ARCHIVED - Telecom - Commission letter
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LetterOttawa, 6 August 2008 BY E-MAIL File No.: 8690-B62-200805286 Me André Lavoie Mr. Ted Woodhead Re: Expedited procedure for a dispute between the Ville de Baie-Comeau and TELUS Communications Company The Commission hereby acknowledges receipt of the letter from the Ville de Baie-Comeau (Baie-Comeau) dated 29 July 2008 requesting the disclosure of information filed in confidence with the Commission by TELUS Communications Company (TCC) and the response of TCC to this request, dated 31 July 2008 . In its letter, Baie-Comeau requests that the Commission order TCC to disclose appendices 10 and 14 of the argument [1] that TCC submitted to the Commission in confidence. Baie-Comeau argues that TCC's policy on cost sharing (Appendix 10) would be in the public interest and that Baie-Comeau should be allowed to know what the policy is and be allowed to comment on certain claims made by TCC in this respect. Baie-Comeau also states that not having access to Appendix 14 prevents it from being able to comment on the soundness of the agreements entered into with these municipalities. In its response, TCC maintains that Appendix 10 contains confidential financial and technical information. TCC adds that the detailed information in Appendix 11 is sufficient to allow Baie-Comeau to comment on the application of this internal policy in this case. As for Appendix 14, TCC is of the opinion that the disclosure of agreements reached with clients/parties not party to this proceeding is not in the public interest and does not outweigh the potential harm that their disclosure could cause TCC and its clients. In both cases, TCC is of the opinion that this information should not be disclosed to Baie-Comeau or to any other party. Commission staff notes that requests for disclosure of information for which confidentiality has been claimed are assessed in light of sections 38 and 39 of the Telecommunciations Act and section 19 of the Rules of Procedure of the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission . For each request, the public interest in disclosure is weighed against the specific direct harm, if any, likely to result from disclosure. In so doing, Commission staff takes a number of factors into account. The degree of competition that exists in a particular market is an important consideration in assessing requests for disclosure. All things being equal, the greater the degree of competition in a particular market, the greater the specific direct harm that could be expected to result from disclosure. Another factor in assessing the extent of harm is the expected usefulness of the information at issue to parties in furthering their competitive position. In this regard, an important consideration is the degree to which the information at issue is disaggregated. Generally speaking, the more aggregated the information, the less the likelihood that harm will flow from its disclosure. The expectation that specific direct harm might result from disclosure is not, by itself, sufficient to justify maintaining a claim of confidentiality. In certain circumstances, substantial harm from disclosure may still be outweighed by the public interest in disclosure. Finally, Commission staff notes that confidentiality requests are treated on a case by case basis, and should not be taken as an indication of the manner in which such matters would be dealt with by the Commission in the future. In light of the above and the explanations provided in attached appendix, Commission staff is of the opinion that it is in the public's interest to place on the public record the information contained in the appendices. Since Commission staff proposes to place on the public record more information than initially requested by Baie-Comeau, Baie-Comeau and TCC have until 11 August 2008 to demonstrate the specific direct harm that would justify opposing the disclosure proposed by Commission staff. Yours sincerely, Acting Director Original signed by Mario Bertrand [1] Dated 25 July 2009
Date Modified: 2008-08-12 |
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