Source : National Post

A recent Quebec Court decision has ignited a public debate about the ability of Canadians to access popular U.S. and third-language television channels. It is a debate that pits the CRTC's regulations against the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It also raises fundamental questions about the government's right to restrict access to satellite signals, and will no doubt lead to renewed calls for completely "open skies" in broadcasting.

Canada's cable companies support the call for more competition and choice in broadcasting, including more U.S. and third-language services. But the "open skies" approach is the wrong way to go.

"Open skies" would permit Canadians and Americans to access each others' satellite services to get the programming they want. The theory sounds attractive to Canadians, but Americans are unlikely to want Canadian services.

There are also numerous copyright issues to resolve that could lead to blackouts on both sides of the border. An open skies model means a shift to a North American or continental market where foreign ownership and Canadian content rules would have to be jettisoned to ensure competitive equity.

The Quebec judge gave the federal government a year to come up with less intrusive measures to achieve Canadian broadcasting objectives. In this regard, we believe most, if not all, of the following recommendations could be accomplished relatively quickly through Cabinet directives to the CRTC:

- All third-language services currently carried by U.S. satellite providers should be allowed into Canada, as long as the channels agree not to hold exclusive rights. This would immediately remove an apparent justification for satellite signal theft.

- There should be no limits on competition among news channels. A country such as Canada should have no restrictions either on domestic or foreign sources of news and public affairs. Let's start by approving Fox News before the end of the year.

- The CRTC's policy on genre exclusivity, which prohibits overlap among services that are wholly or partially competitive, should be removed for both Canadian and popular U.S. services. This would permit both Canadian broadcasters and distributors to be more responsive to consumers, allowing them to adjust their format to changes in audience preferences.

- Finally, the government must continue imposing real penalties to deter satellite signal theft. Even in more competitive environments such as the United States, the theft of cable and satellite service remains a huge problem, which is addressed aggressively by the government and industry.

Satellite signal theft is hurting the broadcasting business on both sides of the border. Theft of the product of creators, producers, broadcasters and distributors is not a victimless crime. It costs jobs and has a profound impact on the ability of Canada's communications industry to develop new and innovative services for the digital world.

© National Post