CRTC - Soon to be obsolete

[August1991]

You may hear that the big phone companies won a major victory. You may even see a change in your monthly phone bill.

Ignore all this.

Maxime Bernier took the right, momentous decision.

Canada's established phone companies have won their longstanding fight for less regulation of their local phone business — a move the telcos say will benefit consumers.

On Monday, Industry Minister Maxime Bernier gave BCE (Bell Canada), Telus and the country's other incumbent telcos the power to set their own prices, as long as there is sufficient competition in the local area.

CBC

That's how the CBC would choose to present this decision.

I would say rather that my vote for the Conservatives has been vindicated and only a Conservative minister from Quebec could do this. Dion Liberals couldn't. Whatever Harper's government does in its short mandate, this decision implies the greatest long term effects for Canada.

Hats off to Bernier.

[Remiel]

How would you translate this into a similar decision on the CRTCs other concerns, because I imagine you were thinking about what this meant for those too?

What would the equivalent decision be in television for instance, of continuing to regulate markets with too little competition, in your mind?

(I'll admit I'm still completely biased in favour of keeping the CRTC. Now, if it turns out they didn't approve the Anime Channel (a decision I am told will not be released for a while, yet), then maybe I will start looking at it with a more critical eye. Fair? No. Reality? Yes. )

[White Doors]

They are already obsolete - they keep reaffirming that everytime they rule on the opposite of various competition committees rulings. This decision will help productivity in Canada. Landmark and the correct choice.

Hopefully the CRTC is gone the way of the dodo bird soon.

[M.Dancer]

So in other words the tekcos will now have the power to raise your bill to what ever tickles their fancy. You will see that services that were optional will now be standard....and you get to pay for them!

Yeah that sounds like the Tory MO

[White Doors]

I have over 400 channels on my satellite. Not sure where you are getting the idea that there is no competition in TV?

[Charles Anthony]

So in other words the tekcos will now have the power to raise your bill to what ever tickles their fancy. You will see that services that were optional will now be standard....and you get to pay for them!

God forbid anybody should pay for what they get!

Forget about prices. We may also see more demand being met. God forbid we should let a market meet demand!

Maybe we should regulate the video arcade industry or the pool-hall industry or the dog-walking industry. We certainly would not want to see prices meet demand in any of those markets either. Regulate! Those are essential services!

[Remiel]

I think M.Dancer is insinuating that they will try to exceed demand and then force people to pay for the excess, Charles. Not that it will happen, but its theoretically possible.

[watching&waiting]

The CRTC has been a place where the governments make appointments of those party faithful that were to be awarded something for their support. I am glad that it will be gone and yes it will easily save the tax payer money. I would give Harper the Kudos for this as it was really nothing more that a pork barrel for most of the past governments. There are many more departments that will meet the same end after a while, and to that end I will say it is in keeping with the reduced government size without reducing services. This is a good thing.

[Charles Anthony]

I think M.Dancer is insinuating that they will try to exceed demand and then force people to pay for the excess, Charles. Not that it will happen, but its theoretically possible.

Why is that a problem??

Everytime I pick up a newspaper or go out for dinner or buy practically anything, I get 99% excess demand.

I would give Harper the Kudos for this as it was really nothing more that a pork barrel for most of the past governments.

I agree. Keep chopping away.

[M.Dancer]

So in other words the tekcos will now have the power to raise your bill to what ever tickles their fancy. You will see that services that were optional will now be standard....and you get to pay for them!

God forbid anybody should pay for what they get!

Forget about prices. We may also see more demand being met. God forbid we should let a market meet demand!

Maybe we should regulate the video arcade industry or the pool-hall industry or the dog-walking industry. We certainly would not want to see prices meet demand in any of those markets either. Regulate! Those are essential services!

What you mean to say, {unless you work for Bell, Shaw or Rogers} God forbid we pay for what we didn't ask for. I had a fellow call me last week (at dinner time of course) said he would reduce my phone bill to less than $30. a month. I said that would be a neat trick, getting money back. He asked me my bill I said under 30 per month. Don't I have call waiting? No. Don't I have voice messsaging? Call forwarding?

No, no and no.

Mark my words, if they aren't leashed by the CRTC, Canadians will get those services and pay for them whether they want them or not. The only bone given to consumers is they will have a choice of which phone company gets to screw them.

[Charles Anthony]

I said that would be a neat trick, getting money back. He asked me my bill I said under 30 per month. Don't I have call waiting? No. Don't I have voice messsaging? Call forwarding?

No, no and no.

Help me: how did the CRTC help you??

Mark my words, if they aren't leashed by the CRTC, Canadians will get those services and pay for them whether they want them or not.

Let me know when it happens.

Maybe we can lodge a complaint with the Pencil Manufacturering Marketing Board saying: We did not ask for erasers on the ends of these products!

[M.Dancer]

I said that would be a neat trick, getting money back. He asked me my bill I said under 30 per month. Don't I have call waiting? No. Don't I have voice messsaging? Call forwarding?

No, no and no.

Help me: how did the CRTC help you??

Mark my words, if they aren't leashed by the CRTC, Canadians will get those services and pay for them whether they want them or not.

Let me know when it happens.

Maybe we can lodge a complaint with the Pencil Manufacturering Marketing Board saying: We did not ask for erasers on the ends of these products!

I take it then you are a fan of negative billing......

[Saturn]

Yes, the relaxation of the rules will sure benefit Canadians, which is why the industry is bribing the politicians involved:

The controversy unfolded on Tuesday...when NDP Canadian Heritage critic Charlie Angus noted that Oda was planning a major fundraiser in Toronto sponsored by the head of regulatory affairs for CanWest, one of the country's largest media companies. The fundraiser, which directly targeted the broadcast community, was to have featured Industry Minister Maxime Bernier, Oda's cabinet partner on broadcast and copyright policy matters.

With a broadcast regulatory review in the offing, Angus pulled no punches in stating that "the broadcast review happens in two weeks. The cash grab happens next week. Why is the minister using her office to trade political access for political contributions?"

Oda responded by arguing that the fundraiser was fully compliant with Canadian law. Hours later, she abruptly canceled the fundraiser, with a spokesperson indicating that Oda wanted "to avoid any negative perception." Under legislation introduced this past spring by the Conservatives, such a fundraiser would be banned starting next year.

Despite the cancellation, questions about Oda's fundraising practices persisted throughout the week. On Friday, Angus noted that Corus Entertainment was host to another Oda fundraiser in 2005. Angus linked the fundraiser, which raised $15,000, to the current search for the next chair of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (current chair Charles Dalfen has announced that he is not seeking a second term), sarcastically asking whether "passing the hat around a boardroom table constitutes a fair assessment process for choosing the next head of the CRTC?"

In fact, further investigation into Oda's past campaign financing demonstrates that the close ties between Oda and industry lobbyists may run deeper than even Angus realized.

According to Elections Canada data, Oda held a similar fundraiser in May 2004 — before she was even elected to the House of Commons — that attracted enormous corporate support from the broadcast industry including Alliance Atlantis, Astral, CanWest, and CHUM, as well as from more than a dozen senior executives from major broadcast and cable companies.

Once elected, the support continued. With Oda installed as the Conservative Canadian Heritage critic, her riding association last year reported contributions from a veritable who's who of broadcast and copyright lobby groups and companies. These include broadcasters (Corus, Vision TV), cable companies (Rogers, Shaw, and Cogeco), record companies (Sony, Universal, Warner, EMI), and copyright lobby groups (Canadian Recording Industry Association, Canadian Motion Pictures Distributors Association, Entertainment Software Association).

Moreover, as the odds-on favourite to become the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Oda accepted thousands of dollars from broadcasting and copyright interests during the most recent election campaign, with her two largest contributions coming from individuals linked to two industry giants — Rogers and Standard Radio.

While there have been no allegations that the fundraising was not fully compliant with the law, it does raise the potential for repeated questions about the fairness and impartiality of the policy process. Oda enjoyed a long and distinguished career in the broadcasting industry before entering politics, yet her close ties to lobby groups will unquestionably cause some discomfort for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who has emphasized greater government accountability and reduced influence of well-heeled lobby groups.

Moreover, should the government proceed with a major broadcast review or introduce new copyright legislation, Oda's fundraising practices will likely come to the fore as critics wonder aloud whether those groups obtained political access and exercised greater influence over the policy process.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentSe...id=968350072197

[Figleaf]

You may hear that the big phone companies won a major victory. You may even see a change in your monthly phone bill.

Ignore all this.

Maxime Bernier took the right, momentous decision.

Canada's established phone companies have won their longstanding fight for less regulation of their local phone business — a move the telcos say will benefit consumers.

On Monday, Industry Minister Maxime Bernier gave BCE (Bell Canada), Telus and the country's other incumbent telcos the power to set their own prices, as long as there is sufficient competition in the local area.

CBC

That's how the CBC would choose to present this decision.

I would say rather that my vote for the Conservatives has been vindicated and only a Conservative minister from Quebec could do this. Dion Liberals couldn't. Whatever Harper's government does in its short mandate, this decision implies the greatest long term effects for Canada.

Hats off to Bernier.

Well, time will bear out whether this benefits the customer or not. But when such policy choices are made, they should also be accompanied by removal of artificial barriers to entry as well. Do you know what the current competitive status is? Can any Canadian company work anywhere? Can US phone companies serve us? If these restraints remain in place, then Bernier's policy will not really be fair to consumers.

[Saturn]

You may hear that the big phone companies won a major victory. You may even see a change in your monthly phone bill.

Ignore all this.

Maxime Bernier took the right, momentous decision.

Canada's established phone companies have won their longstanding fight for less regulation of their local phone business — a move the telcos say will benefit consumers.

On Monday, Industry Minister Maxime Bernier gave BCE (Bell Canada), Telus and the country's other incumbent telcos the power to set their own prices, as long as there is sufficient competition in the local area.

CBC

That's how the CBC would choose to present this decision.

I would say rather that my vote for the Conservatives has been vindicated and only a Conservative minister from Quebec could do this. Dion Liberals couldn't. Whatever Harper's government does in its short mandate, this decision implies the greatest long term effects for Canada.

Hats off to Bernier.

Well, time will bear out whether this benefits the customer or not. But when such policy choices are made, they should also be accompanied by removal of artificial barriers to entry as well. Do you know what the current competitive status is? Can any Canadian company work anywhere? Can US phone companies serve us? If these restraints remain in place, then Bernier's policy will not really be fair to consumers.

No, but that's what conservative policy on "competition" amounts to: Let the private monopolies run things the way they want and then "argue" that this will somehow benefit the consumer.

[Charles Anthony]

I take it then you are a fan of negative billing......

That is beside the point. I am waiting for an argument that defends the need for the CRTC....

[M.Dancer]

I take it then you are a fan of negative billing......

That is beside the point. I am waiting for an argument that defends the need for the CRTC....

It is precisely the point. Is negative billing allowed today?

[Charles Anthony]

It is precisely the point. Is negative billing allowed today?

I do not care. Can you explain:

1) what is wrong with negative billing

2) why we need the CRTC to regulate negative billing

?

[M.Dancer]

It is precisely the point. Is negative billing allowed today?

I do not care. Can you explain:

1) what is wrong with negative billing

2) why we need the CRTC to regulate negative billing

?

aside from unethical? If you don't understand the concept, google.

[Charles Anthony]

aside from unethical?

No, not aside from the unethical.

Please explain the ethical need for the CRTC.

[hiti]

More Steve mo.......... paying more, getting scr**ed over by the big guy. Time to go vontage.

[August1991]

Yes, the relaxation of the rules will sure benefit Canadians, which is why the industry is bribing the politicians involved...

Saturn, I don't know what you are trying to argue with that post quoting some academic who quoted extensively the NDP critic Charlie Angus on broadcasting.

The fact is the telecoms are amongst the biggest schmoozers in the business. Rogers and Bell and the others played both sides of the street contributing both to the Liberals and the Tories. They all have former senior civil servants in their ranks, often with experience from the CRTC.

If you are trying to suggest that the telecoms are influencing government policy, you're about 40 years too late.

The CRTC does not exist to protect the consumer. It exists to protect the telecom industry.

Bernier has signaled that this protection racket is about to end.

Hold the phone.

In the eyes of the Tory government, that's exactly what the CRTC has been doing for far too long. And federal Industry Minister Maxime Bernier acted aggressively yesterday to change all that in the name of the Canadian consumer.

Clearly impatient with the pace of deregulation under the aegis of the federal regulator, Mr. Bernier has effectively seized the file from the CRTC, unilaterally opening local telephone markets across Canada to unfettered competition.

Ottawa Citizen

Modern technology means that there is an abundance of competition in all the various media markets. If the CRTC ever had a reason for being, it certainly does not have one now.

[Saturn]

Yes, the relaxation of the rules will sure benefit Canadians, which is why the industry is bribing the politicians involved...

Saturn, I don't know what you are trying to argue with that post quoting some academic who quoted extensively the NDP critic Charlie Angus on broadcasting.

The fact is the telecoms are amongst the biggest schmoozers in the business. Rogers and Bell and the others played both sides of the street contributing both to the Liberals and the Tories. They all have former senior civil servants in their ranks, often with experience from the CRTC.

If you are trying to suggest that the telecoms are influencing government policy, you're about 40 years too late.

The CRTC does not exist to protect the consumer. It exists to protect the telecom industry.

Bernier has signaled that this protection racket is about to end.

Hold the phone.

In the eyes of the Tory government, that's exactly what the CRTC has been doing for far too long. And federal Industry Minister Maxime Bernier acted aggressively yesterday to change all that in the name of the Canadian consumer.

Clearly impatient with the pace of deregulation under the aegis of the federal regulator, Mr. Bernier has effectively seized the file from the CRTC, unilaterally opening local telephone markets across Canada to unfettered competition.

Ottawa Citizen

Modern technology means that there is an abundance of competition in all the various media markets. If the CRTC ever had a reason for being, it certainly does not have one now.

The CRTC does not exist to protect the consumer. But the consumer still has some minor influence over the CRTC through voting and opponents to the industry have someone to lobby too. The removal of the CRTC means that voters will have absolutely zero influence over it and the consumer will the stuck with and forced to consume the BS the industry shoves down our throats.

[White Doors]

You may hear that the big phone companies won a major victory. You may even see a change in your monthly phone bill.

Ignore all this.

Maxime Bernier took the right, momentous decision.

Canada's established phone companies have won their longstanding fight for less regulation of their local phone business — a move the telcos say will benefit consumers.

On Monday, Industry Minister Maxime Bernier gave BCE (Bell Canada), Telus and the country's other incumbent telcos the power to set their own prices, as long as there is sufficient competition in the local area.

CBC

That's how the CBC would choose to present this decision.

I would say rather that my vote for the Conservatives has been vindicated and only a Conservative minister from Quebec could do this. Dion Liberals couldn't. Whatever Harper's government does in its short mandate, this decision implies the greatest long term effects for Canada.

Hats off to Bernier.

Well, time will bear out whether this benefits the customer or not. But when such policy choices are made, they should also be accompanied by removal of artificial barriers to entry as well. Do you know what the current competitive status is? Can any Canadian company work anywhere? Can US phone companies serve us? If these restraints remain in place, then Bernier's policy will not really be fair to consumers.

In what way will more competition not be 'fair' to consumers?

[White Doors]

You may hear that the big phone companies won a major victory. You may even see a change in your monthly phone bill.

Ignore all this.

Maxime Bernier took the right, momentous decision.

Canada's established phone companies have won their longstanding fight for less regulation of their local phone business — a move the telcos say will benefit consumers.

On Monday, Industry Minister Maxime Bernier gave BCE (Bell Canada), Telus and the country's other incumbent telcos the power to set their own prices, as long as there is sufficient competition in the local area.

CBC

That's how the CBC would choose to present this decision.

I would say rather that my vote for the Conservatives has been vindicated and only a Conservative minister from Quebec could do this. Dion Liberals couldn't. Whatever Harper's government does in its short mandate, this decision implies the greatest long term effects for Canada.

Hats off to Bernier.

Well, time will bear out whether this benefits the customer or not. But when such policy choices are made, they should also be accompanied by removal of artificial barriers to entry as well. Do you know what the current competitive status is? Can any Canadian company work anywhere? Can US phone companies serve us? If these restraints remain in place, then Bernier's policy will not really be fair to consumers.

No, but that's what conservative policy on "competition" amounts to: Let the private monopolies run things the way they want and then "argue" that this will somehow benefit the consumer.

So you are in favour of the government reulate how much you pay for your phone service?

Let me ask you this - Did you pay mroe or less for Long distance calls before competition or after?