The CRTC's Origins
Canadian broadcasting policy has been an area of popular study this
century. Royal commissions, task forces, parliamentary committees and
regulatory authorities have studied this topic many times. Since 1928, when
the Government of Canada created the first Royal Commission on Broadcasting,
the government has sought to develop policies to keep pace with changing
technology. This has been the government's central goal from the early days
of radio and television, to our current information highway era characterized
by rapid technological change.
Over the past eight decades, royal commissions, task forces, parliamentary
committees and regulatory authorities, and the legislative initiatives of
governments have embraced the same principle: the Canadian broadcasting
system is a tool for protecting and promoting Canadian culture and achieving
key social objectives. Legislators and regulatory bodies in Canada have
acknowledged that Canadian broadcasting is essential to preserving our
national sovereignty.
Like broadcasting, Canadian telecommunications have been the subject of
much debate. The first regulatory framework for telecommunications dates back
to 1906. In 1906 and later in 1908, amendments to the Railway Act
granted the Board of Railway Commissioners for Canada the power to regulate
telephone and telegraph companies under federal jurisdiction. The Board was
responsible for approving telephone service rates, ordering the
interconnection of telephone systems, and installing lines along highways and
in other public places.
1852
The first Telegraph Act is passed.
1866
The first permanent transatlantic telegraph link is built, via a submarine
cable between Ireland and Newfoundland.
1876
Alexander Graham Bell, of Brantford, Ontario, patents his invention, the
telephone.
1880
The Bell Telephone Company of Canada is incorporated by a special act of
Parliament.
1893
An amendment to Bell Canada's charter now requires it to obtain the
permission of the Governor in Council before increasing rates.
1900
There are now 19 transatlantic cables. The site with the highest
concentration is in Nova Scotia.
1901
The first wireless (radiotelegraph) trans-atlantic signals are sent from
Cornwall, England to St. John's, Newfoundland.
1902
Canada's first wireless station is established in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia.
1905
The first Canadian legislation, the Radiotelegraph Act, on wireless
telegraph is passed.
1913
The Radiotelegraph Act encompasses the radiotelephone sector.
1918
The Department of Naval Service, under the authority of the Radiotelegraph
Act (1913), issues the first experimental broadcasting licence to a radio
station-XWA-in Montreal, Quebec. XWA, which is owned by the Marconi Wireless
Telegraph Company of Canada, later becomes CFCF.
1919
XWA/Montreal is the first radio station to broadcast regular programming.
1923
Canadian National Railways (CN) installs radio equipment on trains.
1928
The Government of Canada forms a royal commission chaired by Sir John Aird,
to study the state of broadcasting in the country and make recommendations on
its administration, management and monitoring, and to assess its financial
needs.
The Commission recommends the creation of a Canadian broadcasting network,
to be supervised by an independent federal agency.
Three years go by (1932) before the Government acts on the Aird
Commission's Report.
1931
The first Canadian television station, VE9EC, goes on the air in Montreal.
VE9EC is owned jointly by radio station CKAC and the newspaper, La Presse.
1932
The first trans-Canada telephone system is completed (the Copper Highway).
In response to the Aird Commission's report, Parliament sets up a special
committee on broadcasting and acts on its recommendations through the
Canadian Radio Broadcasting Act.
This legislation, amended in 1936, creates the Canadian Radio Broadcasting
Commission (CRBC).
The CRBC is to regulate and control all broadcasting in Canada and provide
a national broadcasting service. This entails determining the number,
location and power of radio stations as well as the time that should be
devoted to national and local programming.
1933
The Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission (CRBC) extends its reach and
expands its programming. It also acquires CN's facilities.
1936
Amendments to the 1932 Canadian Radio Broadcasting Act create a Crown
corporation: the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
The CBC is now responsible for providing a national radio service in
Canada. The Corporation produces, broadcasts and regulates programming.
The CBC replaces the CRBC and takes over the Commission's staff and
facilities (8 public stations, 14 private stations).
An act is passed to create the Department of Transport, which includes the
Department of Naval Service, the Department of Railways and Canals as well as
the Civil Aviation Branch of the Department of National Defence. From now on,
telecommunications are primarily the responsibility of the Department of
Transport.
Beginning in 1938, the Board of Transport Commissioners for Canada
regulates federally-chartered telecommunications companies, called common
carriers.
1937
Through the Minister of Transport, the CBC organizes the Havana Conference
attended by the governments of a number of countries in the Americas,
including the United States, Mexico and Cuba. They reach an agreement, called
the Havana Agreement, on the allocation of frequencies. This will reduce
interference.
Under the Havana Agreement, Canada obtains six unoccupied frequencies as
well as other limited or shared frequencies. These new acquisitions enable
Canada to introduce more powerful transmitters and expand its network.
With new transmitters in Toronto and Montreal, public radio now reaches 76
percent of the population (up from 49 percent).
1939
A team of announcers and technicians accompanies the Canadian Armed Forces
First Division to England, where they set up Radio Canada's overseas service.
Developments in telecommunications are mobilized for the war effort.
1941
Creation of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation News Service. Special
broadcasts include Sir Winston Churchill's speech to the House of Commons in
Ottawa.
1942
The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) calls on the Association of
Canadian Advertisers (ACA) and the Canadian Association of Advertising
Agencies to develop a system to determine the price of advertising air time.
This leads to the creation of the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement (BBM).
1944
CBC creates a third public network (across Canada) known as Dominion, to
provide a second choice of English-language programs.
1949
CBC acquires the facilities of the Broadcasting Corporation of Newfoundland
when that province enters Confederation.
1950
Nationalization of Cable & Wireless Limited and the Canadian Marconi Company
results in the creation of a Crown corporation, the Canadian Overseas
Telecommunication Corporation (COTC), which becomes Teleglobe in 1975.
1951
The Massey-Lévesque Commission entrenches the CBC's regulatory role.
1952
Canadian television (CBC) is launched.
Canada's first urban cablevision facility opens in London, Ontario.
1955
The first television broadcast of the opening of Parliament.
CBC television is now accessible to 66 percent of Canadians.
A Royal Commission on broadcasting, chaired by Robert Fowler, is created.
1957
The Fowler Commission recommends that responsibility for regulating
broadcasting be removed from the CBC.
The lack of restrictions on foreign ownership prompts the Commission to
recommend that forthcoming legislation on broadcasting include a provision
prohibiting the direct or indirect acquisition of over 20 percent interest in
any Canadian radio or television station by non-Canadians.
1958
The first television program is broadcast live from Nova Scotia to
British Columbia. The CBC's microwave network is now the longest television
network in the world.
The CBC creates its Northern Service (radio).
The Government creates a new regulatory body to replace the CBC. From now
on, the Board of Broadcast Governors (BBG) regulates Canadian broadcasting,
including the CBC and private broadcasters.
The BBG is empowered to establish regulations designed to promote Canadian
talent by broadcasting stations.
1960
The Board of Broadcast Governors (BBG) invites private television stations to
submit applications to establish networks.
1961
The CTV network (Canadian Television Network) is launched.
The CBC submits recommendations on satellite telecommunications in Canada.
The transatlantic telephone system is officially launched with a call from
Queen Elizabeth II to Prime Minister John Diefenbaker.
1962
The Alouette satellite is launched. Canada becomes the third country in the
world to have a satellite in orbit.
1963
The Government makes a decision to have the private sector develop Canada's
aerospace industry (this is the ISIS satellite program).
1964
A new committee on broadcasting is formed, the Fowler Committee.
The Committee urges the Government to identify its expectations for the
broadcasting system as well as set specific objectives for both the public
and private broadcasting sectors in Canada.
The Committee also recommends replacing the BBG with a new regulatory and
licensing agency.
1965
The Canadian government announces its policy on colour television.
1966
A white paper on broadcasting is published.
The Government sets out its broadcasting policy: Canadians should maintain
control over new electronic communications technologies in order to preserve
and strengthen Canada's social and economic structures.
Colour television broadcasts begin in Canada.
1967
The Chapman Report recommends that Canadian research on space technology
focus on communications and remote sensing. The Report also suggests that
Canada capitalize on its expertise in the international market. This Report
leads to the creation of the Department of Communications and Telesat Canada
in 1969.
1968
A white paper on satellite telecommunications is released.
The first televised debate by leaders of political parties in Canada
(joint CBC/CTV production) takes place.
The Broadcasting Act is adopted. The Act does the following:
- confirms CBC's mandate as a national broadcaster
- strengthens restrictions on foreign ownership
- requires the predominant use of Canadian creators and talent
- reaffirms a vision of the broadcasting system as a means of
strengthening Canada's cultural, social and economic structures
- creates the Canadian Radio-television Commission (CRTC), a new
regulatory agency that becomes the Canadian Radio-television and
Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in 1976.
1976
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Act
expands the CRTC's jurisdiction to include federally regulated common
carriers.
1984
First specialty services MuchMusic and TSN are approved. Later that year the
Commission also grants licences to specialty services Telelatino and
Chinavision.
1991
Parliament amends the Broadcasting Act.
1992
CRTC allows long distance competition in the telecom industry.
1993
Parliament passes a new Telecommunications Act.
1995
The first broadcasting distribution undertaking licence for direct to home
satellite service (DTH) are granted to Bell ExpressVu and Power DirecTv.
1997
CRTC introduces local competition in the telecommunications industry.
1999
The Commission licenses the world's first service devoted to aboriginal
peoples for nation-wide distribution. That same year, the Commission
publishes its report on New Media and became one of the first communication
regulators in the world to clarify its position on the Internet.
2000
The Commission publishes a licensing framework for digital specialty and pay
television services.
2001
The CRTC issues its report to the Governor in Council on French-language
broadcasting services in a minority environment.
2002
The CRTC publishes a regulatory framework for guiding the transition to
digital over-the-air television.
TEL. (toll-free): 1-877-249-CRTC (2782)
TDD (toll-free): 1-877-909-2782
Internet address: http://www.crtc.gc.ca
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