There are a lot of reports hitting the wires (eg. Globe and Mail or Canadian Press) on the CRTC’s Decision on the new regulatory framework for Broadcast Distribution Undertakings (eg. cable and satellite companies). The CRTC’s press release can be found here.
I’d prefer to point to a different perspective.
I took the greatest interest in reading the dissenting opinion by Commissioner Michel Morin. His dissent takes up 45 pages (of the total 141 page decision [pdf]), which he says is the longest ever written by a CRTC Commissioner.
I was appointed to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in August 2007 for a five-year term. Today, I am issuing my sixth dissenting opinion… Believe me when I say I am not happy to be compelled to dissent from the majority opinion.
Commissioner Peter Menzies also had a dissent that takes on many of the same issues, although written in a different style. Both express concerns about the effectiveness of the local programming fund and whether the CBC should be able to draw on these amounts.
The dissenting views appear after the appendices. They can provide a fascinating peek at what some of the debates must have been during the decision making process.