Astral chairman calls for department of communications

The Canadian telecom and broadcasting sectors would benefit from a unified ministry of communications, Astral Media Inc. chairman André Bureau told the House industry committee Tuesday. The House Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology is studying the liberalization of Canada’s foreign ownership rules in the telecommunications sector. Bureau told the committee that given convergence between telecommunications and broadcasting, the government should adopt a unified vision for the sectors. “Maybe we should create a Ministry of Communications because it’s a lot larger than just telecom and broadcasting. There is new media, there is the Internet. We think it would be more appropriate to have a single vision for the entire communications system,” Bureau, former chairman of the CRTC, told The Wire Report following the meeting. “It’s time to start looking at this.” Glenn O’Farrell, former president and CEO of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB), also said in March that Canada should bring back the former department of communications. The department ceased to exist in 1993 with the creation of Canadian Heritage. O’Farrell said the move divided the communications portfolio between Industry Canada and the Heritage Department. On April 13, CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein told the industry committee that the government should merge the telecom and broadcasting acts under a unified statute. But Bureau said he is not convinced a unified act makes sense. “I don’t know if we need a single act for both because there will continue to be telecommunications companies that won’t offer broadcasting services. But there could be one act if it takes into consideration the situation of these companies, and in that case they would maybe be treated differently when it comes to foreign ownership,” he said. “But those telecommunications companies that also act as content distributors must also submit to the same laws as broadcasters.” Bureau recommended that the government exercise caution when opening up the telecommunications market to foreign ownership, saying there is a need for a thorough assessment. “When it comes to the distribution of content, at the present time we are worried because is conducting this study , but it is too early. We should at least take the time to conduct a study on the impact of competition on broadcasting,” he said. Bureau argued that it would be a mistake to ignore the broadcasting role of cable companies, or broadcasting distribution undertakings (BDUs), when reviewing the impact of foreign ownership. “A BDU does play an active and key role in influencing the content it offers consumers. BDUs are not just pipes. BDUs take programming decisions everyday. They control and decide which programming services consumers will have access to. They make difficult decisions about which services to market, promote and offer, how much they pay for these programming services and how much they charge consumers,” he told the committee. “Therefore any liberalization of BDU ownership restrictions could easily result in an unacceptable level of influence by non-Canadians over the broadcasting television system.” But Conservative MP Mike Lake, the parliamentary secretary to Industry Minister Tony Clement, said there is no reason why foreign-controlled BDUs operating in Canada wouldn’t be required under the law to carry Canadian content. “You’re comfortable that Rogers has rules in place that make them carry your programming. Why wouldn’t that apply to anyone operating here in Canada under the Broadcasting Act?” he said. “It applies based on the fact that they’re operating in Canada.” kfournier@thewirereport.ca

Astral chairman calls for department of communications

Broadcast | May 4, 2010

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