will have a report that he calls "daring" out by March – three months after the initial target date of year-end 2002. "We’re not going to be timid because we have to say things that are meaningful. But at the same time, we’re going to be extremely conscious that reports are only valuable if they are credible," Lincoln noted. He added that the report’s recommendations would be as "objective as any human beings can make it." Hearings into the broadcast industry resumed last month after the House of Commons reconvened following a summer break. Lincoln expects the committee hearings to wrap up by December 12. The committee will then travel to the United States to meet with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in January. The committee will also go to England to meet with British Parliamentarians, who recently introduced a revised Communications Bill over foreign ownership and media consolidation concerns, and with British Broadcasting Corp. staff. Committee members will then attend a two- or three-day retreat at Meech Lake, with drafting of the report to begin in February. The aim is to have the report completed by the end of March. Lincoln said the "hot" issues that have caught the committee’s eye so far are regional programming; cultural diversity, including Aboriginal programming and access to French-language channels; foreign ownership; and media convergence. "I don’t have any magic bullets to offer, especially today (before the report has been written)," Lincoln replied when he was asked about the committee’s thoughts on the effect of out-of-market television signals on local programming (CCR, Nov. 22/02, Oct. 10/02, Oct. 11/01). "But we are extremely conscious of what (you’ve brought up)."

Lincoln calls separate foreign ownership study by Industry committee “unfortunate”

Broadcast | December 5, 2002

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