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Broadcasting Notice of Public Hearing
CRTC 2006-4-1 |
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See also: 2006-4
and 2006-4-2
Ottawa, 27 April 2006 |
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Further to its
Broadcasting Notice of Public Hearing CRTC 2006-4
dated 20 April 2006 relating to a Public Hearing which will be held
on 19 June 2006 at 9:30 a.m., at the Westin Edmonton Hotel, 10135-100th Street,
Edmonton, Alberta, the Commission announces the following: |
| 1. |
THE cOMMISSION ADDS THE
FOLLOWING ITEM TO THE 19 Juin 2006 PUBLIC hEARING. |
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Item |
Applicant and Locality |
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78. |
Aliant Telecom Inc.
(Aliant), on behalf of itself and of Câblevision du Nord de Québec inc.
(Câblevision)
Saint-John/Moncton, New Brunswick; Halifax, Nova Scotia;
Rouyn-Noranda, Val d’Or and Poularies, Quebec |
| 78. |
Saint-John/Moncton, New Brunswick; Halifax, Nova Scotia; Rouyn-Noranda,
Val d’Or and Poularies, Quebec
Application No. 2006-0258-3 |
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Application by
Aliant Telecom Inc. (Aliant), on behalf of itself and of Câblevision du
Nord de Québec inc. (Câblevision) to implement a corporate
reorganization involving the broadcasting distribution undertakings (BDUs)
of Aliant and Câblevision. |
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The applicant is
also requesting new licences to continue the operation of the cable BDUs
currently issued to Aliant. |
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Aliant –
acquisition of assets |
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Aliant is the
licensee of two BDUs serving Saint-John/Moncton, New Brunswick and
Halifax, Nova Scotia. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aliant Inc., a
corporation controlled by Bell Canada through its subsidiaries 3588378
Canada Inc. and 3810208 Canada Inc. |
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The transactions
involving Aliant and its BDUs would be as follows: |
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- Amalgamation of Aliant Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries,
including Aliant, to form Aliant Amalco.
- Transfer of the assets of the BDUs to the partners of a limited
partnership to be formed (Wireline LP). Aliant Amalco would be the
general partner and a limited partner in Wireline LP. Bell Canada and
a wholly-owned subsidiary to be incorporated under Aliant Amalco
(Aliant Subco) would be the other limited partners.
- Purchase of certain common shares of Aliant Amalco by a trust to
be formed (Parent Trust). Parent Trust would then transfer these
common shares of Aliant Amalco to a second trust to be formed under
Parent Trust (Holdings Trust).
- Another limited partnership would be formed (Holdings LP), with
Holdings Trust as a limited partner and a corporation to be
incorporated (GP Co.), as the general partner. BCE Inc. (BCE) and Bell
Canada would then transfer the remaining common shares of Aliant
Amalco held by them in exchange for limited partnership units of
Holdings LP and, in addition for Bell Canada, for common shares of GP
Co.
- Parent Trust would issue to BCE and Bell Canada a number of units
of Parent Trust to be designated as "Special Voting Units." The other
units would be publicly held.
- Transfer of the common shares to be held by Holdings Trust to
Holdings LP, which in turn, would transfer the common shares to a
corporation to be incorporated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of
Holdings LP (Acquisitionco).
- Amalgamation of Aliant Amalco with Acquisitionco to form Wireline
GP, the general partner and a limited partner of Wireline LP.
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As a result of the
proposed reorganization, the common shares of Wireline GP (representing
Aliant after the various transactions described above) would be held by
Holdings LP and, the assets of Aliant’s BDUs would be transferred to
Wireline LP. |
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Accordingly,
Wireline GP, the general partner and a limited partner, with Bell Canada
and Aliant Subco, the other limited partners, to carry on business as
Wireline LP, are requesting new licences under the same terms and
conditions to continue the operation of the BDUs upon surrender of the
licences issued to Aliant. |
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Câblevision –
change in ownership |
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Câblevision is the
licensee of BDUs serving Rouyn-Noranda and Val d’Or, Quebec, and a
multipoint distribution system (MDS) serving Poularies, Quebec. It is
owned, through Telebec, Limited Partnership (Telebec LP), by Bell Nordiq
Group Inc. (BNG) as the general partner of Telebec LP holding 63.4% of
the common shares, and Bell Nordiq Trust as the limited partner holding
36.6% of the common shares.
BNG is owned and controlled by Bell Canada, through its subsidiary
3588378 Canada Inc.
Bell Nordiq Trust is owned by Bell Nordiq Income Fund. The units of the
Fund are held by the public. |
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As a result of the
proposed reorganization, BNG’s common shares would be transferred to
Holdings LP. |
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Control of Aliant and
Câblevison |
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The applicant stated that the
corporate reorganization would not result in any change in BCE’s
ultimate control of Aliant and Câblevision. |
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The applicant further stated
that BCE, through Bell Canada, would control GP Co. In turn, as the
general partner of Holdings LP, GP Co. would control the undertakings
and assets of Holdings LP, which would include the common shares of BNG
and the common shares of Wireline GP, the general partnership of
Wireline LP. |
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Upon closing, BCE and Bell
Canada would hold Special Voting Units representing a 73.5% fully
diluted interest in Parent Trust. This interest is expected to be
reduced to approximately 45% through a distribution of BCE’s units to
BCE shareholders. |
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Pursuant to a Securityholders’
Agreement to be entered into by BCE, Bell Canada, Parent Trust, Holdings
Trust, GP Co., Holdings LP, Wireline LP and Wireline GP, BCE would be
granted certain rights, including the following: |
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BCE would appoint a majority of the directors of GP Co., provided
that BCE and Bell Canada’s total voting interest in Parent Trust on a
fully diluted basis is 30% or greater;
- The board of directors of GP Co. would have the right to nominate
persons for election to the board of trustees of Parent Trust;
- The board of trustees of Holdings Trust would be the
same as the board of directors of GP Co.
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The applicant indicated that
it had applied for a Class 1 regional licence to operate a BDU to serve
Region 5, which consists of the provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia,
Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador. In the event that
this application is approved prior to the current application, this
licence would be re-issued to Wireline GP, the general partner and a
limited partner, with Bell Canada and Aliant Subco, the other limited
partners, to carry on business as Wireline LP. |
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Applicant's address:
One Brunswick Square, Floor 5
P.O. Box 1430
Saint John, New Brunswick
E2L 4K2
Fax: 1-877-250-9259
E-Mail:
regulatory.matters@aliant.ca |
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Examination of application:
At the applicant’s address
and
Aliant Telecom Inc. – Regulatory Matters
10 Factory Lane
St-John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador
Aliant Telecom Inc. – Regulatory Matters
Maritime Centre
1505 Barrington Street
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Câblevision du Nord de Québec inc.
45 Hôtel-de-Ville Boulevard
Val d’Or, Quebec |
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[Broadcasting intervention/comments form] |
| 2. |
THE FOLLOWING ITEMS ARE
AMENDED AND THE CHANGES ARE IN BOLD. |
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Correction to Item No. 1 |
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Grande Prairie, Alberta
Application No. 2005-0827-8 |
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Application by 1097282 Alberta
Ltd. for a licence to operate an English-language FM commercial radio
programming undertaking in Grande Prairie. |
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Examination of application:
City of Grande Prairie
10205-98th Street
Grande Prairie, Alberta |
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Correction to Item No. 63 |
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Across Canada
Application No. 2006-0129-6 |
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Application by Surjit S.
Gill, on behalf of a corporation to be incorporated, for a
licence to operate a Category 2 national ethnic specialty programming
undertaking to be known as Channel Punjabi Khalsa. |
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Correction to Item No. 64 |
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Across Canada
Application No. 2006-0130-4 |
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Application by Surjit S.
Gill, on behalf of a corporation to be incorporated, for a
licence to operate a Category 2 national ethnic specialty programming
undertaking to be known as Channel Punjabi News. |
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Public Participation |
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Deadline for interventions/comments |
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25 May 2006 |
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The intervention must be
received by the CRTC and by the applicant on or before the
above-mentioned date. The Commission cannot be held responsible for
postal delays. |
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The intervention must include
one of the following statements in either the first or the last
paragraph: |
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1 - I request to appear at the
public hearing.
2 - I do not want to appear at the public hearing. |
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Your intervention will be
considered by the Commission, and will form part of the public record of
the proceeding without further notification to you, provided the
procedure set out below has been followed. You will be contacted only if
your submission raises procedural questions. |
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Submit your written
intervention to the Secretary General of the Commission in only one
of the following formats: |
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by using the
Broadcasting Intervention/Comments Form
located below the description of each application within this notice of
public hearing |
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or |
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by mail to
CRTC, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0N2 |
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or |
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by fax at
(819) 994-0218 |
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A true copy must be sent to the
applicant and proof that this has been done must accompany the
intervention sent to the Commission. |
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The Commission advises those who file and
serve by electronic mode to exercise caution when using e-mail for
service of documents or notification, as it may be difficult to
establish that service has occurred. |
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Before initiating service through
electronic mode, please ensure that you will be able to satisfy the
Commission, upon request, that service of the notification was
completed. |
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Where the intervention is filed by
electronic means, the line ***End of document*** should be entered
following the last paragraph of the document, as an indication that the
document has not been damaged during electronic transmission. |
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Each paragraph of the document should be
numbered. |
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Your intervention should clearly identify
the application and indicate whether you support or oppose the
application, or if you propose changes to it, include the facts and
grounds for your proposal. |
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In the event that the application is
brought to the oral phase of the hearing, and if you wish to appear, you
must provide reasons why your written comments are not sufficient and
why an appearance is necessary. |
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Persons requiring communications support
such as assistance listening devices and sign language interpretation
are requested to inform the commission at least twenty (20) days before
the commencement of the public hearing so that the necessary
arrangements can be made. |
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Important notice |
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Note that all information that you provide
as part of this public process, except information granted
confidentiality, whether sent by postal mail, facsimile, e-mail or
through the Commission’s web site at www.crtc.gc.ca, becomes part of a
publicly accessible file and will be posted on the Commission’s web
site. This information includes your personal information, such as your
full name, e-mail address, postal/street address, telephone and
facsimile number(s), and any other personal information you provide.
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Documents received electronically or
otherwise will be put on the Commission’s web site in their entirety
exactly as you send them, including any personal information contained
therein, in the official language and format in which they are received.
Documents not received electronically will be available in PDF format.
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The personal information you provide will
be used and may be disclosed for the purpose for which the information
was obtained or compiled by the Commission, or for a use consistent with
that purpose. |
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Examination of documents |
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An electronic version of applications is
available from the Commission’s web site by selecting the application
number within this notice. |
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A list of all interventions/comments will
also be available on the Commission’s Web site. An electronic version of
all interventions/comments submitted will be accessible from this list.
To access the list, select "Lists of interventions/comments" under
"Public Proceedings" from the Commission’s Web site. |
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Documents are also available during normal
office hours at the local address provided in this notice and at the
Commission offices and documentation centres directly involved with
these applications or, upon request, within 2 working days, at any other
CRTC offices and documentation centres. |
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Central Building
Les Terrasses de la Chaudière
1 Promenade du Portage, Room 206
Gatineau, Quebec K1A 0N2
Tel: (819) 997-2429 – TDD: 994-0423
FAX: (819) 994-0218 |
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Metropolitan Place
99 Wyse Road
Suite 1410
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia B3A 4S5
Tel: (902) 426-7997 – TDD: 426-6997
FAX: (902) 426-2721 |
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205 Viger Avenue West
Suite 504
Montréal, Quebec H2Z 1G2
Tel: (514) 283-6607 |
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55 St. Clair Avenue East
Suite 624
Toronto, Ontario M4T 1M2
Tel: (416) 952-9096 |
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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 |
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10405 Jasper Avenue
Suite 520
Edmonton, Alberta T5J 3N4
Tel: (780) 495-3224 |
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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 alternative
format upon request, and may also be examined in PDF
format or in HTML at the following Internet site:
http://www.crtc.gc.ca |
Date Modified: 2006-04-27 |
