I’ve always been sceptical of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), the government agency in charge of regulating broadcasting and telecommunications.

After all, it seems to be staffed by a group of public servants who are guided by the “let the market decide” mantra, as opposed to their legislated responsibility to create and sustain a viable broadcast and telecom sector that actually works for Canadians and delivers innovative, high- quality content and services.

Despite my misgivings, I have to admit that it seems as though the CRTC is actually on the right track … for now at least! Of course, this is only a recent development, so maybe I should hold back on my excitement.
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Recently, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) announced that it is considering a change to the scope of the upcoming television broadcast license hearings scheduled for April 2009.

Under the current Broadcasting Act, 1991, the CRTC can grant broadcast licenses for up to 7 years. There is also an option to grant licenses for shorter periods of time, but this is usually done in cases where there are compliancy issues.

However, there is now concern that the CRTC might reverse course and grant only temporary, one to two-year licenses – and no, this has nothing to do with compliance issues.
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