ARCHIVED -  Telecom Costs Order CRTC 96-31

Telecom Costs Order

Ottawa, 3 December 1996

Telecom Costs Order CRTC 96-31

In re: Tariffs for Educational and Health Service Entities - (Telecom Decision CRTC 96-9)

Reference: 1635-070

Application for costs by the Canadian Library Association (CLA).

Position of the Parties

On 22 March 1996, the CLA applied for costs for its participation in the above-mentioned proceeding. The CLA submitted that it has met the criteria set out in subsection 44(1) of the CRTC Telecommunications Rules of Procedure (the Rules), namely: it represents a group of subscribers that will likely be affected by the outcome of the proceeding, it has participated in a responsible way, and it has contributed to a better understanding of the issues by the Commission.

The CLA also submitted that it is a not-for-profit organization which represents public libraries. It submitted that it is an association funded by membership fees and self-generated revenues and that it does not receive annual operating grants from external sources. Although the CLA admitted that it was aware of an upcoming proceeding on preferential tariffs, it did not allocate a portion of its 1996 budget for participation in this proceeding because the hearing had not yet been announced at the time of budget creation and because the CLA was not yet aware of the scope of the proceeding and whether or not it would need to participate.

By letter dated 3 June 1996, Stentor Resource Centre Inc. (on behalf of its member companies, hereinafter referred to as Stentor) objected to the CLA's application for costs. Stentor argued that in the context of an application for costs, the CLA may be regarded as an organization which has, as a recognized function, participation in regulatory proceedings and that accordingly, a portion of its membership fees or annual budget should be deemed to be directed towards participation in this proceeding. In the alternative, Stentor submitted that an award of costs to the CLA should be limited to the reasonable costs incurred for the advice from an outside legal counsel and that no costs should be awarded for the expenses or the time of the CLA's Executive Director in these proceedings nor for administrative or routine expenses, such as for the "outside assistance with distributing materials to interested parties by fax".

By letter dated 1 April 1996, TELUS Communications (Edmonton) Inc. (TCEI) (formerly ED TEL) indicated that it did not object to an award of costs to the CLA despite TCEI's strong opposition, maintained throughout the proceeding, to libraries benefiting from preferential tariffs.

No other party commented on the CLA's application.

DIRECTION AS TO COSTS

1. The application of the CLA for an award of costs in the above-noted proceeding is hereby approved.

2. The Commission considers that the CLA's application satisfies the criteria set out in subsection 44(1) of the Rules.

3. The Commission is of the view that the exceptional nature of this proceeding must be considered in determining whether the CLA should be awarded costs for its participation. The Commission considers that this proceeding involved "special and unique circumstances" as contemplated in Telecom Costs Order CRTC 93-10 In re: AGT Limited (AGT) - Issues Related to Income Taxes. In this case, the "special and unique circumstances" stem from the fact that this proceeding was initiated by the Commission with a view to obtaining input from the educational and health services sector. Such a proceeding would have been infinitely less credible without the participation of service providers in these sectors.

4. In addition, the Commission took into account the fact that the CLA is a not-for-profit organization representing other not-for-profit organizations and the fact that, due to its lack of knowledge and experience in telecommunications regulatory proceedings, the CLA has had to incur expenses, such as for outside legal counsel, not normally incurred by it.

5. The Commission notes that Stentor objected to a costs award for the distribution of materials to interested parties and for the participation of the CLA's Executive Director in the proceedings. The Commission considers that a determination on this matter is best made at the taxation stage.

6. Costs awarded herein shall be paid to the CLA by Stentor (on behalf of its member companies), TCEI, Northwestel Inc. (Northwestel) and Telesat Canada (Telesat). The Commission considers that these are the appropriate respondents to this award for costs given that each was made party to the proceeding by the Commission.

7. Consistent with previous costs orders, costs shall be paid by the respondents in proportion to their operating revenues from telecommunications activities, as reported in each company's most recent audited financial statements. Accordingly, the contribution from each respondent shall be as follows:

Stentor 95.5%

TCEI 2.0%

Northwestel 0.9%

Telesat 1.6%

100%

8. Costs awarded herein shall be subject to taxation in accordance with the Rules.

9. Costs awarded herein shall be taxed by Ann Mainville-Neeson.

10. The CLA shall, within 30 days of the issue of this order, submit a Bill of Costs and an Affidavit of Disbursements to the Taxing Officer and serve a copy thereof on the respondents.

11. The respondents may, within two weeks of receipt of those documents, file comments with the Taxing Officer with respect to the costs claimed, and serve a copy thereof on the CLA.

12. The CLA may, within two weeks of receipt of any comments by the respondents, file a reply to the respondents' comments, serving a copy thereof on the respondents.

13. All documents to be filed or served by a specific date must be actually received, not merely mailed, by that date.

Allan J. Darling
Secretary General

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