CRTC meetings unrelated to OMNI, Rogers says in court filing

Rogers Communications Inc. has filed a response in a court case challenging the CRTC’s decision to give the broadcaster a coveted broadcasting licence with mandatory carriage, saying that meetings it had with CRTC commissioners ahead of that decision were normal procedure and above board. That May decision chose Rogers’ OMNI over seven other applicants for the country’s sole licence to operate a multi-ethnic channel with carriage on basic TV packages. A number of those successful applicants have since asked the government to overturn that decision. Montreal-based Independent Community Television has also asked Federal Court to look at its case for appeal. One of the arguments ICTV is making is that meetings CRTC chairman Ian Scott and vice-chair of broadcasting Caroline Simard had with representatives from BCE Inc. and Rogers could lead to a reasonable apprehension of bias. In a filing to the Federal Court of Appeal, Rogers said that the three meetings ICTV identified between it and CRTC chairman Ian Scott that occurred as the regulator was considering the applications were “not unusual.” Rogers said CRTC commissioners and senior officials “frequently meet with members of the industries the CRTC regulates,” as the federal lobby registry shows. It noted the three meetings were reported to the registry. “The content of those three meetings was devoted entirely to matters unrelated to the licencing of a new national, multilingual multi-ethnic service,” the Rogers affidavit said. The first, which occurred in November 2017, two months after Scott began his term, was an introductory meeting at the Rogers headquarters in Gatineau between Scott and his chief of staff and Rogers CEO Joe Natale and senior vice-president of regulatory David Watt, Rogers claims. The second, in May of 2018, included a number of senior Rogers executives and Scott as well as Ontario commissioner Monique Lafontaine at the Rogers Toronto office. It involved discussing “issues affecting customers and included a demonstration of Ignite TV (our new IPTV service), a tour of the Sportsnet broadcasting facility and a demonstration of illegal set top box equipment and software.” The last was a phone conversation in July 2018 between Scott and Watt to “discuss issues affecting customers in relation to wireless services in Canada.” The Rogers affidavit also noted that before such meetings, the CRTC sent a notice to remind participants not to discuss any matter that is before the commission. “Bias is a serious allegation that cannot be based on mere speculation,” Rogers said in a memorandum of fact and law filed July 22. “No reasonable, right-minded person, viewing the matter realistically and practically, would conclude that the mere fact CRTC Commissioners met with Rogers and BCE on broadcasting, telecommunications and consumer issues during the two year period prior to the Decision gives rise to a reasonable apprehension of bias,” it said. “The CRTC meets regularly with broadcasting and telecommunications providers as well as other stakeholders in a variety of capacities. A finding that Commissioners cannot meet with a party involved in any open proceeding before the Commission would effectively bar Commissioners from meeting with these entities and would hamstring the Commission’s ability to perform its functions.” — With reporting by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca and editing by Ahmad Hathout at ahatout@thewirereport.ca

CRTC meetings unrelated to OMNI, Rogers says in court filing

Broadcast | July 26, 2019

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CRTC meetings unrelated to OMNI, Rogers says in court filing

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