Weekly News (October 18th, 2021)

Compiled by Brad McNeil, Kyle Wyndham-West, and Beatrice Sunderland, with Sara Bannerman  and Fenwick McKelvey

McMaster University, Communications Governance Observatory

The Communications Governance Discussion Group meets every few weeks by Zoom.  Email organizer Derek Hrynyshyn <derekh@yorku.ca> for details.

(October 11 – October 17, 2021)

Canadian News 

• [PRESS FREEDOM / PRIVACY] News organization asks Supreme Court to protect privacy of interview with sexual assault complainant (The Globe and Mail)
• [TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY / COMPETITION] Selling Freedom Mobile to Quebecor would lead to lower prices for consumers, analyst argues (Financial Post)
• [PRIVACY] Ontario’s electronic monitoring legislation must enhance privacy rights for employees, experts say (The Globe and Mail)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION / ONLINE NEWS ACT] Ottawa slams Google-backed survey criticizing Canada’s online news bill as an attempt to ‘avoid accountability’ (The Toronto Star)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION / BROADCASTING POLICY] What makes a Canadian film actually Canadian? Netflix and Disney have curious answers (The Globe and Mail)
• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE/CONTENT MODERATION] Truth Social désormais accessible sur Google Play Store (La Presse)
• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] Le retrait d’un épisode des «Filles de Caleb» continue de faire réagir (Le Devoir)
• [CLIMATE TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY/ 5G] Des chercheurs travailleront à réduire la consommation d’énergie de la 5G (La Presse)
• [MEDIA GOVERNANCE] CP24 personality alleges ‘systemic pattern’ of discrimination in human rights claim against Bell Media (CBC)
• [FREEDOM OF INFORMATION] FOI data points to transparency trouble (The Toronto Star)
• [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION/PUBLIC BROADCASTING] OPINION: Jean-François Lisée : Les adieux de la CBC à l’objectivité (Le Devoir)
• [ONLINE NEWS ACT] OPINION : La Loi sur les nouvelles en ligne du Canada, un atout pour le journalisme (Le Devoir)

International News

• [PLATFORM REGULATION] These GOP Senate candidates are setting their sights on Silicon Valley (Washington Post)
• [PRIVACY] Incognito mode no longer a joke at Google HQ (The Toronto Star)
• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE / PRIVACY] ‘Make DMs Safe’ campaign pressing tech giants on encryption grows post-Roe (Washington Post)
• [INTERNET DISRUPTION] Protests reach 19 cities in Iran despite internet disruption (ABC News)
• [CRYPTO ASSET REGULATION] Regulators Propose First Global Rules Before ‘Crypto Winter’ Thaw (U.S. News)
• [PLATFORM REGULATION / GIG LABOUR] Labor proposal could upend rules for gig workers, companies (The Washington Post)
• [FREEDOM OF INFORMATION] U.S. made ‘marginal’ gains in internet freedom, report finds (Washington Post)
• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] PayPal faces backlash after floating fines for sharing misinformation (The Washington Post)
• [PLATFORM GOVERNANCE] Twitter reviews policies around permanent user bans (Financial Times)
• [DEFAMATION] Alex Jones ordered to pay $965 million for Sandy Hook lies (AP News)

(October 11 – October 17,  2021)

Canadian Heritage 

• Resilience Fund: 59 new projects will help self-employed cultural workers in the live performance sector

Elections Canada

• Retrospective Report on the 44th General Election of September 20, 2021   

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

• Government of Canada to make announcement on supporting the growth and expansion of innovative wireless technologies in Canada 

Office of the Privacy Commissioner

• Privacy Tech-Know blog: When what is old is new again – The reality of synthetic data 

CRTC

• Statement by Ian Scott, Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of the CRTC, regarding costs awards 
• Telecom order 2022-283
  [2022-10-13 11:00:00]
  Streamlined order – The Commission approves on a final basis the following tariff application: Northwestel Inc., TN 1164
• Telecom order 2022-282
  [2022-10-13 11:00:00]
  TELUS Communications Inc. – Changes to Customer Volume Pricing Plan discount schedule – Public record: Tariff Notice 572
• Telecom decision 2022-281
  [2022-10-13 11:00:00]
  SDI Telecom (SDI) – Application to order Bell Canada and Rogers Communications Canada Inc. to pay SDI’s outstanding invoices and for the Commission to implement flat-rate compensation for toll-free calls made from pay telephones – Public record: 8650-S191-202107656
• Telecom order 2022-280
  [2022-10-12 11:00:00]
  Streamlined order – The Commission approves on a final basis the following tariff application: Northwestel Inc., TN 1165
• Broadcasting decision 2022-279
  [2022-10-12 11:00:00]
  WONation Radio Inc. – Wauzhushk Onigum Nation, District of Kenora, Ontario – Application for a broadcasting licence to operate a low-power, English- and Ojibway-language Indigenous (Type B Native) FM radio station
• Telecom order 2022-278
  [2022-10-12 11:00:00]
  Broadband Fund – Change request – Northwestel Inc.’s Yukon fibre project – October 2022 – Public record: 1011-NOC2019-0372
• Telecom order 2022-277
  [2022-10-11 11:00:00]
  Streamlined order – The Commission approves the following tariff application: Videotron Ltd., TN 60
• Telecom order 2022-276
  [2022-10-11 11:00:00]
  Streamlined order – The Commission approves on a final basis the following tariff application: Northwestel Inc., TN 1163
• Telecom order 2022-275
  [2022-10-11 11:00:00]
  Streamlined order – The Commission approves the following tariff application: Northwestel Inc., TN 1162
• Telecom order 2022-274
  [2022-10-11 11:00:00]
  Streamlined order – The Commission approves the following tariff application: Northwestel Inc., TN 1161
• Compliance and Enforcement and Telecom decision 2022-170-1
  [2022-10-11 11:00:00]
  Development of a network-level blocking framework to limit botnet traffic and strengthen Canadians’ online safety – Correction to the decision – Public record: 1011-NOC2021-0009

Senate of Canada

• Planned & Possible sitting days this week: The Senate sits from October 17 – October 20, 2022. With possible sitting day on October 21. 
• Bills on the Agenda: 

• No. 1. – Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Dawson, seconded by the Honourable Senator Bovey, for the second reading of Bill C-11, An Act to amend the Broadcasting Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts. 
• Second reading of S-242: An Act to amend the Radiocommunication Act  
• TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS 
  • October 18, 2022, 9:00 AM ET: The subject matter of Bill C-11, An Act to amend the Broadcasting Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts 
  • October 19, 2022, 6:45 PM ET: The subject matter of Bill C-11, An Act to amend the Broadcasting Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts 

Canadian House of Commons

• Planned & Possible sitting days this week: The House of Commons sits from October 17 – October 21, 2022. 
• CANADIAN HERITAGE
• October 18, 2022, 11:00 AM EDT:  Bill C-18: An Act respecting online communications platforms that make news content available to persons in Canada 

CRTC 

The CRTC plans to issue the following decisions and/or regulatory policies in the week of 17 to 21 October 2022. This is subject to change without notice 

Broadcasting Decisions:

• United Christian Broadcasters Media Canada
  British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Ontario
  Specialty (religious music) FM radio stations in Kelowna and its transmitter in Kamloops; in Saskatoon and in Scarborough
  Public record: 2022-0119-3

Telecom Decisions:

• Modification of the next-generation 9-1-1 framework to accommodate hosted call handling solutions for public safety answering points
  Public records: 1011-NOC2021-0404 and 8633-T264-202103704
• Facilities-based wholesale mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) access tariffs – Commission determinations on proposed terms and conditions
  Public records: 8740-B38-202104686, 8740-R28-202104636, 8740-T66-202104876, and 8740-S22-20210461

Open Proceedings

• CRTC Open Broadcasting Proceedings
• CRTC Open Telecom Proceedings

Public Consultations: 

• CRTC:
  • Canadians invited to share their views on application to raise basic TV package rate (October 28, 2022
  • Application to add Natyf TV and Uvagut TV to basic television packages (September 21, 2022-November 7, 2022)
• Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada:
  • Consultation on Updates to the Licensing and Fee Framework for Earth Stations and Space Stations in Canada (reply comments due November 8, 2021)

Have a suggestion? Email Sara Bannerman at banners@mcmaster.ca 

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