Vicky Eatrides to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage

Ottawa, Ontario
November 23, 2023

Vicky Eatrides, Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)

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Introduction

Good morning and thank you for inviting us to appear before your Committee.

Before I begin my remarks, I would like to acknowledge that we are gathered on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishnaabeg people.

I am joined today by my colleagues Scott Shortliffe, Executive Director of Broadcasting, and Rachelle Frenette, General Counsel.

Let me quickly touch on three things before we get into questions. First, how the CRTC is set up. Second, the context within which we operate. And finally, how we are prioritizing our work.

How we’re set up

So, starting with how we’re set up. As you know, the CRTC is an independent, quasi-judicial tribunal that operates at arm’s length from government. We hold public hearings on telecommunications and broadcasting matters, and we make decisions based on the public record.

The Commission has nine members, including a Chair, a Vice-Chair for Telecommunications, a Vice-Chair for Broadcasting, and six Regional Commissioners who are located across the country.

And supporting the nine decision-makers is a team of expert staff, like my colleagues who are here with me today.

Context within which we operate

This brings me to the context within which we operate.

As we know, Canada’s communications sector touches every aspect of our daily lives. It’s the pathway that connects us to each other, to our communities, and to the world around us.

Since taking on my role earlier this year, I have had the privilege of meeting with and listening to a range of stakeholders from across the country and have heard about the importance of our communications sector.

Let me share a couple of examples.

In Whitehorse, we heard many stories about the state of communications in rural, remote and Indigenous communities.

We heard about one isolated community where students could not pivot to online learning during the pandemic because of a lack of connectivity. Their children lost one, two and three years of education.

Another example takes us 5,000 kilometers away from Whitehorse, to Halifax. As you know, there were devastating wildfires in the area over the summer. We heard first-hand about how community members relied on their local radio stations for real-time updates on the location of the fires and the need to evacuate.

We have heard many other stories from people across the country about the importance of our communications sector. And the CRTC has an important role to play in regulating the sector.

Areas of focus

That brings us to our areas of focus.

Earlier this year, we set out three priority areas for the CRTC. First, promoting competition to deliver reliable and high-quality Internet and cellphone services to Canadians at lower prices. Second, modernizing Canada’s broadcasting system to promote Canadian and Indigenous content. And third, improving the CRTC to better serve Canadians.

Let me briefly touch on each.

Promoting competition to deliver reliable and high-quality Internet and cellphone services to Canadians at lower prices

Starting with telecommunications. We are taking action to increase choice and affordability for Canadians, while supporting investment in high-quality networks.

A good example of how we are advancing this work is our approach to cellphone competition. In May, the CRTC established rules that allow regional competitors to compete across Canada as mobile virtual network operators using the networks of large cellphone companies. With this access, regional providers can expand their reach and offer Canadians more choice.

But our approach provides access as only a transitional step. Regional providers can use it now, but they must build out their own networks within seven years.

Our work is already showing results. Canadians can go online today and find offers from both regional and national players that weren’t there a year ago.

These early improvements are an indication that we are moving in the right direction in cellphone services competition, and we are working toward promoting competition for Internet services as well.

In March, we launched a proceeding on the Internet services market to increase competition, create more choice and lower prices.

Earlier this month, we released an initial decision as part of this proceeding. On a temporary and expedited basis, the CRTC is providing competitors with a workable way to sell Internet services using the fibre-to-the-home networks of large telephone companies in the provinces where competition has declined most significantly. We are continuing our work on this proceeding and will be holding a public hearing in February.

We have a lot of other work underway on the telecommunications front. We are advancing a consultation aimed at enhancing the reliability of Canada’s networks, and we are continuing to fund projects in rural, remote and Indigenous communities through our Broadband Fund.

So that’s some of what we are doing in telecommunications.

Modernizing Canada’s broadcasting system to promote Canadian and Indigenous content

As you know, we are also busy on the broadcasting side.

Parliament has given us a mandate through the Online Streaming Act to set up a modern broadcasting framework.

The changes that are needed to implement the modernized Broadcasting Act are substantial and complex. There are many interconnected issues to be addressed.

In May, we published a plan that sets out our phased approach to modernizing the regulatory framework.

As part of this plan, we launched four initial consultations. In response, we have received over 600 submissions -- many of them long and detailed, and all of them showing that people are highly engaged.

The first consultation looked at which online streaming services need to provide basic information, while the second looked at basic conditions of service.

The third consultation involves our regime for fees, which recovers the CRTC’s costs of regulating the industry.

And the fourth consultation looks at the contributions that players need to make to support the broadcasting system.

We are currently on Day 4 of a three-week public hearing on this consultation. We have heard from roughly 20 intervenors so far, and look forward to hearing from over a hundred more.

During this hearing, we are exploring whether streaming services should be asked to make an initial contribution -- what we call a base contribution -- to the Canadian content system.

We are also asking whether this would help level the playing field with Canadian companies who are already required to support Canadian content.

If streaming services are asked to make this contribution, we are seeking views on where it should go. We have existing funds. Should the base contribution go there, elsewhere, or be considered in a different way altogether? And could these contributions be used to create a system that empowers more voices from different communities?

Through our hearing, we are building a robust and diverse public record that will enable us to make decisions in the public interest.

As you know, we have also been given another mandate by Parliament this year.

The Online News Act requires us to set up a bargaining framework for fair negotiations between news organizations in Canada and the largest online platforms.

We have published our regulatory plan, and will launch a public consultation soon to gather views.

Improving the CRTC to better serve Canadians

Our third area of focus is more behind the scenes, and that is improving the CRTC to better serve Canadians.

We have heard directly from people that the CRTC needs to move quickly and transparently, given the impact our decisions have on consumers, businesses and the Canadian economy.

We’ve listened, and we’re becoming a faster and more transparent Commission. We’re doing more to engage with Canadians. We’re clearing backlogs. We’re looking at our internal processes to see how we can do better. And we’re dealing with applications in a more timely way.

We are making progress and we’ll continue to improve to better serve Canadians.

Conclusion

So I’ve covered a lot in ten minutes.

Let me just conclude on an earlier thought, which is that Canada’s communications sector touches every aspect of our daily lives.

We understand the importance and impact of our work, and the CRTC will continue to work hard to connect Canadians through technology and culture.

Thank you again for inviting us to appear before you today. We appreciate the opportunity and look forward to your questions.