GATINEAU – When the CRTC awarded a national, multilingual multiethnic discretionary service with mandatory carriage on basic to Rogers in May 2019, it surely knew its decision would not be met with unanimous agreement.
So, nobody was surprised when CORRCAN Media Group, Ethnic Channels Group, Independent Community Television Montreal and TLN Media Group each appealed the decision to the Federal Cabinet, an option which is provided for in the Broadcasting Act.
On August 9th, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) filed with the Clerk of the Privy Council comments in support of the four petitions asking to send Decision 2019-172 and Broadcasting Order 2019-17 back to the CRTC for reconsideration.
“The unintended consequence of the Decision is a new charge on millions of broadcasting distribution customers (which will be passed on directly and indirectly, to the consumer) all for a channel that may weaken ethnic television in Canada and may create a potential tool for anti-democratic control of all Canadian ethnic groups through Rogers’ discretionary power over news and opinion delivered only to its favoured ethnic groups,” reads the PIAC submission. The new license allows Rogers to charge a wholesale fee of $0.19/subscriber/month. The old fee was 12-cents.
Further, PIAC notes Rogers has the discretionary power to select which languages in which to broadcast daily news. This power “creates a ‘seller’s market’ and a hazardous situation where Rogers can solicit high ad rates for limited news programming reaching only those ethnic communities for which advertisers will pay the most,” explains PIAC.
“This risks a moral hazard that can turn to a democracy-warping situation.” – PIAC
“This risks a moral hazard that can turn to a democracy-warping situation where, for example, a political action group offers to pay Rogers to reach a particular group and Rogers actually changes its programming to create news for that ethnic group. While the CRTC may have inadvertently created this discretionary power in Rogers, the Cabinet should, in light of recent election advertising scandals and with a Canadian election looming defuse this ticking time-bomb by sending the Decision back with directions,” adds the submission.
PIAC also shares the concern of the petitioners that the OMNI decision “seriously endangers the sustainability of Canadian independent ethnic TV broadcasters (all of whom are small), by providing Rogers with unfair and unprecedented competitive advantages and potential advertising revenues that tip the already unbalanced competitive scales in Rogers’ favour in the ethnic broadcasting sector.”
Finally, PIAC submits that “Given the potential significant negative impacts of the CRTC Decision on the Canadian broadcasting system and its ability to fulfill key broadcasting policy objectives, especially cultural diversity, PIAC submits that Cabinet should consider including a suggestion to the CRTC to review its Ethnic Broadcasting Policy, last reviewed in 1998-99, prior to attempting to reconsider the Decision should the Cabinet refer it for reconsideration.”
UPDATE: Rogers Media reminded Cartt.ca after publication of this story that OMNI has a condition of licence which requires its established Advisory Councils to sign off on both programming and languages, rendering PIAC's worries above, moot. "We have been offering news in Canada’s largest urban markets reaching the vast majority of ethic and cultural groups for decades and adhere to all journalistic codes and practices including offering balanced stories that seek comment from various sides of an issue when covering a story," said Rogers Media vice-president of regulatory Susan Wheeler in an email to Cartt.ca.
Cabinet has until August 22nd to announce a decision on the appeals.
