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ARCHIVED -  Public Notice CRTC 1999-60

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Public Notice CRTC 1999-60

Ottawa, 13 April 1999

Call for comments on the use of trust arrangements

1. In Notice of Public Hearing CRTC 1999-2, the Commission announced that it would hold a public hearing in Vancouver beginning on 3 May 1999 to consider, among other things, applications by WIC Western Communication Ltd (WIC) to effect a change in ownership. Approval of these applications would permit Shaw Communications Inc. to hold 49.6% of WIC’s class A voting shares and approximately 52% of WIC’s class B non-voting shares. The Commission later withdrew the WIC applications from the Vancouver hearing (Notice of Public Hearing 1999-2-3).

2. In Notice of Public Hearing 1999-2, the Commission also indicated that it was seeking comments on the use of trust arrangements generally. The Commission considers that it is appropriate to seek such comments on this matter at this time.

3. To date, the Commission has approved trust arrangements on a case-by-case basis and in exceptional circumstances. Generally, trust arrangements are given prior approval when parties are acquiring shares of publicly-traded companies in advance of seeking the Commission's approval to effect the transaction. Such arrangements help ensure compliance with applicable securities law while still maintaining the integrity of the Commission’s regulatory process. However, in other recent cases, the Commission has been asked to approve trust arrangements that did not involve publicly-traded companies.

4. The Commission is interested in receiving written comments concerning the use of trust arrangements, the circumstances under which such arrangements, rather than conditional purchase and sale agreements, would be acceptable, and whether there are particular criteria which should be met in order to obtain prior approval.

5. The Commission will accept comments that it receives on or before 28 May 1999.

6. The Commission will not formally acknowledge written comments. It will, however, fully consider all comments and they will form part of the public record of the proceeding, provided that the procedures for filing set out below have been followed.

Procedures for filing comments

7. Interested parties should send their comments to the Secretary General, CRTC, Ottawa, K1A ON2.

• Parties must file all submissions in "hard copy format" (i.e. on paper).

• Comments longer than five pages should include a summary.

8. The Commission also encourages parties to file electronic versions of their comments by e-mail or on diskette. The Commission’s e-mail address for electronically filed documents is Public.broadcasting@crtc.gc.ca

• Electronic submissions should be in the HTML format. As an alternative, those making submissions may use "Microsoft Word" for text and "Microsoft Excel" for spreadsheets.

• Please number each paragraph of the comment. In addition, please enter the line ***End of Document*** following the last paragraph. This will help the Commission to verify that the document has not been damaged during transmission.

9. The Commission will make comments filed in electronic form available on its web site at www.crtc.gc.ca in the official language and format in which they are submitted. This will make it easier for members of the public to consult the documents.

Examination of public comments and related documents at the following Commission offices during normal business hours

Central Building                   Les Terrasses de la Chaudière 1 Promenade du Portage, Room G-5                           Hull, Quebec                        K1A ON2                             Tel: (819) 997-2429              TDD: 994-0423          Telecopier: (819) 994-0218

Bank of Commerce Building   Suite 1007                            1809 Barrington Street     Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 3K8                                      Tel: (902) 426-7997  -       TDD: 426-6997                    Telecopier: (902) 426-2721

Place Montréal Trust              1800 McGill College Avenue  Suite 1920                   Montréal, Quebec              H3A 3J6                               Tel: (514) 283-6607 -         TDD: 283-8316          Telecopier: (514) 283-3689

Kensington Building             Suite 1810                            275 Portage Avenue         Winnipeg, Manitoba              R3B 2B3                               Tel: (204) 983-6306 -        TDD: 983-8274             Telecopier: (204) 983-6317

530-580 Hornby Street         Vancouver, British Columbia V6C 3B6                              Tel: (604) 666-2111 -        TDD: 666-0778            Telecopier: (604) 666-8322

CRTC Documentation Centre                                    55 St. Clair Avenue East    Suite 624                    Toronto, Ontario                 M4T 1M2                     Telephone: (416) 952-9096   Telecopier: (416) 954-6343

CRTC Documentation Centre Cornwall Professional Building                              Room 103                         2125, 11th Avenue           Regina, Saskatchewan         S4P 3X3                        Telephone: (306) 780-3422  Telecopier: (306) 780-3319

Secretary General

This notice is available in alternative format upon request, and may also be viewed at the following Internet site: http://www.crtc.gc.ca

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