Novus wants CRTC to pause access complaint

Novus Entertainment Inc., which is fighting for access to a multi-dwelling unit in Coquitlam, British Columbia, has asked the CRTC to pause its application against the developer while they exchange information and negotiate. The Vancouver-based internet provider filed a complaint with the CRTC earlier this year asking for help gaining access to the building as it claimed the developer’s representatives indicated they were satisfied with the services offered by Shaw Communications Inc. and Telus Corp. “The comfort and satisfaction of the developer with its arrangements have no bearing on the services to be provided to the homeowners,” Novus wrote to the CRTC. “It is the homeowners who are to be provided with choice of service providers, notwithstanding cozy arrangements between the developer and the old monopolies.” The company said in its application it had been unable to get timely access “on reasonable terms and conditions,” despite CRTC regulatory decisions requiring its access. Now, Novus says it will be meeting with the building owner “to meet and exchange information so that they can negotiate access on reasonable terms and conditions.” “This is what Novus’ initial correspondence to Beedie Living requested and it is our hope that the parties can complete a satisfactory agreement for access and installation of facilities. Accordingly we would ask that the Commission take no further action until such time as Novus has advised that the parties have concluded a mutually satisfactory agreement,” said the company. In a letter, Stephen I. Selznick, the lawyer for the BDC (Austin Heights East) Limited Partnership, called the Novus application “premature” and says that Novus was "late to the table" in requesting access. “While Novus has recently furnished our client with promotional materials concerning the benefits to end line consumers of its proposed service offering, it has not provided technical or engineering information or specifications sufficient to assess what access is required and what the attendant reasonable terms and conditions ought to be,” they said. Novus said in its own letter on the matter that its “application is characterized as premature but we are also advised that Novus is late to the table for The Heights on Austin project. Novus’ initial email in January made it clear that the first step for any project is a meeting between the electrical consultant for the project and Novus’ New Development Manager. This provides the technical information necessary for Novus to provide a draft Scope of Work, Installation Agreement and Access Agreement.” This isn’t the first time Novus has approached the CRTC with such an issue. In 2019, Novus and Thind, another B.C. developer, came to an agreement after a Novus complaint to the CRTC. The year prior, Novus filed a similar complaint. Novus acknowledged the pattern in its latest part one, asking the commission to “note that Novus does not seek the Commission’s assistance without making considerable effort on its own behalf.”

Novus wants CRTC to pause access complaint

Brief | April 8, 2021

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Novus wants CRTC to pause access complaint

Brief | April 8, 2021

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