The Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS) 2016-17 annual report shows an 11 per cent increase in the number of complaints received from Canadian telecom customers

The Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS) 2016-17 annual report shows an 11 per cent increase in the number of complaints received from Canadian telecom customers, reversing a three-year trend of declining complaint numbers. Canadians continue to complain most often about their wireless services, namely unilateral changes made to contracts, the application of data overage caps, and failure to provide notice before disconnection. The CCTS reports that 91 per cent of complaints were successfully resolved to the satisfaction of the customer and the service provider. The full report is available for download here.

The College of Sports Media (CSM) celebrated its 10th anniversary on Nov. 19. The Toronto private career college welcomed back alumni including Faizal Khamisa, Shawn McKenzie and Jesse Rubinoff from Sportsnet, Pat Mayo from Draftkings, Phil Perkins from CHCH-TV Hamilton, and Nick Alberga from SiriusXM’s NHL Hockey Network to mark the milestone. Faculty include Sportsnet anchor Evanka Osmak, Hockey Central host John Shannon, and Fan 590 (CJCL-FM) Toronto personality Hugh Burrill.

The Canadian Media Guild has reached a tentative three-year agreement with ZoomerMedia. Once ratified, the renewed collective agreement would be effective from Sept. 1, 2017 to Aug. 31, 2020. Highlights of the deal include 1.8 per cent salary increases retroactive to Sept. 1; Sept. 1, 2018; and another on Sept. 1, 2019. The deal also provides for proper meal breaks; improved compassionate care leave for family members, as well as parental leave benefits; transparent parameters for internships, including agreement interns not be used to replace existing staff or avoid filling a vacancy; longer lay-off notice period, and some ability to borrow vacation time.

Rogers has made network improvements at Tsawwassen Mills, near the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal in Delta, BC, in part to improve the reliability of mobile point of sale terminals in the 1.2 million-square-foot mall. In addition, Rogers has increased LTE coverage and turned on 700 MHz spectrum in the area so customers are less likely to experience a drop to lower data speeds.

Ottawa is aiming to attract tech companies and jobs with a next-generation mobile test site at Ottawa City Hall that allows 5G companies to test applications. The federal-municipal partnership offers an outdoor lab where researchers can demonstrate recent 5G advances including technology that uses engineered surfaces to significantly increase coverage.

The International Federation of Journalists has published a survey that finds almost one in two women journalists have suffered sexual harassment, psychological abuse, online trolling and others forms of gender-based violence while working. The survey of almost 400 women journalists in 50 countries, including Canada, also revealed 38 per cent of abusers were a boss or supervisor with a massive 85 per saying no or inadequate action was taken against the perpetrator. Unifor is calling on Canadian media outlets to take the findings seriously.

CBC/Radio-Canada has released its Q2 financial report for the quarter ended Sept. 30. Revenue for the quarter decreased by 32.6 per cent, primarily because last year’s amount includes revenue from broadcast of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Expenses were down year-over-year 9.5 per cent, offset by increase costs for airing more original Arts and Entertainment programming, covering Canada 150 events, and continued investment in digital and local services. The quarter also reflects the disposal of the Maison de Radio-Canada premises in Montreal. Read more here.

CBC/Radio-Canada has shared its latest corporate Environmental Performance Report, which highlights the public broadcaster’s environmental performance from April 2016 to March 2017. Footprint decreases were recorded in most categories, most notably fleet vehicle CO2 emissions, which dropped 10.7 per cent and water consumption, down 8.6 per cent versus 2015-2016.

The CRTC Prize for Excellence in Policy Research submission deadline is approaching on Jan. 26. Co-sponsored with the Canadian Communication Association (CCA), Canadian graduate students and post-doctoral researchers are encouraged to submit papers on cross-cutting themes in Canadian information and communication studies, such as Canadian content on TV and online; media concentration and democracy; telecommunications and the digital divide; technological changes and their impact on society, or other relevant topics. The 2018 CRTC Prize will be presented at the 2018 CCA Annual Meeting in May. Find more details here.

CBC Ombudsman Esther Enkin has concluded that Marketplace journalists did not unfairly portray one of the subjects of its “Fake Degrees” episode, which aired on Sept. 15, 2017. The complainant, Dubravko Zgrablić, felt his side of the story was not presented and he was portrayed in an unnecessary negative light. Zgrablić holds a Master’s Degree from Almeda University, one of the so-called “degree mills” Marketplace was investigating. Enkin’s review concluded CBC journalistic policy and procedure was followed.

CBC/Radio-Canada and the Canadian Paralympic Committee has announced a multi-Games partnership renewal that will see the public broadcaster remain Canada’s Paralympic Network through the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. The extended partnership begins with the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games, March 9-18.