OTTAWA – With control of Rogers Communications now before a B.C. judge, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre and National Pensioners Federation has asked the CRTC to hold off on the public hearing into the purchase of Shaw Communications by Rogers Communications.
“The press has reported on a series of events unfolding at Rogers that call into question the legal status of the existing board of directors, and whether the current officers of the company have the confidence of the board of directors or whether they will even remain as officers of the company in the near future,” reads the procedural letter sent to the Commission.
This means it’s “uncertain whether any submissions made in the name of Rogers continue to be supported by the company’s board of directors—or whether the officers of the company continue to have authority to act on behalf of the corporation,” adds the letter.
Edward Rogers, son of the founder and chair of the voting trust which controls 97.5% of the voting shares of the company, has petitioned the B.C. Supreme Court for a ruling which says his new board is legally constituted to take over from the existing board. The case was heard in Vancouver today.
The Commission doesn’t normally delay its hearings into mergers on its own volition, however, usually only responding to one or more of the companies to ask for an extension.
Cartt.ca will be looking into whether or not the Commission, or Rogers, wants to delay the CRTC hearing, currently scheduled for five days, beginning November 22.
