Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2026-201

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References: 2025-94 and 2024-94-1

Gatineau, 7 August 2026

Public record: 1011-NOC2025-0094

A new approach to funding public interest participation in Commission proceedings – Part 1 – Increasing rates available in telecommunications proceedings

Summary

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (the Commission) is an independent quasi-judicial tribunal that regulates the Canadian communications sector in the public interest. The Commission holds public consultations on telecommunications and broadcasting matters and makes decisions based on the public record.

To make decisions in the public interest, the Commission encourages people with a diversity of perspectives to participate in its proceedings. In Broadcasting and Telecom Notice of Consultation 2025-94, the Commission launched a proceeding to review its rules that help people, including public interest groups, participate in Commission proceedings and apply for funding to cover participation costs. The Commission received a wide range of views in response, including from telecommunications and broadcasting companies, public interest groups, individuals, and the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages.  

The record of the proceeding demonstrates significant potential to streamline how funding is provided to participants. While the Commission is developing new approaches to funding, which will be introduced in an upcoming regulatory policy, it has determined that updating the rates for fees that can be reimbursed is an important step to help ensure that public interest groups are properly reimbursed for their participation in telecommunications proceedings. The current rates were last reviewed 16 years ago and do not reflect current costs. Based on the record of the proceeding, the Commission is therefore updating rates for public interest participation by the rate of inflation since 2010, which is 45.44%. This will apply to all costs applications filed with the Commission under the Telecommunications Act (the Act) after the date of this regulatory policy.

To help ensure predictability for costs applicants and costs respondents, the Commission is implementing a policy of limiting costs applications to $75,000 per applicant, per proceeding, applicable to all costs applications filed with the Commission after today’s date. By setting this limit, the Commission aims to provide certainty regarding the amounts costs applicants may claim and the amounts costs respondents may expect to pay. As an exception to this policy, if the Commission issues a notice of consultation that sets an intervention period of 90 days or more, applicants will be able to ask for costs above this threshold if they apply for pre-approval.

This regulatory policy does not change the overarching principle that amounts claimed must be necessarily and reasonably incurred, and the changes will not have a significant administrative impact on costs respondents or costs applicants.

Introduction

1. In Broadcasting and Telecom Notice of Consultation 2025-94 (the Notice), the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (the Commission) launched a public proceeding to modernize its approach to funding public interest participation in Commission proceedings.

Interventions

2. In response to the Notice, the Commission received interventions from the Broadcasting Participation Fund, broadcasting production funds, Canadian and non-Canadian broadcasters, the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages, individuals, industry associations, public interest groups, and telecommunications companies.

Issues

3. The record of this proceeding demonstrates the need for substantial changes to how the Commission supports public participation in its proceedings. To that end, the Commission is analyzing how to improve its processes to increase efficiency, predictability, and effectiveness for participants. The Commission intends to announce these changes in a future regulatory policy.
4. In the meantime, the record of this proceeding demonstrates a need to review the rates at which public interest groups are compensated for the time of analysts, consultants, expert witnesses, and lawyers under the Telecommunications Act (the Act). Therefore, in this initial regulatory policy, the Commission is specifically addressing whether the scale of costs for costs awarded under the Act should be adjusted immediately.

Should the scale of costs for telecommunications costs awards be adjusted, and, if so, how?

5. The current scale of costs for telecommunications costs awards is set out in the Guidelines for the Assessment of Costs in Telecom Regulatory Policy 2010-963. The scale prescribes the fees that can be claimed by organizations for the work of various professionals in support of the organization’s participation in telecommunications proceedings. In particular, the scale sets out rates that can be claimed as fees for analysts, consultants, expert witnesses, and lawyers. The scale also prescribes the rates that can be claimed as disbursements for certain kinds of out-of-pocket expenses, such as meals and travel related to attending telecommunications hearings.
6. The rates in the scale have not been reviewed in 16 years. In the Notice, the Commission expressed the preliminary view that those rates should be updated.

Positions of parties

7. Most public interest groups submitted that rates need to be increased. In their view, current rates do not result in true compensation, preventing them from participating effectively or dissuading them from participating at all. Some public interest groups proposed significant, immediate rate increases ranging from 35% to 150%.
8. In addition to an immediate increase, the Forum for Research and Policy in Communications and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre submitted that rates should be indexed to the consumer price index going forward. Some consumer groups, such as Option consommateurs, proposed that rates should match those of other tribunals. The British Columbia Utilities Commission and Ontario Energy Board were given as examples.
9. Some telecommunications companies submitted that certain increases to the scale of costs were justified. TELUS Communications Inc. submitted that indexing to inflation going forward may be appropriate, but it did not support a significant, immediate increase. Rogers Communications Canada Inc. indicated that only certain rates for disbursements should be increased.
10. Other telecommunications companies submitted that increases were not necessary. In fact, Bell Canada indicated that further measures were necessary to avoid excessive costs claims and improve predictability. It suggested an initial cap of $15,000 for costs applications, with the opportunity to apply for pre-approval in cases where the applicant expects to exceed the cap.
11. Many telecommunications companies supported the idea of caps and pre-approvals for reasons similar to those mentioned by Bell Canada. Most public interest groups opposed caps and pre-approvals, which they considered burdensome, unfair, and contrary to the rationale for making costs applications available in the first place. Some public interest groups, including the Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project, conditionally supported the idea of caps or pre-approvals on the basis that they would provide greater certainty for all parties involved.

Commission’s analysis

12. As set out in the Notice, the Commission’s main objective in this proceeding is to develop a system that encourages participation while being transparent and accountable.
13. The Commission finds that the rates for professional services in the scale of costs, which were last reviewed 16 years ago, are out of date. They must be updated to ensure participants are properly reimbursed.
14. Accordingly, the Commission is increasing these rates by 45.44%, applicable to all telecommunications costs applications filed with the Commission after the date of this regulatory policy. An updated scale of costs is set out in the appendix to this regulatory policy.
15. This update will ensure that the rates accurately reflect the general rise in prices that has taken place since the rates were last reviewed in 2010.^{Footnote 1} The updated rates are also more consistent with those of other tribunals.^{Footnote 2}
16. Although the Commission has determined that a rate update is necessary, it acknowledges the effects that rising costs will have on costs respondents. This regulatory policy does not change the overarching principle that amounts claimed must be necessarily and reasonably incurred.
17. Moreover, to help ensure transparency, predictability, and fiscal accountability, the Commission is implementing a policy of limiting costs applications to $75,000 per applicant, per proceeding, applicable to all costs applications filed with the Commission after the date of this regulatory policy.
18. In proceedings initiated by a notice of consultation that sets an intervention period of 90 days or more, applicants may ask for costs above the threshold if they apply for pre-approval. The Commission notes that approximately 90% of costs awarded since the last review of rates have been for amounts below $50,000. This includes costs awarded to applicants representing a broad range of public interest perspectives. Offering a pre-approval option will provide greater costs certainty to public interest groups and costs respondents earlier in the proceeding and will help ensure that the cost and effort associated with submissions are proportionate to the scope and complexity of the proceeding.
19. Applying for pre-approval will not impose a significant administrative burden because it will rely on the same forms and criteria that are already required for final costs awards. Costs applicants will need to file their pre-approval applications as soon as possible and generally no later than 30 days after the notice of consultation is published. This will ensure that potential costs respondents have 10 days to comment, and the Commission can consider the pre-approval application within a reasonable timeframe before the intervention deadline.
20. When the record of the proceeding for the notice of consultation closes, the costs applicant must follow up its pre-approval application with proof that the pre-approved amounts were spent specifically as planned. This will be subject to public comment, after which the Commission will issue an order in which it identifies the costs respondents and directs that costs be paid.

Conclusion

21. In light of the above, the Commission adopts the revisions to the scale of costs for costs under the Act as set out in the appendix to this regulatory policy. The Commission will apply these revisions to all telecommunications costs applications received after the date of this regulatory policy.
22. All such applications will be subject to a $75,000 limit, with the possibility of applying for pre-approval of amounts above this threshold in proceedings initiated by notices of consultation that set intervention periods of 90 days or more.

Regulatory and administrative burden

23. In this regulatory policy, the Commission has taken into consideration the policy objectives set out in section 7 of the Act. In doing so, the Commission has ensured that this policy will result in additional processes only in exceptional cases. Based on the Commission’s analysis, the updated scale of costs, combined with the approval of costs above $75,000 only with pre-approval in the most complex proceedings, will help ensure rates for public interest participation reflect the current costs of participating in Commission proceedings, while providing greater predictability for participants and the telecommunications companies who pay their costs. As a result, this policy will have little impact on administrative burden for costs applicants and costs respondents.
24. As indicated earlier in this regulatory policy, the record of this proceeding demonstrates the need for substantial changes to how the Commission supports public participation in its proceedings. To that end, the Commission is analyzing how to improve its processes to increase efficiency, predictability, and effectiveness for participants and will announce these changes in a future regulatory policy.

Secretary General

Appendix to Telecom Notice of Consultation CRTC 2026-201

Related documents

• Call for comments – A new approach to funding public interest participation in Commission proceedings, Broadcasting and Telecom Notice of Consultation CRTC 2025-94, 12 May 2025, as amended by Broadcasting and Telecom Notice of Consultation CRTC 2025-94-1, 14 November 2025
• Revision of CRTC costs award practices and procedures, Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2010-963, 23 December 2010

Date modified:

2026-08-07