Network resiliency working group wants to expand CRTC authority over municipal infrastructure, provincially-regulated utilities

A working group composed of Canadian telecommunication service providers (CTSPs) and experts from the department of Innovation Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) is asking the government to expand the CRTC’s authority over passive infrastructure and provincially regulated support structures. Earlier this month the Canadian Telecommunications Network Resiliency Working Group delivered a report to Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne containing recommendations for network resiliency. Champagne directed the Canadian Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (CSTAC) to produce the report last September in response to Rogers Communications Inc.’s July 2022 outage. He also had Canada’s largest providers sign a memorandum of understanding that established a communications protocol, mutual assistance agreements, and emergency roaming capabilities between providers. The report recommends expanding the Telecommunications Act and Radiocommunication Act to “expand the CRTC's authority over publicly-owned passive infrastructure to clearly include access to all public property capable of supporting (network) facilities, such as street furniture;” and “expand the scope of the CRTC’s authority over support structures to include CTSPs access to the support structures of provincially regulated utilities.” Calls to expand the CRTC’s authority is nothing new. In May 2021 Telus Corp. sought to appeal provisions in a decision related to the CRTC’s wireless review. Telus wanted the court to strike down provisions of the decision concerning access to public infrastructure for technology upgrades. The CRTC had determined that it doesn’t have jurisdiction to adjudicate disputes between companies and municipalities related to mobile wireless transmission infrastructure, and that it did not need to create new policies and procedures to address such disputes. The working group’s report also took aim at other federal laws. The government is planning to introduce “anti-scab” legislation, applicable to federally regulated sectors, by the end of the year. The working group said a ban on replacement workers in the event of a strike could result in outages or a delay in response to ongoing outages. The report also calls on the government to protect providers’ critical and ancillary infrastructure by creating a law that maximizes criminal penalties in the event of willful or negligent damage to critical network infrastructure, or acts of vandalism or theft. Industry members of the working group include network specialists from BCE Inc., Cogeco Inc., Bragg Communications Inc.’s Eastlink, Rogers, Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp., Shaw Communications Inc., TbayTel Inc., Telesat Corp., Telus, Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron, Xplore Inc., and Zayo Group Holdings Inc.

Network resiliency working group wants to expand CRTC authority over municipal infrastructure, provincially-regulated utilities

Brief | March 22, 2023

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