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Public Notice CRTC 2001-46
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Ottawa, 27 April 2001
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Cable Public Affairs Channel (CPAC) – Call for comments on
possible change to the regime governing the carriage of this service
by broadcasting distribution undertakings
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1. |
CPAC is a satellite-to-cable programming undertaking owned by
members of the Canadian cable distribution industry. It is funded by
its network affiliates (which currently include 84 licensed cable
television systems and two national direct-to-home satellite
distributors), and operated on a not-for-profit basis. CPAC is not
available over the air. The service, which includes television
coverage of the proceedings of the House of Commons and
complementary public affairs programming, is instead distributed
across Canada by broadcasting distribution undertakings (BDUs). The
service is available in three audio modes, namely English, French,
and "floor" sound (or language of origination).
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2. |
CPAC is among the services that, by current regulation, may
be carried by BDUs. Its distribution is thus not mandatory. When
carried, however, it must generally be distributed as part of the
basic service. All licensed distributors are subject to this
requirement except those operating Class 3 distribution
undertakings. |
3. |
On 12 February 2001, the Commission issued Public Notice CRTC 2001-25
entitled Achieving a better balance: Report on French-language
broadcasting services in a minority environment. Among the many
matters discussed within this report was the distribution of CPAC
and, in particular, the fact that, when CPAC is distributed, it is
very often in its English-language version. The Commission’s
report concluded with a list of recommendations and determinations,
including the following two statements addressed specifically to the
distribution of CPAC: |
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Concerning distribution of CPAC the Commission expects
distributors to provide this service in the majority language in
any given market, and also to offer the SAP signal in the minority
language where the technology being used makes this possible.
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Moreover, the Commission intends to examine the issue of CPAC's
distribution further and will shortly initiate a separate process
to determine whether the distribution status of CPAC should be
changed, in light of its importance in making the proceedings of
the House of Commons available to Canadians.
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4. |
The term SAP mentioned in the first of the above recommendations
is an acronym for, variously, the second or secondary audio
programming signal. Distribution undertakings equipped with stereo
generators may transmit a SAP signal as a sub-carrier of the audio
portion of a television signal. A fuller discussion of SAP and its
potential use in the distribution of the CPAC service follows later
in this notice.
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5. |
This notice initiates the separate process referred to in the
second of the above recommendations. In the following sections of
this notice, the Commission briefly traces CPAC’s evolution,
presents the data it has on hand regarding CPAC’s distribution,
and examines the factors affecting the extent of that distribution.
The notice then calls for public comment on what change to the
current regulatory regime would be both reasonable and effective in
ensuring the broadest possible distribution of the service, in both
official languages, to BDU subscribers across Canada. |
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Background |
6. |
Televised coverage of the proceedings of the House of Commons
first became available in the fall of 1977. From 1979 to 1991, the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation was responsible for the national
distribution of this coverage. It was delivered by cable
undertakings to their subscribers on what were termed special
programming channels. Cable Public Affairs Channel Inc., under the
ownership of members of the cable industry, assumed responsibility
for distributing this programming to BDUs in 1992. |
7. |
In Public Notice CRTC 1992-6,
the Commission issued an order exempting from licensing requirements
any entity, such as CPAC, carrying on a broadcasting undertaking
that provides a programming service consisting of coverage of the
proceedings of the House of Commons, including its various
committees. The exemption criteria specified, among other things,
that the service must be made available to BDUs throughout Canada
without charge, and must include "gavel to gavel" coverage
of the House of Commons proceedings. |
8. |
CPAC remains exempt from licensing requirements with respect to
those aspects of its programming service that relate to coverage of
the proceedings of the House of Commons. In Decision CRTC 93-635,
however, the Commission licensed CPAC to carry on a
satellite-to-cable programming undertaking for the purpose of
producing and distributing public affairs programming to complement
its House of Commons coverage. This complementary programming
includes long form, unedited coverage of public proceedings such as
those of Royal Commissions, task forces or special committees of
inquiry, federal-provincial conferences, and proceedings of federal
regulatory agencies. CPAC gives priority to the proceedings of the
House of Commons, as it is required to do under CPAC’s agreement
with the Speaker of the House. CPAC’s licence was renewed for a
full term by Decision CRTC 95-22,
and expires 31 August 2002. |
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CPAC’s current distribution |
9. |
As mentioned earlier, BDUs are not required to carry CPAC. If
they choose to distribute the service, however, it must generally be
carried as part of the basic service. This requirement does not
apply to Class 3 licensees. |
10. |
At the time CPAC assumed responsibility for distributing the
proceedings of the House of Commons, the company’s owners did not
request mandatory distribution of the service, nor did the
Commission require such distribution. The channel capacity available
to distribution undertakings to add services was then, as it is now,
very much an issue, particularly on analog. |
11. |
Nevertheless, under the current regulations, more than 7.3
million households representing 95% of all cable television
subscribers now have access to CPAC and one or more of its three
audio feeds (Source: Mediastats; September 2000). According to data
gathered by CPAC, 8% of Canadian subscribers receive two separate
video channels of CPAC, one in French and the other in English. The
service is also delivered to the approximately 1.2 million
subscribers of the two direct-to-home (DTH) satellite distribution
companies, and those of several multipoint distribution systems
(MDS). |
12. |
With respect to cable specifically, the data indicate that
upwards of 99.6% of the subscribers of Class 1 cable distribution
undertakings (generally those having 6,000 or more subscribers)
receive CPAC’s service. Most often, however, the language of the
principal audio feed is English. Mediastats reports that, of all
Class 1 cable subscribers, only 26.5% receive the French-language
feed of CPAC as their principal audio feed. In the case of Class 2
cable undertakings (generally those having more than 2,000, but
fewer that 6,000 subscribers), CPAC is available to 88.8% of all
subscribers in one or more of its three available audio feeds.
However, only 17.3% of Class 2 subscribers are reported as receiving
the service in the French language. The parallel statistics for
Class 3 cable undertakings (generally those with fewer than 2,000
subscribers) are 59.5% and 18.6%. |
13. |
According to CPAC’s research, 37% of Canadian cable subscribers
who receive CPAC in the official language of the majority (as the
principal audio signal accompanying CPAC’s video signal), also
have access to a separate audio feed in the official language of the
minority. This separate feed might be either on a SAP channel or on
the audio (radio) programming service offered by their BDU. |
14. |
In order to distribute a SAP signal on a single channel, a cable
company might incur an upgrade cost of as little as $500. This
relatively small expense assumes that the system is already equipped
with a high-quality stereo generator. Otherwise, a cable operator
could face an equipment upgrade of between $3,000 and $5,000 per
channel to enable the distribution of a stereo signal. |
15. |
Based on the evidence presented to the Commission in the
consultations leading up to publication of its report, there are
many communities that are home to sizeable second official language
minorities, most particularly of Francophones, who either do not
have access to CPAC’s feed in their language, or who remain
unaware of its availability on a SAP channel or as part of an audio
programming service offering. |
16. |
SAP signals are receivable in the home using television sets or
VCR units that are equipped with internal SAP decoders. Stand-alone
SAP decoders are also available. A subscriber with the appropriate
equipment may select a SAP channel and route it to the speaker or
speakers of the television set. Although television manufacturers
are not obliged to equip sets with SAP decoders, they have been
added to many sets since the early 90s. Current estimates are that
some 50% of Canadian homes have equipment capable of receiving SAP
channels. |
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Matters for consideration |
17. |
With this as background, the Commission seeks to benefit from
public input on the following questions, and on any other matter
that parties may deem relevant to the carriage of CPAC by BDUs: |
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- What should be the distribution status of CPAC? For example,
should it be mandatory to carry the service on an analog channel
in the official language of the majority of any given community?
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- Should carriage of the service in the official language of the
minority of any given community also be a regulatory
requirement? Alternatively, is the expectation set out by the
Commission in PN 2001-25 sufficient
to accomplish the Commission’s objectives?
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- If carriage of CPAC in the official language of the minority
is made mandatory, how should it be distributed? Would carriage
of the audio feed on a SAP channel be sufficient, or should it
be given its own, separate video channel (i.e. should two video
channels be dedicated to the distribution of CPAC)? If carriage
on a SAP channel is sufficient, what onus should be placed on
distributers and CPAC to make subscribers aware of the
availability of the service in this mode, and to educate
subscribers concerning how to access the signal?
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- If CPAC in the official language of the minority is to be
given its own video channel, should it be on an analog or on a
digital channel? Should it be distributed as a discretionary
service or should it be accorded a distribution status
equivalent to that now generally given the service when
distributed in the official language of the majority (i.e. on an
analog channel of the basic service)?
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- Should all types and classes of BDUs generally be made subject
to the same regulatory requirements with respect to the
distribution of CPAC?
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Call for comments |
18. |
The Commission invites comments that address the issues and
questions set out in this notice. As a first phase, the Commission
will accept comments that it receives on or before 28
May 2001 |
19. |
This will be followed by a second written process to allow any
party to file a reply to a comment filed with the Commission during
the first phase. The Commission will accept all such replies that it
receives on or before 27 June 2001. |
20. |
The Commission will not formally acknowledge comments. It will,
however, fully consider all comments and they will form part of the
public record of the proceeding, provided that the procedures for
filing set out below have been followed. |
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Procedures for filing comments |
21. |
Interested parties can file their comments on paper or
electronically. Submissions longer than five pages should include a
summary. |
22. |
Parties wishing to file their comments on paper should
send them to the Secretary General, CRTC, Ottawa, K1A 0N2. |
23. |
Parties wishing to file electronic versions of their
comments can do so by email or on diskette. The Commission email
address is procedure@crtc.gc.ca. |
24. |
Electronic submissions should be in the HTML format. As an
alternative, those making submissions may use "Microsoft
Word" for text and "Microsoft Excel" for
spreadsheets. |
25. |
Please number each paragraph of your submission. In addition,
please enter the line ***End of document*** following the
last paragraph. This will help the Commission verify that the
document has not been damaged during transmission. |
26. |
The Commission will make comments filed in electronic form
available on its web site at www.crtc.gc.ca in the official language
and format in which they are submitted. This will make it easier for
members of the public to consult the documents. |
27. |
The Commission also encourages interested parties to monitor the
public examination file (and/or the Commission's web site) for
additional information that they may find useful when preparing
their comments. |
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Examination of public comments and related documents at the
following Commission offices during normal business hours |
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Central Building
Les Terrasses de la Chaudičre
1 Promenade du Portage, Room G-5
Hull, Quebec K1A 0N2
Tel: (819) 997-2429 - TDD: 994-0423
Fax: (819) 994-0218 |
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Bank of Commerce Building
1809 Barrington Street
Suite 1007
Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 3K8
Tel: (902) 426-7997 - TDD: 426-6997
Fax: (902) 426-2721 |
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405 de Maisonneuve Blvd. East
2nd Floor, Suite B2300
Montréal, Quebec H2L 4J5
Tel: (514) 283-6607 - TDD: 283-8316
Fax: (514) 283-3689 |
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55 St. Clair Avenue East
Suite 624
Toronto, Ontario M4T 1M2
Tel: (416) 952-9096
Fax: (416) 954-6343 |
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Kensington Building
275 Portage Avenue
Suite 1810
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 2B3
Tel: (204) 983-6306 - TDD: 983-8274
Fax: (204) 983-6317 |
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Cornwall Professional Building
2125 - 11th Avenue
Room 103
Regina, Saskatchewan S4P 3X3
Tel: (306) 780-3422
Fax: (306) 780-3319 |
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10405 Jasper Avenue
Suite 520
Edmonton, Alberta T5J 3N4
Tel: (780) 495-3224
Fax: (780) 495-3214
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530-580 Hornby Street
Vancouver, British Columbia V6C 3B6
Tel: (604) 666-2111 - TDD: 666-0778
Fax: (604) 666-8322
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Secretary General
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This document is available in alternate format upon request
and may also be examined at the following Internet site: http://www.crtc.gc.ca |