Greenberg requested meeting with Harper following Bell-Astral decision

Astral Media Inc. president and CEO Ian Greenberg requested—and did not receive—a personal meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper to discuss the CRTC’s decision last fall to reject BCE Inc.’s $3.38-billion deal for Astral, letters show. In an Oct. 24 letter to the prime minister, obtained by The Wire Report under an access-to-information request, Greenberg said the CRTC’s decision, issued Oct. 18, “shocked” the “entire media industry” by deviating from the commission policy. “I am writing to you in the hope of obtaining your support for the restoring of clear and predictable regulatory rules which are crucial for the orderly operation of our broadcasting system for the benefit of all stakeholders, including Canadian consumers,” Greenberg wrote. The CRTC said last October that it denied BCE’s application to buy Astral due to concerns about the merged company’s market power, competition, and a deal that the commission said wasn’t in the public interest. Four days later, on Oct. 22, BCE issued a formal request to the federal cabinet about the CRTC decision, arguing that the commission should be required to follow its own “diversity of voices” policy, which outlines acceptable television viewership levels concentrated under one owner. In his letter to the Prime Minister, Greenberg said Astral had consulted with financial, legal and regulatory experts who all believed the deal would “comply with the existing framework and policies” for the transfer of Astral. “However, to the surprise of virtually all participants and observers of the transaction process, the CRTC simply rejected the entire transaction, deviating from its existing policies,” he wrote. The result, Greenberg said, was uncertainty across the industry caused by a lack of a “clear, stable and transparent regulatory environment.” “Mr. Prime Minister, this is why I seek your support to restore the clear and predictable rules that are crucial to the orderly operation of our broadcasting system for the benefit of all Canadians,” Greenberg wrote. “I would appreciate an opportunity to discuss this matter at your convenience." Following BCE’s application to cabinet, regulatory experts told The Wire Report that the CRTC had deviated from some “general rules” in its decision, though it did not violate any laws or regulations. The commission similarly said in its decision that the diversity of voices policy “applies 'as a general rule,' barring other policy concerns.'" In October 2012, Industry Minister Christian Paradis had said the government respected the CRTC decision. Harper’s press secretary Carl Vallée said in an emailed statement Wednesday that the Prime Minister did not meet with Greenberg following his request. Vallée said the request was passed along to Heritage Minister James Moore, the minister responsible for the CRTC, who responded to Greenberg’s letter. On Nov. 19, BCE and Astral said they had reached a reworked takeover agreement and re-applied for the CRTC’s approval. CRTC hearings into that application are happening this week in Montreal. In a letter dated Dec. 19, Moore told Greenberg that he had taken note of the executive's comments on the CRTC decision, and that Astral is no longer asking for a cabinet directive. “I understand that BCE has re-submitted an application for authority to transfer ownership to acquire Astral media, and that it has formally withdrawn its request that the Government of Canada use its powers under Section 7 of the Broadcasting Act to issue policy directives to the CRTC,” the minister wrote. The Wire Report received the documents Tuesday under an access-to-information request to the Privy Council Office. Astral declined to comment for this story. —With reporting by Nicholas Kyonka and nkyonka@thewirereport.ca and editing by Simon Doyle at sdoyle@thewirereport.ca --- CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly attributed a comment to Paradis that was from the parliamentary secretary to the heritage minister.

Greenberg requested meeting with Harper following Bell-Astral decision

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Greenberg requested meeting with Harper following Bell-Astral decision

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