Shoan asks court to limit Blais’ ability to name CRTC panels

Commissioner Raj Shoan has brought another case against the CRTC to court, asking the Federal Court of Appeal to limit the ability of the CRTC chairman to assign commissioners to panels that make decisions on issues before the regulator. A document submitted to the court by Shoan’s lawyers asked the court to prohibit CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais from “convening and naming panels of Commissioners where the authority to do so in respect of an application, complaint, review or representation is not explicitly granted to him” by the Telecommunications Act, Broadcasting Act or CRTC Act. In an affidavit filed with the court Thursday, Shoan said he filed the case because of concern over changes that “threaten, in a meaningful way, the ability of all Commissioners to operate in an independent manner and to serve their regions in a comprehensive manner.” It’s the second case Shoan brought to Federal Court against the CRTC, following the judicial review he sought over findings that he committed workplace harassment. Shoan argued in the affidavit that “these changes have now begun fundamentally altering the independent decision-making structure of the CRTC,” adding that the independence of each commissioner is “crucial to the proper functioning of the CRTC.” Because the CRTC is a quasi-judicial body, it acts as a “council of equals,” in which typically each commissioner has a vote on applications, and can issue dissenting opinions, he said. “It is this notion of a ‘council of equals’ that is, in my view, under attack by the Chairperson of the CRTC,” Shoan added. Naming panels without proper authority “creates a culture in which members of the Commission, all independent Governor-in-Council appointees, are effectively at the mercy of the Chairperson, another independent Governor-in-Council appointment, when seeking to provide their input and viewpoints on important CRTC decisions and policies.” Shoan added that the chairman’s “interpretation of his panel-making authority denies each Commissioner’s ability to vote on matters before the full Commission and gives him the unilateral power to name panels and select which members of the Commission will decide in place of the full commission. In my view, Parliament could not possibly have intended such a governance structure.” Shoan’s application to the Federal Court also asked the court to quash a Sept. 23 decision by Blais to name three panels for hearings under the Telecom Act, and argued that Blais has previously constituted other panels without authority, including under the Broadcast Act. In the affidavit, Shoan specified that the three hearings in question were related to a review of satellite operator Telesat Holdings Inc. price ceiling for C-band fixed satellite services, a municipal access agreement between the City of Hamilton and BCE Inc., and PIAC’s undue preference complaint against Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communication Inc.’s Shomi. The application argued that the Telecom Act “does not provide the Chairman with a general authority to name panels of Commissioners to deal with, hear, or determine matters under the Telecommunications Act on behalf of the Commission as a whole,” and that the naming of the panels contravened a CRTC bylaw stating that it’s the Telecommunications Committee that has the “authority to dispose of or initiate proceedings.” CRTC spokeswoman Patricia Valladao said over the phone Friday that the commission would not comment on a matter before the court, but that it could provide factual information. Appointing panels to consider issues is something that all Canadian courts and tribunals do, not just the CRTC, she said. “On average, the CRTC holds about 400 decisional meetings and issues 700 decisions each year. To effectively manage the workload, the CRTC chairperson has been appointing panels of commissioners since at least the 1970s,” Valladao said. “Since his appointment in 2013, commissioner Shoan has been appointed to 16 panels.” She added that under the CRTC Act, “the chairperson is the chief executive officer of the commission, has supervision over and direction of the work and staff of the commission, and shall preside at meetings of the commission.” — With reporting by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca and editing by Shruti Shekar at sshekar@thewirereport.ca

Shoan asks court to limit Blais’ ability to name CRTC panels

Broadcast | October 23, 2015

Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need.

FREE TRIAL

SUBSCRIBE

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us

Shoan asks court to limit Blais’ ability to name CRTC panels

Broadcast | October 23, 2015

Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need.

FREE TRIAL

SUBSCRIBE

Related Stories

NDP critic calls for Rogers to reverse price hikes or be blocked from federal contracts

Rogers, Cogeco, Quebecor challenge ILECs at CRTC hearings

Cogeco defends infrastructure upgrade amid TekSavvy dispute

Cogeco MVNO operations still a ways away

Reuse & Permissions

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us