Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission
The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is a national regulatory body established in 1968, primarily responsible for overseeing radio and television broadcasting in Canada. In 1976, the CRTC expanded its jurisdiction to include federally regulated telecommunications companies, leading to its current name. The commission plays a crucial role in licensing broadcasting undertakings, setting conditions for those licenses, and establishing regulations pertaining to the broadcasting landscape. It engages in public consultation to inform its decisions, which have historically included mandates for Canadian content in media and rules governing local market access for broadcasters.
Notably, the CRTC has been involved in significant policy discussions, such as the recommendations from the 1970 Senate Committee report, emphasizing broadcasting's cultural responsibilities. The CRTC is also tasked with addressing issues related to telecommunications services, notably high internet costs in Canada. In 2023, the commission's new president announced an initiative to explore solutions for reducing internet prices and enhancing service quality. Overall, the CRTC plays a vital role in shaping Canada's media and telecommunications sectors, reflecting the country's cultural values and priorities.
Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission
- FOUNDED: 1968
- TYPE OF ORGANIZATION: National broadcasting regulatory body
SIGNIFICANCE: The CRTTC has primary control over radio and television broadcasting throughout Canada
In 1976, the Canadian Parliament transferred to the CRTTC the jurisdiction over federally regulated telecommunications companies formerly exercised by the Canadian Transport Commission, changing its name to the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission. Since then, the CRTTC has decided on the issuance and renewal of licenses for all broadcasting undertakings, including networks and cable systems. It may attach conditions to licenses and makes regulations respecting broadcasting. It may also revoke any license, except one issued to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). The full commission makes decisions involving the revocation of licenses, general broadcasting policies, and regulations and rules of procedure. Public consultation, through written notice and comment or public hearings, is a general practice. Among the important early decisions of the CRTTC were a provision for a minimum level of Canadian music on the air; rules respecting amounts of Canadian content in television schedules; licensing of third television networks in Ontario and Quebec; and the wide licensing of cable systems that would carry American programming directly to areas beyond the broadcasting range of U.S. stations. A 1988 CRTTC decision prohibited access to any local television advertising market unless broadcasters provided a local program service in that market.
The 1970 Report of the Special (Canadian) Senate Committee on the Mass Media, the so-called Davey Report (after its chair, Senator Keith Davey), helped focus light on the state of Canadian mass media. The section of the report on broadcasting helped provide much of the framework for the 1974 CRTTC hearings on the renewal of broadcast licenses. The briefs presented to the CRTTC were overwhelmingly in support of public broadcasting.
The fifteen-member Senate Committee report began by calling broadcasting “The Beast of Burden”—an institution saddled unlike any other medium with responsibility for holding the country and its culture together. It immediately took a jab at private broadcasters, pointing out that they, too, were expected to share the burden. The report added that the 1968 Broadcasting Act had declared the airwaves to be public, not private property and that “Canadians had a right to expect that broadcasters would use that public property to strengthen our culture, rather than dilute it.” This Senate committee thought that the CBC was “a national institution in a country that lacks national institutions.” It was a unique institution, made vulnerable by an unfortunate reliance on commercial revenue and annual appropriations from Parliament.
Canada's internet prices have historically been some of the highest in the world. In 2023, CRTTC's newly elected president, Vicky Eatrides, vowed to investigate ways to decrease prices and increase the quality of internet products avaliable in the country.
Bibliography
"About Us." Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, crtc.gc.ca/eng/acrtc/org.htm. Accessed 2 Nov. 2024.
"Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-22)." Justice Laws Website, Nov. 2024, laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-22. Accessed 2 Nov. 2024.
"Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission." Government of Canada, open.canada.ca/data/organization/crtc. Accessed 2 Nov. 2024.
Dobby, Christine. "‘What Has the CRTC Done for Me?’ New Chair of Telecom Regulator Takes Aim at Canada’s High Internet Prices." Toronto Star, 21 Jan. 2023, www.thestar.com/business/what-has-the-crtc-done-for-me-new-chair-of-telecom-regulator-takes-aim-at/article‗ef42b077-0c64-532f-aee4-7d6addaca889.html. Accessed 2 Nov. 2024.