Supplementary Information

Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy

1. Overview of the federal government’s approach to sustainable development

The 2013–16 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS) presents the Government of Canada’s sustainable development activities, as required by the Federal Sustainable Development Act. In keeping with the objectives of the Act to make environmental decision making more transparent and accountable to Parliament, the CRTC supports the implementation of the FSDS through the activities described in this supplementary information table.

2. Our Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy

This Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy describes the CRTC’s actions in support of Theme IV: “Shrinking the environmental footprint – beginning with government.” The report for 2016–17 presents a high‑level overview of results and is the final report under the 2013–16 FSDS.

3. Departmental performance highlights

Theme IV: Shrinking the environmental footprint – beginning with government

Under Theme IV, the CRTC contributed to the 2013–16 FSDS through 4 implementation strategies for Goal 7: Waste and asset management.

Implementation strategies: performance summary

At the CRTC, there is no formal green procurement strategy with specific targets to achieve. Nonetheless, actions are taken and initiatives are in place to promote green procurement as follows:

• Reduction of the environmental impact associated with the production, acquisition, use and/or disposal of equipment:
  • The CRTC participates in the Computers for Schools program which provides a second life to computers; and
  • The CRTC displays any surplus of furniture and materiel (metal, plexiglass) on the Web site Buyandsell.gc.ca prior to disposal in landfill site.
• Reduction of the environmental impact of production of goods:
  • The CRTC recycles toner cartridges for printers and uses recycled paper for multifunctional printers; and
  • At the CRTC, multifunctional printers are programmed to print, by default, on both sides in order to reduce the volume of paper.

Internal audits and evaluations

The CRTC is classified as a small department or agency for audit purposes. As such, the CRTC does not have an in-house internal audit function or a Departmental Audit Committee. The CRTC receives auditing services from the Office of the Comptroller General (OCG).

User fees, regulatory charges and external fees

Reporting on the User Fees Act

General and financial information by fee

Reporting on the Policy on Service Standards for External Fees

The CRTC assesses fees pursuant to the Broadcasting Licence Fee Regulations, 1997, the Telecommunications Fees Regulations, 2010, and the Unsolicited Telecommunications Fees Regulations. These regulations can be located on the Department of Justice web site. These fees are considered to be external “regulatory fees” and not “user fees” as defined in the User Fees Act.  Thus these fees, and the external reporting of any information related to these fees, are not subject to the provisions of the User Fees Act (UFA), but rather the Treasury Board Policy on Service Standards for External Fees.

The UFA was repealed in June 2017.

General information by fee

General information

Broadcasting Licence Fees explanations

Section 11 of the Broadcasting Act gives the CRTC the authority to make regulations with respect to licence fees. These regulations provide for the payment of a Part I and Part II licence fee by certain broadcasting undertakings. The last amendment to the Broadcasting Licence Fee Regulations was done in 2010. Details on the amendment can be found in Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2010-476 on the CRTC website. The Broadcasting Licence Fee Regulations can be found on the Department of Justice website.

Part I Licence Fees

Part I licence fees are based on the broadcasting regulatory costs incurred each year by the CRTC and other federal departments or agencies, and are equal to the aggregate of:

• the costs of the CRTC’s broadcasting activities;
• the share of the costs of the CRTC’s administrative activities that is attributable to broadcasting activities; and
• the share of other costs incurred by other federal departments for services rendered without charges to the CRTC that is attributable to broadcasting activities (such as employer’s contribution to the health and dental insurance plans, accommodations services, etc.).

There is an annual adjustment amount to the Part I licence fees to bring estimated costs in line with actual expenditures. Any excess fees or shortfalls are credited or charged to licensees in the following year’s invoice.

Part II Licence Fees

The 2010 amendment to the Broadcasting Licence Fee Regulations (Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2010-476) introduced a cap of $100 million for the calculation of Part II licence fees. This cap is adjusted annually on a compound basis in accordance with the percentage increase or decrease in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the calendar year prior to the year of the adjustments. The CPI is the annual average of all-items CPI for Canada that is published by Statistics Canada.

These fees recover part of the Government of Canada’s substantial annual investment in the Canadian broadcasting system and are fully remitted to the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

Telecommunications Fees explanations

Section 68 of the Telecommunications Act grants the CRTC authority to create the Telecommunications Fees Regulations.

The Telecommunications Fees Regulations, 2010 (Telecom Decision CRTC 2010-183 dated March 25, 2010), require all telecommunications service providers (TSPs), or groups of related TSPs, with at least $10 million dollars in Canadian telecommunications service revenues (CTSR) to pay telecommunications fees, whether or not they file a tariff for approval with the CRTC. The Telecommunications Fees Regulations can be found on the Department of Justice website.

The CRTC’s annual telecommunications fees are equal to the aggregate of:

• the costs of the CRTC’s telecommunications activities;
• the share of the costs of the CRTC’s administrative activities that is attributable to telecommunications activities; and
• the share of other costs incurred by other federal departments for services rendered without charges to the CRTC that is attributable to telecommunications activities (such as employer’s contribution to the health and dental insurance plans, accommodations services, etc.).

There is an annual adjustment amount to the telecommunications fees to adjust estimated costs to actual expenditures. Any excess fees or shortfalls are credited or charged to licensees in a following year’s invoice.

Unsolicited Telecommunications Fees explanations

The Unsolicited Telecommunications Fees - Section 41.21(1) of the Telecommunications Act grants the CRTC authority to create the Unsolicited Telecommunications Fees Regulations. The Unsolicited Telecommunications Fees Regulations most recent amendment came into effect as of August 1, 2015. These fees are used to fund the CRTC’s National Do Not Call List (DNCL) investigation and enforcement activities, on a cost recovery basis, from fees assessed to telemarketers. The Unsolicited Telecommunications Fees Regulations can be found on the Department of Justice website.

Date modified:

2017-11-09