JOHN LAWFORD is of the strong opinion the Canadian regulator is performing below par and should blame for the industry woes.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, known as the CRTC, is responsible for Canada’s telecommunications networks. It touts its mandate on its webpage, saying: “We regulate and supervise broadcasting and telecommunications in the public interest.”
In our experience, that statement is untrue. The CRTC long ago gave up seeking to regulate “in the public interest.” What is actually new is that they are no longer regulating at all.
Let’s take the most recent crisis — hurricane Fiona — which Atlantic Canadians know all too well.
What did the CRTC do to prepare the telecommunications companies and individuals and businesses using cellphones and internet for the storm? Nothing.
John Lawford: “The CRTC is to blame. They can make the telecommunications companies do what is needed; they just haven’t done it yet.” – Contributed
John Lawford: “The CRTC is to blame. They can make the telecommunications companies do what is needed; they just haven’t done it yet.” – Contributed
OK, maybe we should not expect the federal CRTC to act like provincial emergency measures organizations (EMOs). But wait, in the United States, the equivalent agency, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), does prepare telecommunications companies and citizens for these events. And it monitors them during storms and reports on them after they pass.
The FCC webpage had prominent links to the latest information on telecommunications preparedness, outages and expected restoration times for all US counties in the paths of hurricanes Fiona and Ian. The FCC has stipulated in great detail how the telecommunications companies must co-operate with the federal and state emergency management authorities and with other telecoms. The FCC even officially declares when the emergency state is over.
What did the CRTC do to prepare the telecommunications companies and individuals and businesses using cellphones and internet for the storm? Nothing.
The FCC for many years has had these requirements. The CRTC, no.
When hurricane Dorian did much the same to Nova Scotia and adjacent areas in 2019, the CRTC for the first time bestirred itself and created an “open docket” where they placed companies’ answers to the CRTC’s questions about “service outages” such as those from Fiona.
Guess what? Open dockets like this don’t lead to the CRTC making binding decisions that might make the telecommunications companies prepare for such events, build more resilient networks, or hold them to standards for repairing systems.
Also, the companies regularly black out or redact their responses so the public can never see what they did or did not do. All that happens is a sulky, semi-secret exchange of notes from the regulated companies to the regulator.
Voluntary efforts
To be fair, the telecommunications companies made voluntary efforts to assist the EMOs of the affected provinces and worked informally with each other. But the CRTC has not required them to do so. Federal Innovation, Science and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne talked tough and his department assisted as well, but the dirty little secret is that he has almost no authority to direct telecommunications companies — only the CRTC does.
The CRTC’s chair, Ian Scott, was finally pinned down on the CRTC’s inaction on telecom disasters by a Parliamentary Committee this summer. But that was after Rogers lost service nationwide and he only promised that the CRTC “will be taking longer-term action.”
When, exactly?
So Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston was right to lash out publicly — not enough was being done — but he aimed his anger at the wrong entities, or at least those less responsible. The CRTC is to blame. They can make the telecommunications companies do what is needed; they just haven’t done it yet.
The result of this regulatory inaction is that Canadians are not only increasingly exposed to natural disasters due to climate change but are utterly vulnerable due to a lack of communications connectivity when they need it most: when their lives are on quite literally on the line. This lack of interest or responsibility of the CRTC is disturbing, to say the least.
So, no, Atlantic Canadians, the CRTC doesn’t hate you. They just don’t care.
- Lawford is executive director and general counsel of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), a national non-profit organization that provides legal and research services on behalf of consumer interests concerning the provision of important public services. www.saltwire.com
