Stakeholder meetings status quo for CRTC, Shoan argues

The encounters with stakeholders that formed part of the rationale for his second dismissal from the CRTC weren’t unusual given that such meetings are common practice, former commissioner Raj Shoan is arguing in court documents. “Perhaps no evidence is more compelling to dispute the argument that CRTC Commissioners should not meet alone with stakeholders with open files before the Commission than the meetings conducted by the former CRTC Chairperson himself,” Shoan said, noting that a search of the federal lobbyist registry showed Jean-Pierre Blais met with 83 stakeholders during his time heading the CRTC. Shoan filed the affidavit July 4 in a Federal Court case fighting his second dismissal from the CRTC. While his initial firing was partially based on the outcome of a harassment complaint that was sent back for reconsideration by the court, Shoan was fired again by the governor-in-council days after his return to the CRTC. The second dismissal cited Shoan’s “actions with respect to inappropriate contact with CRTC stakeholders and his lack of recognition of and disregard for the impact of that contact on the reputation and integrity of the CRTC” among the reasons for the firing. In his affidavit, Shoan pointed out that many of Blais’ meetings involved large telecom and broadcasting companies that would have been involved in ongoing proceedings in front of the commission. For instance, Blais met with representatives from Rogers Communications Inc. on seven occasions between 2012 and 2015, during which the CRTC issued 59 decisions involving Rogers, he said. “While in some cases it is possible that applications were received, analyses conducted and decisions rendered before Blais met with stakeholders in a given year, based on sheer numbers, it is impossible … that Blais did not meet with stakeholders with open files before the Commission.” A search of the registry on July 5 for the time period between Blais’ appointment in June 2012 and his departure in June 2017 showed a total of 78 communications reports. Shoan also noted the CRTC held major policy proceedings over the years, such as Let’s Talk TV, that involved “virtually all industry stakeholders.” “Meeting with stakeholders, alone or not, with open files before the CRTC is a common occurrence for Commissioners — as demonstrated by Blais’ activities —and those activities are balanced by written confirmation from the CRTC to the parties that open files before the CRTC will not be discussed at said meetings,” the affidavit said. “In the absence of such an approach, stakeholders — some of whom file more than a dozen applications annually with the CRTC — would never have an opportunity to meet with Commissioners or Commissioner staff.” Shoan said that it’s established CRTC practice to obtain written confirmation that open files won’t be discussed in any such meetings, which he followed in one of the two disputed meetings at issue. The second instance involved a meeting with David Ash, then senior vice-president of now-defunct streaming service Shomi from Rogers and Shaw Communications Inc. Shoan argued that Shomi was a separate service operating under an exemption order and had no control over billing, which was then the subject of proceedings involving Rogers and Shaw in front of the CRTC. He also said in the document that while commissioners wouldn’t ideally attend such meetings alone, that isn’t always possible, especially given that regional CRTC offices have very few staff. “During my term at the CRTC, it was only myself and my assistant at the Toronto office. Given that my assistant did not report to me, I could not ask her to attend meetings with me and, in any case, she had her own duties and responsibilities to which to attend,” he said. The order-in-council dismissing Shoan also cited “Shoan’s responses related to his refusal to respect internal CRTC processes and practices for meeting its obligations under the Access to Information Act and his negative public statements about the CRTC are fundamentally incompatible.” In his affidavit, Shoan said he “never criticized the CRTC as an organization but, rather, was clear about my confidence in the institution and my motivation to ensure its continued effectiveness in serving the Canadian public.” He said the two statements published on social media “did not criticize the Chairperson personally but, instead, raised legitimate concerns about the exercise of his authority.” Shoan also said that regarding his compliance with CRTC processes for making information available under the Access to Information Act, he had “legitimate concerns respecting the request and sought guidance from the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner,” and complied with his obligations under the act once he received advice from the commissioner. — With reporting by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca and editing by Charelle Evelyn at cevelyn@thewirereport.ca

Stakeholder meetings status quo for CRTC, Shoan argues

Broadcast | July 5, 2017

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Stakeholder meetings status quo for CRTC, Shoan argues

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