Vol. 151, No. 18 — September 6, 2017

Registration

SI/2017-42 September 6, 2017

BROADCASTING ACT

Order Referring Back to the CRTC Decisions CRTC 2017-143 to 2017-151 to Renew the Broadcasting Licences

P.C. 2017-1060 August 14, 2017

Whereas the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (“the Commission”), in its Broadcasting Decisions CRTC 2017-143 to 2017-151 of May 15, 2017, renewed the broadcasting licences for the television services of large French-language ownership groups and large English-language ownership groups;

Whereas, subsequent to the making of the decisions to renew the broadcasting licences for the television services of large French-language ownership groups and large English-language ownership groups, the Governor in Council received petitions in writing requesting that the decisions be set aside or referred back to the Commission for reconsideration and hearing;

And whereas the Governor in Council, having considered the petitions, is satisfied that the decisions derogate from the attainment of the objectives of the broadcasting policy for Canada set out in subsection 3(1) of the Broadcasting Act (see footnote a), and in particular paragraph 3(1)(s) of that Act;

Therefore, His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Canadian Heritage, pursuant to section 28 of the Broadcasting Act (see footnote b),

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order.)

Proposal

To respond to petitions, pursuant to section 28 of the Broadcasting Act (the Act), requesting the Governor in Council to set aside or refer back to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (Commission) for reconsideration and hearing the decisions, contained in Broadcasting Decisions CRTC 2017-143 to 2017-151 of May 15, 2017, renewing the broadcasting licences for the television services of large French-language ownership groups and large English-language ownership groups.

Objectives

To communicate that the Governor in Council has decided to refer back to the Commission for reconsideration and hearing the decisions, contained in Broadcasting Decisions CRTC 2017-143 to 2017-151 of May 15, 2017, renewing the broadcasting licences for the television services of large French-language ownership groups and large English-language ownership groups.

Background

These broadcasting decisions were issued, following a public hearing held the week of November 22, 2016, for the French-language ownership groups — Bell Media Inc. (Bell), Corus Entertainment Inc. (Corus), Quebecor Media Inc. (QMi) and Groupe V Média inc. (V) — and the week of November 28, 2016, for the English-language ownership groups — Rogers Media Inc. (Rogers), Bell and Corus.

The decisions at issue covered all the major English- and French-language broadcasting groups, including 141 individual services.

Collectively, these decisions have been subject to 89 petitions asking the Governor in Council to set them aside or refer them back to the Commission for reconsideration and hearing.

The main issues raised in these petitions in respect of the English market were the reduction in the minimum expenditure requirements on programs of national interest (PNI), and the elimination of conditions of licence related to the funding of music programming, short films and short-form documentaries. The CRTC has defined PNI as including drama and comedy, long-form documentaries and specific Canadian award shows that celebrate Canadian creative talent. In respect of the French market, the main issues raised were the lack of requirements regarding original French-language programming and the elimination of conditions of licence related to the funding of music programming.

The Act stipulates that the Governor in Council may set aside or refer back for reconsideration and hearing a Commission decision to issue, amend or renew a broadcasting licence if the Governor in Council is satisfied that the decision derogates from the attainment of the objectives of the broadcasting policy set out in subsection 3(1) of the Act.

In this case, after having considered the petitions, the Governor in Council is satisfied that the broadcasting licensing decisions, contained in Broadcasting Decisions CRTC 2017-143 to 2017-151 of May 15, 2017, derogate from the attainment of the objectives of the broadcasting policy set out in subsection 3(1) of the Broadcasting Act, and in particular paragraph 3(1)(s) of that Act, which provides that “private networks and programming undertakings should, to an extent consistent with the financial and other resources available to them, (i) contribute significantly to the creation and presentation of Canadian programming, and (ii) be responsive to the evolving demands of the public.”

Therefore, pursuant to section 28 of the Broadcasting Act, the Governor in Council has referred those decisions back to the Commission for reconsideration and hearing.

Implications

As a result, the broadcasting licensing decisions contained in Broadcasting Decisions 2017-143 to 2017-151 are referred back to the Commission for reconsideration and hearing, and the Governor in Council is of the opinion that it is material to the reconsideration and hearing that the Commission

Departmental contact

Helen C. Kennedy
Director General
Broadcasting and Digital Communications Branch
Department of Canadian Heritage
Telephone: 819-997-7449