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Costs Order CRTC 2001-8
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Ottawa, 10 April 2001 |
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Subject: Restructured bands, revised local loop rates and related
issues - Public Notice CRTC 2000-27
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Reference: 8661-C12-02/00
and 4754-185 |
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Application for costs by Action Réseau Consommateur, the
Consumers' Association of Canada, Fédération des associations coopératives
d'économie familiale du Québec, and the National Anti-Poverty
Organization (ARC et al.)
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1. |
By letter dated 13 February 2001, ARC et al. applied for costs
associated with their participation in the above-noted proceeding.
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2. |
ARC et al. submitted in their application that they met
the criteria for an award of costs set out in section 44 of the CRTC
Telecommunications Rules of Procedure (the Rules) in that:
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a) they represent a body of subscribers that has a clear interest
in the outcome of the proceeding; |
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b) they have participated responsibly; and |
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c) they contributed to a better understanding of the issues
through their interrogatories and comments. |
3. |
Only Saskatchewan Telecommunications commented on the
application. It did not object to an award of costs, but recommended
that any costs awarded be allocated among all interested parties
that participated actively and had a significant interest in the
outcome.
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Commission determination
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4. |
The Commission considers that ARC et al. have satisfied the
criteria for an award of costs under section 44 of the Rules.
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5. |
With respect to the question of appropriate respondents for costs
on this application, the Commission considers that all local
exchange carriers who participated actively in the proceeding should
be responsible for a portion of ARC et al.'s costs. On this basis,
the Commission is of the view that the following participants should
be named as respondents: AT&T Canada Corp. (on behalf of itself,
Call-Net Enterprises Inc. and C1.com Inc.), Bell Canada (on behalf
of itself, MTS Communications Inc., MTT, NBTel Inc., NewTel
Communications Inc. and Island Telecom Inc.), Microcell
Telecommunications Inc., SaskTel and TELUS Communications (B.C.)
Inc. The Commission further considers that the amount that each
respondent contributes should be based on such factors as their
relative size, and their participation and stake in the proceeding.
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Direction as to costs
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6. |
The Commission approves ARC et al.'s application for costs in
this proceeding.
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7. |
For the reasons mentioned above, the award of costs to ARC et al.
shall be paid by the above named respondents in the following
proportions:
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AT&T Canada (on behalf of itself,
12%
Call-Net and C1.com) |
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Bell Canada (on behalf of itself,
62%
MTS, MTT, NBTel, NewTel and
Island Tel) |
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Microcell
2% |
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SaskTel
3% |
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TELUS Communications (B.C.) Inc.
21% |
8. |
The costs awarded herein shall be subject to taxation in
accordance with the Rules.
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9. |
The costs awarded herein shall be taxed by Mathilda Haykal-Sater.
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10. |
ARC et al. shall, within 30 days of the issuance of this order,
submit a bill of costs and an affidavit of disbursements directly to
the taxing officer, serving a copy on the respondents for costs.
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11. |
The respondents for cost may, within two weeks of receipt of
those documents, file comments directly with the taxing officer in
response to the claim for costs, serving a copy on ARC et al.
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12. |
ARC et al. may, within two weeks of receipt of any
comments submitted by the respondents for costs, file a reply to
such comments, serving a copy on the respondents.
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13. |
All documents to be filed or served by a specific date must
actually be received, and not merely sent by that date.
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Secretary General
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This document is available in alternative format upon request
and may also be examined at the following Internet site: http://www.crtc.gc.ca |