ARCHIVED - Letter

Ottawa, 22 April 2009

By E-mail

Applicant

Mr. Jean Brazeau
Vice President, Telecommunication Regulatory Affairs
Shaw Cablesystems Limited
Suite 900, 630-3rd Avenue S.W.
Calgary, Alberta T2P 4L4
regulatory@sjrb.ca

Respondent

Mr. Ted Woodhead
Vice President Telecom Policy & Regulatory Affairs
TELUS Communications Company
215 Slater Street, Suite 800
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 0A6
regulatory.affairs@telus.com

Dear Mr. Brazeau and Mr. Woodhead:

Re: Part VII application by Shaw Cablesystems Limited (Shaw) seeking an order directing TELUS Communications Company (TCC) to provide Support Structure Service in various British Columbia Communities

On 23 September 2008, the Commission received a Part VII application by Shaw requesting that the Commission direct TCC to provide support structure service to Shaw in accordance with the Commission-approved General Tariff and the Support Structure License Agreement (SSA) between Shaw and TCC in the areas previously served by four cable systems that Shaw acquired in 2007 (the Acquired Systems[1]). Shaw further requested that the Commission deal with this application on an expedited basis, arguing that its inability to access support structures was having a material impact on the company’s operations and customers in the acquired systems.

Following submissions by both parties, TCC indicated by letter dated 27 November 2008 that all outstanding applications for support structure service in respect to the Acquired Systems had been processed by TCC. Given this, by letter dated 14 January 2009 Commission staff closed the file pertaining to Shaw’s application.

On 26 January 2009, the Commission received a letter from Shaw asserting that TCC continued to refuse to provide access to support structures in the system formerly served by Wood Lake Cable. Shaw requested that the Commission re-open the file and render a formal determination on the issues raised in Shaw’s Part VII application. Shaw further requested that the Commission move as quickly as possible to render a decision on the application.

In reply, TCC indicated by letter on 2 February 2009 that it did not object to the Commission’s re-opening of the file.

By letter issued 18 February 2009, Commission staff re-opened the file and addressed interrogatories to Shaw and TCC, which both parties provided answer to on 2 March 2009.

Oral Public Hearing

After reviewing the submissions received and in light of the issues raised by the parties in their submissions, it is considered that an oral public hearing would assist the Commission to render a final determination. Accordingly, the Commission will hold an oral public hearing on Monday, June 1, 2009 at 10am (Eastern Daylight Time) to adjudicate, in accordance with the expedited process established in Broadcasting and Telecom Information Bulletin CRTC 2009-38 the dispute between Shaw and TCC regarding Shaw’s access to TCC support structures in the Acquired Systems.  This matter will be referred to a panel of three Commissioners.

Given that this is a bilateral dispute, participation in the oral public hearing will be limited to Shaw and TCC.

Order of the Proceeding

The attached agenda outlines the expected process for the oral public hearing.

Responsibilities of the Parties

The parties are required to bring with them all relevant documentation and knowledgeable personnel. An adverse inference may be drawn from the failure of a party to bring all relevant documentation and knowledgeable personnel to the oral hearing.

For ease of translation and transcription, parties are requested to bring ten copies of any written opening and closing remarks.

The parties are also required to provide to Ms. Sheila Perron, at sheila.perron@crtc.gc.ca, and serve on each other, at least 10 days prior to the hearing, the name(s) of the person(s) who will be attending the hearing and their area of expertise.

Filing of Documents

No later than 5PM EST on 7 May 2009, the Applicant and the Respondent shall each file with the Commission and serve on each other, a document consisting of a concise argument stating all the facts, Commission requirements and regulatory decisions and, if applicable, decisions of the Courts relied upon in supporting their respective positions. This document shall be no longer than 10 pages in length. The parties may file or reference as an attachment a copy of pertinent written material upon which they rely, including material previously filed in this proceeding, Commission determinations, and any other documentation published by the Commission. The Commission may request further information from one or both parties before or at the oral hearing. The Commission will not accept the filing at the hearing of documentation that has not been requested.

All documents should be filed electronically via the Commission’s website at www.crtc.gc.ca.

Confidentiality

Where a party designates information filed with the Commission as confidential, it must provide the reasons for its claim for confidentiality at the time it files the information with the Commission and file an abridged version of the document for the public record. If it chooses to do so, the other party (the requesting party) has two days to make representations to the Commission, clearly stating why it considers that the disclosure of the information filed in confidence is in the public interest, serving a copy on the party claiming confidentiality. The party claiming confidentiality will have one day to file a reply, serving a copy on the requesting party.

Where a party designates information filed with the Commission as confidential for the public record but has provided the confidential information to the other party, the party claiming confidentiality must file an abridged copy for the public record.

Other

The hearing will be held in Salon Réal Therrien, 7th floor of the Central Building, Terrasses de la Chaudière, 1 Promenade du Portage, Gatineau, Quebec.

Parties may contact Mr. Gerry Lylyk, Director Dispute Resolution, at (819) 953-0434, or at gerald.lylyk@crtc.gc.ca, if they require additional information regarding the organization and conduct of the hearing.

Verbatim transcripts of the hearing, abridged if necessary, will be kept and posted on the Commission's web site.

Where a document is to be filed or served by a specific date, the document must be actually received, and not merely sent, by that date.

Yours sincerely,

Original signed by

Gerry Lylyk
Director
Dispute Resolution

CC: K. Taylor, CRTC,
kathleen.taylor@crtc.gc.ca
K. Pickell, CRTC
kevin.pickell@crtc.gc.ca
A. Stewart, CRTC
alastair.stewart@crtc.gc.ca

Agenda

Hearing to be held:

Monday, 1 June 2009

Salon Réal Therrien
7th floor of the Central Building
Terrasses de la Chaudière
1 Promenade du Portage
Gatineau, Quebec

Additional logistics:

An audio link will be available throughout the hearing via the Commission's website at www.crtc.gc.ca.

A participant's meeting room, adjacent to Salon Réal Therrien, will be available in:

Room 708
7th floor of the Central Building
Terrasses de la Chaudière
Gatineau, Quebec

10:00 a.m. to 10:05 a.m.

Opening Remarks by the Hearing Chairperson

10:05 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Applicant: Shaw Cablesystems Limited

Respondent: TELUS Communications Company

Regarding: Application by Shaw Cablesystems Limited (Shaw) seeking an order directing TELUS Communications Company (TCC) to provide Support Structure Service in various British Columbia Communities

Our file: 8690-S9-200812728

Opening Remarks:
Shaw                                10 minutes
TCC                                 10 minutes 

Questioning:
By the Commission
By Shaw                           20 minutes
By TCC                            20 minutes
By the Commission

Closing remarks:
TCC                                 10 minutes
Shaw                                10 minutes

Hearing adjournment

[1] Wood Lake Cable TV Ltd.(Wood Lake Cable), Lumby Cable Ltd., Pender Island Cable TV Ltd., and Cayoosh Communications Inc., each of which being affiliates of Mascon Communications Corp.

Date modified:

2009-04-22