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ARCHIVED -  Notice of Public Hearing CRTC 1999-8-1

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Notice of Public Hearing

See also : 1999-8

Ottawa, 25 October 1999
Notice of Public Hearing CRTC 1999-8-1
HULL, QUEBEC
Further to its Notice of Public Hearing CRTC 1999-8 dated 9 September 1999 relating to a public hearing in Hull, Quebec, the Commission announces the following:
THE WIC APPLICATIONS, SUMMARIZED BELOW, ARE ADJOURNED TO THE 6 DECEMBER 1999 PUBLIC HEARING TO BE HELD IN HULL, QUEBEC (INITIATED BY NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING 1999-10).
THE COMMISSION NOTES THAT IF CERTAIN DOCUMENTS (see below) ARE FILED BY, RESPECTIVELY, 1 NOVEMBER 1999 AND 1 DECEMBER 1999, THE COMMISSION WILL FURTHER ADJOURN THE WIC APPLICATIONS SO THAT BOTH THEY, AND SUBSEQUENT APPLICATIONS RELATING TO WIC, MAY BE HEARD TOGETHER AT A PUBLIC HEARING TO BE SCHEDULED IN APRIL 2000.
Related Document: Notice of Public Hearing 1999-10-4, 25 October 1999
Summary of Applications
a) Application (199900923) by WIC Western International Communications Ltd. (WIC) for authority to effect a change in ownership. If authority is granted, Shaw or an affiliate would be permitted to hold directly or indirectly 372,902.5 of WIC's class A voting shares. This would represent 49.96% of these shares.
b) Application (199902250) by WIC for authority to effect a change in ownership. If authority is granted, Shaw or an affiliate would be permitted to hold directly or indirectly 9,877,841 of WIC's class B non-voting shares. This would represent 52% of these shares.
Background to the adjournment
On 5 March 1999, the Commission published Notice of Public Hearing 1999-2 for a hearing to be held on 3 May 1999 in Vancouver. At that time, the Commission was to hear the applications from WIC for authority to effect changes to its ownership.
On 1 April 1999, the Commission published Notice of Public Hearing1999-2-3 to advise that the Commission had withdrawn the WIC applications from the 3 May hearing in light of ongoing negotiations between Shaw Communications Inc. (Shaw) and CanWest Global Communications Corp. (CanWest) with respect to WIC and its assets.
On 9 September, in Notice of Public Hearing 1999-8, the Commission noted that WIC's applications raise important regulatory issues that require resolution in a timely fashion. Consequently, as the Commission had not had, for many months, any firm indication that an agreement had been reached between Shaw and CanWest, the Commission scheduled the applications for consideration at a public hearing on 26 October 1999 in Hull.
On 12 October 1999, CanWest, Shaw and Corus Entertainment Inc. (Corus) (collectively, the Parties) wrote to the Commission advising that they have resolved all of the significant commercial issues outstanding among them with respect to the WIC transactions. The Parties noted that matters were settled on 3 October 1999 through commercial agreements set out in a memorandum of that date. They indicated that while the transaction is a complex one, they will be in a position to execute the necessary definitive agreement by 1 November 1999 (the Definitive Agreement). They undertook to file the appropriate applications for the Commission's approval no later than 1 December 1999 (the Applications).
In light of these developments, the Parties submitted that the 26 October 1999 public hearing should be suspended pending the filing of the Applications, which, they submitted, represent "the complete resolution to WIC's current ownership issues". WIC and Cathton Holdings Ltd. supported the Parties' request by separate letters dated 12 October 1999.
On 15 October 1999, the Commission issued a decision letter adjourning the WIC applications. The Commission stated that, in the circumstances:
"... the Commission has decided to adjourn the hearing of Application Nos. 199900923 and 199902250 (the WIC Applications) to the public hearing commencing 6 December 1999 in Hull, Quebec. If an executed copy of the Definitive Agreement is filed with the Commission by 1 November 1999, and if the Applications are filed with the Commission by 1 December 1999, then the Commission will further adjourn the WIC Applications so that both they, and the Applications, may be heard together at a public hearing to be scheduled in April 2000".
Secretary General

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