The CRTC plans to engage the public in its regulatory decisions much more than it has in the past, says chairman Jean-Pierre Blais.
Speaking before the annual workshop of the Community of Federal Regulators Monday, Blais said that engaging the public has become one of the “most critical elements” of developing regulations.
He said that while the federal regular has previously encouraged dialogue with consumers, stakeholders and public servants on key public-policy issues, it is applying new strategies aimed at stimulating what he called “more robust discussions” on various regulatory issues.
“Doing so isn’t without its risks, of course,” said Blais. “It requires us to shift from the status quo to experimentation. And it means we need to offer Canadians greater opportunities to engage with us, as well as choice in they ways they do so.”
His remarks came shortly after the CRTC launched its newest initiative, “Let’s Talk TV: A Conversation with Canadians,” aimed at fostering conversation about how a modern-day TV system should be constructed and regulated.
The initiative includes a dedicated website, and also encourages Canadians to submit comments via e-mail, fax or an online form. The CRTC is also urging consumers to participate in so-called “Flash!” conferences, volunteer-hosted events in which participants are invited to discuss and explore themes related to the TV system.
It’s a radically different environment from the one in which Canadian media companies have traditionally operated, and one they are still trying to figure out.
As an example, Blais said the CRTC received more than 9,700 interventions from citizens regarding Bell’s first application to acquire control of Astral Media, some of which he read out loud during public hearings and asked Bell executives to respond.
“The executives from the companies were taken aback by this approach,” he said. “I suspect they did not even have the comments at hand. It certainly put Canadians squarely in the middle of the discussion by raising the interventions of individual Canadians during the oral hearing.”
Blais did concede that attempting new things does not ensure success, such as a failed attempt to hold evening sessions in renewal hearings for CBC/Radio-Canada licenses, reasoning that people would stop by after work to have their say. But while the CRTC received 8,000 interventions – in addition to thousands of comments posted in an online discussion forum – nobody attended the evening sessions and they were eventually cancelled.
He noted, however, that Canadians are keen to have their opinion heard in proceedings that matter to them. He cited recent hearings into granting Quebecor’s Sun News Network mandatory carriage on Canadian cable systems, during which the CRTC receiving a staggering 135,000 interventions. “This just proves that, when people really care, they come out in droves,” said Blais.
The full text of the speech can be read here.
