Changing the Channel on Canadian Communications Regulation

Abstract

In stitut C.D. HOWE In stitute commentary NO. 451 Changing the Channel on Canadian Communications Regulation Canada's communications sector is set to undergo major policy reform. The federal government should replace ineffective Canadian content regulations with direct subsidies, introduce more legal and economic rigour in regulatory hearings, and eliminate ownership restrictions on communications companies and wireless spectrum.

Defining the Public Interest in Regulatory Decisions: The Case for Economic Efficiency

“…Regulator decisions and the conduct of regulatory hearings have been subject to withering commentary, hostility, disbelief, contempt and even disobedience. 1 Examples of negative commentary on regulatory decisions are not hard to find, crossing jurisdictions and sectors, including: pipeline approvals by the National Energy Board (NEB) (Doucet 2012;Colton et al 2016); wireless contracts, bundling of television channels, and mandated access to incumbent telephone networks at the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) (Dachis and Schwanen 2016); and pricing and facilities approval of electricity transmission by the provincial regulator in Alberta (Church et al 2009). The perception that economic regulation is broken has invited an unproductive political response that realigns authority and responsibility away from traditional independent regulatory boards and tribunals to governments.…”