ARCHIVED - Telecom and Broadcasting Commission Letter addressed to Kenneth Whitehurst (Consumers Council of Canada)

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Ottawa, 21 February 2019

Our reference: 1011-NOC2018-0246; 4754-613

BY EMAIL

Mr. Kenneth Whitehurst, Executive Director
Consumers Council of Canada
whitehurst@consumerscouncil.com

RE: Report regarding the retail sales practices of Canada’s large telecommunications carriers, Telecom and Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2018-246 – Request for Information

Dear Mr. Whitehurst,

On 7 December 2018, the Commission received an application for costs from the Consumers Council of Canada (the Council) with respect to its participation inTelecom and Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2018-246, Report regarding the retail sales practices of Canada’s large telecommunications carriers (the hearing).

The purpose of this letter is to request additional information from the Council regarding its application for costs.

Costs Criteria

Pursuant to section 68 of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Rules of Practice and Procedure (the Rules of Procedure), when assessing costs applications, the Commission considers whether the applicant had, or was representative of a group or class of subscribers that had an interest in the outcome of the proceeding; the extent to which the applicant assisted the Commission in developing a better understanding of the matters considered; and whether the applicant participated in the proceeding in a responsible way.

Accordingly, Commission staff requests that the Council elaborate how it has met these criteria for a final award of costs.

In light of the general guidance set out within Telecom Information Bulletin 2016-188, Guidance for costs award applicants regarding representation of a group or a class of subscribers, Commission staff requests that the Council make submissions that clearly and specifically identify and describe the group it purports to represent, and how it determined that the positions put forward in the hearing reflect the interests of that group or class.

Filing Information with the Commission

The requested information is to be filed with the Commission by 4 March 2019 (10 days). Any other interested party may file a response by 11 March 2019 (5 days). The Council may reply to any comments no later than 18 March 2019 (5 days). All filings are to be provided to all persons copied within this letter.

A copy of this letter and all related correspondence will be added to the public record of the proceeding.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at (613) 697-4027 or megan.maloney@crtc.gc.ca.

In the meantime, the Commission is currently continuing its review of this costs application.

Yours Sincerely,

originally signed by

Megan Maloney
Legal Counsel

c.c.:     Distribution List

Bell Canada bell.regulatory@bell.ca;
Canadian Association of the Deaf-Association des Sourds du Canada
ffolino@cad.ca
Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic tisrael@cippic.ca;
Canadian National Society of the Deaf-Blind mchugh.mm@gmail.com
Canadian Network Operators Consortium Inc. regulatory@cnoc.ca
Cogeco Connexion Inc. telecom.regulatory@cogeco.com;
Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services Geoff.White@ccts-cprst.ca; howard.maker@ccts-cprst.ca;
Deaf Wireless Canada Consultative Committee lisa@deafwireless.ca; deafwireless@icloud.com; regulatory@deafwireless.ca
Deafness Advocacy Association Nova Scotia daans@ns.sympatico.ca
Eastlink regulatory.matters@corp.eastlink.ca;
Forum for Research and Policy in Communications execdir@frpc.net;
Northwestel Inc. regulatoryaffairs@nwtel.ca;
OpenMedia Engagement Network regulatory@openmedia.org;
Public Interest Advocacy Centre bsegel-brown@piac.ca; jlawford@piac.ca;
Rogers Communications Canada Inc.rwi_gr@rci.rogers.com;
Saskatchewan Telecommunications document.control@sasktel.com;
Shaw Communications Inc. regulatory@sjrb.ca;
TbayTel rob.olenick@tbaytel.com; stephen.scofich@tbaytel.com; David.Wilkie@tbaytel.com;
TekSavvy Solutions Inc. regulatory@teksavvy.com;
TELUS Communications Inc. regulatory.affairs@telus.com;
Union des consommateurs abeaulieu-laporte@uniondesconsommateurs.ca;
Videotron Ltd. regaffairs@quebecor.com;
Xplornet Communications Inc. xplornet.legal@corp.xplornet.com

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