Broadcasting - Staff Letter addressed to Monica Auer (Forum for Research and Policy in Communications )

Ottawa, 24 February 2023

Our reference: 1011-NOC2022-0267

BY EMAIL
Monica Auer
Executive Director
Forum for Research and Policy in Communications
Ottawa, Ontario
execdir@frpc.net

RE: Call for comments on an application by Bell Canada, Cogeco Communications Inc., Bragg Communications Incorporated, carrying on business as Eastlink, and Saskatchewan Telecommunications regarding the increase of the maximum retail price of the basic service, Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2022-267 (Ottawa, 28 September 2022), 2022-267-1 (Ottawa, 27 October 2022), 2022-267-2 (Ottawa, 17 November 2022) and 2022-267-3 (Ottawa, 20 February 2023)

Monica Auer:

The Commission acknowledges receipt of the four procedural requests submitted by the Forum for Research and Policy in Communications (FRPC) with respect to the above-noted proceeding regarding the following:

  1. Quebecor’s 1 February 2023 response (dated 21 February 2023)
  2. Shaw’s 1 February 2023 response (dated 22 February 2023)
  3. Cogeco’s 1 February 2023 response (dated 21 February 2023)
  4. Correction of the public record (dated 21 February 2023)

FRPC’s requests

FRPC submitted that the information contained in Quebecor's public document dated 1 February 2023 should all be disclosed given that Quebecor neither requested confidentiality nor did it provide any reasons why disclosure of the information would not be in the public interest. In support of its request, FRPC argued that this would provide the public with a more complete record on which to base its responses to Broadcasting Notice of Consultation 2022-267-3 (BNC 2022-267-3).

In addition, FRPC requested that the Commission place on the public record before 24 February 2023 any document provided by Shaw, other than its cover letter in response to the CRTC’s 24 January 2023 request, with a notice to interested parties.

FRPC also requested that the Commission deny Cogeco’s request for confidentiality as the redacted information is either the same as or highly similar to Cogeco’s aggregated annual returns, which are published by the CRTC pursuant to section 33 of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Rules of Practice of Procedure (Rules of Practice and Procedure). In FRPC’s view, disclosure of the information would enable interested parties and organizations to evaluate the evidence and arguments on the basis of a more complete record, thereby facilitating informed participation by the public.

Finally, FRPC submitted that it would be appropriate for the Commission to re-issue any documents published by the Commission that set out aggregated (or disaggregated) information and whose figures were based on or included Quebecor’s incorrect information, along with a notification to the public. FRPC stated that this would serve the public interest by enabling interveners to comply with the CRTC’s Rules of Practice and Procedure.

Staff analysis

Commission staff confirms that the first two issues above have been resolved. The documents requested by FRPC, notably Quebecor’s document designating the information as confidential and Shaw’s abridged document, have been added to the Commission’s website on the record of this proceeding.

As for FRPC’s request that Cogeco’s request for confidentiality be denied, Commission staff reminds FRPC that the information designated as confidential has been treated as confidential by the Commission throughout this proceeding in accordance with the CRTC’s Rules of Practice and Procedure and will therefore not be added to the public record.

In regard to the re-issuance of documents published by the Commission that was based on or included Quebecor’s incorrect information, Commission staff reminds FRPC that the Commission determined that it would reopen the record of this proceeding to allow comment on the additional data added on 1 February 2023. As the Commission has openly noted in BNC 2022-267-3, it has encountered challenges in obtaining consistent and congruent information from the various broadcasting distribution undertakings (BDUs) that are parties to this proceeding. It appears that FRPC is also concerned by the data that has been filed by these BDUs. If that is the case, FRPC, like other interveners, is invited to make its opinion known as a part of its intervention. The Commission will take that position into account as a part of its deliberations.

Sincerely,

Scott Shortliffe
Executive Director
Broadcasting

cc.          Jonathan Daniels, Bell Canada, bell.regulatory@bell.ca
Paul Beaudry, Cogeco, telecom.regulatory@cogeco.com
W.N. Beckman, SaskTel, document.control@sasktel.com
Frédérique Couette, Quebecor, frederique.couette@quebecor.com
Simon Desrochers, Cogeco, telecom.regulatory@cogeco.com
Pamela Dinsmore, Rogers, pam.dinsmore@rci.rogers.com
John Lawford, jlawford@piac.ca
Lecia Simpson, Telus, regulatory.affairs@telus.com
Peggy Tabet, Quebecor, peggy.tabet@quebecor.com
Cynthia Wallace, Shaw, regulatory@sjrb.ca
Marielle Wilson, Eastlink, regulatory.matters@corp.eastlink.ca

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