Weekly News (Sept. 25th-Oct. 1st)

Communications Governance in the News

Compiled by Charnjot Shokar

Research Assistant, Networked Communications Governance Lab

M.A. Candidate, Communications and New Media, McMaster University

Upcoming Events

• Senate of Canada
  • Planned and possible Senate sitting days this week: Sept. 25-29, 2017
  • RIDR: Human Rights – Examinations of Canada’s international and national human rights obligations
  • TRCM: Transport Communication – Study on the regulatory and technical issues related to the deployment of connected and automated vehicles
    • Appearance by Brenda Vrkljan (McMaster University) Tuesday Sept. 26, 2017, 9:30am

• Canadian House of Commons
  • Planned House of Commons sitting days this week: Sept. 30-Oct.1, 2017
  • [ACCESS TO INFORMATION/PRIVACY] Bill C-58 – The President of the Treasury Board – An Act to amend the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts – Second reading (resuming debate)
  • [PRIVACY] ETHI: Access to Information, Privacy & Ethics – Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) & Committee Business
  • [PRIVACY] ETHI: Access to Information, Privacy & Ethics – Privacy of Canadians at Airports, Boarders, and Travelling in the United States
  • [TELECOM] INDU: Industry, Science and Technology – Statutory Review of Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation & Committee Business
  • CIIT: International Trade – Priorities of Canadian Stakeholders in Bilateral and Trilateral Trade in North America
  • CHPC: Canadian Heritage – Systemic Racism and Religious Discrimination

• CRTC
  • Anticipated Releases for the week of 25 to 29 September, 2017
    • Broadcasting Decision: Application by Blackburn Radio Inc.to renew the broadcasting licence for the English-language commercial radio station CIBU-FM Wingham
  • [BROADCASTING] Gatineau, Quebec – Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2017-160: Renewal of the broadcasting licenses for terrestrial broadcasting distribution undertakings that will expire in May 2018: October 16, 2017

• Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada
  • [ACCESS TO INFORMATION] Ottawa, Ontario – Right to Know Conference: September 26, 2017

Press Releases and Decisions

• CRTC Decisions
  • [BROADCASTING] Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2017-340: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation – Toronto, Ontario – DENIED – Application for authority to use the subsidiary communications multiplex operations channel of CBL-FM Toronto to broadcast a predominantly Tamil-language radio service
  • [BROADCASTING] Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2017-339: Rogers Media Inc. – Across Canada – APPROVED – Application for a one-year extension to fulfil the tangible benefits commitments relating to the change in effective control of The Score Television Network Ltd. to Rogers, and its acquisition of Sportsnet 360
  • [BROADCASTING] Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2017-338: Radio Montmagny inc. – Montmagny and Saint-Fabien-de-Panet, Quebec – APPROVED – Application to amend the broadcasting licence for the French-language commercial radio station CIQI-FM Montmagny in order to operate an FM rebroadcasting transmitter in Saint-Fabien-de-Panet
  • [BROADCASTING] Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2017-337: Canal Évasion inc. – Across Canada – DENIED – Application to amend the broadcasting licence for the Category A discretionary service Évasion (formerly Canal Évasion) in order to decrease its Canadian programming expenditure requirement
  • [BROADCASTING] Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2017-336: CIAM Media & Radio Broadcasting Association – Fort Vermilion, Burnt Hills and Saskatoon Hill, Alberta; and Rose Prairie and Boston Bar, British Columbia – APPROVED – Applications to amend the broadcasting licence for the English-language radio station CIAM-FM Fort Vermilion in order to operate rebroadcasting transmitters in Burnt Hills and Saskatoon Hill, Alberta, and Rose Prairie and Boston Bar
  • [TELECOM] Telecom Decision CRTC 2017-335: Bell Canada – Various applications related to Bell Canada’s dedicated wholesale high-speed access services (legacy and fibre-to-the-node)
  • [TELECOM] Telecom Order CRTC 2017-343: Northwestel Inc. – Final Approval of a Tariff Application
  • [TELECOM] Telecom Order CRTC 2017-342: Streamlined order – The Commission approves on an interim basis the following tariff application: TELUS Communications Company TN 629 (TCQ)
  • [TELECOM] Telecom Order CRTC 2017-341: Streamlined order – The Commission approves the following tariff application: Communication Stratford, coop de solidarité en câblodistribution TNs 1 and 1A
  • [POLICY] Voter Contact Registry in effect during federal by-elections in Alberta and Quebec

• Industry Canada
  • [INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY] Revised Chapters of the MOPOP Released: CIPO has revised several sections in various chapters of the Manual of Patent Office Practice (MOPOP) to remove all references to “representative” to reflect a recent change to the Patent Act in which section 29 was repealed

• Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
  • [PRIVACY] Commissioner: Digital Revolution and Canadians’ privacy fears demand real solutions
  • [PRIVACY] Appearance before the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics on Privacy of Canadian at Airports, Borders and Travelling in the United States
  • [PRIVACY] 2016-17 Annual Report to Parliament on the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act and the Privacy Act: Real fears, real solutions: A plan for restoring confidence in Canada’s privacy regime
  • [PRIVACY] Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada: Section 37 of the Privacy Act and section 72(2) of the Proceed of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act
  • [PRIVACY] Review of the Operationalization of the Security of Canada Information Sharing Act
  • [PRIVACY] Canada Border Services Agency – Scenario Based Targeting of Travelers – National Security: Audit report under Section 37 of the Privacy Act

Canadian News

• [CRTC] CRTC head breaks from the Blais way (Globe and Mail)
• [PRIVACY] Privacy commissioner aims to start more investigations rather than wait for complaints (CBC News)
• [PRIVACY] Google is linking secret, court-protected names – including victim IDs – to online coverage (Ottawa Citizen)
• [PRIVACY] Equifax says 100,000 Canadians may have been in data breach (Toronto Star)
• [DEFAMATION] Tories unleash attack ads on ‘untrustworthy’ Wynne (Toronto Star)

International News

• [FCC] FCC Announces Working Group Chairs for Advisory Committee on Diversity (FCC)
• [PRIVACY] Indian Supreme Court in landmark ruling on privacy (BBC News)
• [FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION] Those Seeking to Scrap NGOs Are Democracy’s Enemies – Group (Vanguard)
• [INTERNET] Your Internet isn’t getting any faster, but the government might soon call it ‘high-speed’ anyway (Washington Post)
• [DEFAMATION] Puducherry medical admissions: War of words rages on as CM lashes out at LG (Times of India)

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