The CRTC has published its Strategic Plan: Connecting Canadians through technology and culture, outlining its priorities.
The plan builds on the commission’s release last year of its areas of focus, which included lowering cell phone and internet prices for Canadians, modernizing the broadcasting system to promote Canadian and Indigenous content, and improving the CRTC’s own processes to better serve Canadians.
The commission says it has made progress in those areas, including helping lower consumer prices for cellular services by 12.8% year-over-year; improving connectivity in rural, remote and Indigenous communities, including bringing high-speed internet to Nunavut; moving forward with implementation of the amended Broadcasting Act by launching nine public consultations and issuing four decisions, including requiring online streaming services to contribute an estimated $200 million per year to the broadcasting system; and launching four public consultations to implement the Online News Act.
The CRTC says the Strategic Plan will build on its efforts to modernize the broadcast system as it continues its work to build the bargaining framework for the Online News Act.
Other actions outlined as priorities include continuing to implement Broadcast Act changes to reflect how each radio station, television service and online streaming service should support the broadcast system. Public consultations are on deck and/or underway on the definitions of Canadian and Indigenous content; the structural relationships between small, medium, and large players in traditional and online streaming services; and radio and audio streaming services.
The plan also underscores the commission’s work to co-develop the Indigenous broadcasting policy, including actively engaging with Indigenous communities to gather feedback and views; and establishing joint working groups to help ensure the framework is Indigenous-led and anchored in Indigenous self-determination.
