What is going on with the Cabinet and the appeal of the CRTC’s Deferral Account Decision, which was issued Feb 16, 2006?
Under the rules (Telecom Act, Section 12), Cabinet has one year to “vary or rescind the decision or refer it back to the Commission for reconsideration of all or a portion of it.”
The appeal is also in front of the courts. Time runs out tomorrow.
Will Cabinet ‘punt the ball’ by sending it back to the CRTC for reconsideration – perhaps instructing it to have a fresh look with a view to the Policy Direction? That allows the issue to continue being open while the concurrent Court case proceeds without having to worry about the calendar restrictions imposed by the Telecom Act.
Incidentally, a reader pointed out that CRTC Vice Chairman Richard French was asked about the size of the potential rebate during the INDU Committee meetings last week.
We would have returned something like $2 or $3 to each consumer, on one bill. We looked at that money in one place and we thought, what can we do that would make a fundamental change in the infrastructure of the country?
Can someone help me with the arithmetic there? I thought we were looking at $650M in the account which works out to $20 per person living in Canada. It varies by region with Bell Canada having $480M just for its territory. How can we make sure that everyone has got the right facts?
Update: [February 17, 10:15 pm]
I understand that Cabinet has denied the appeal. Although the Order in Council is dated February 8, it did not hit the Privy Council website until yesterday afternoon:
…whereas the Governor in Council notes that the Commission established conditions for funding the expansion of broadband services initiatives and that, among other things, those conditions address competitive neutrality issues;
Therefore, Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Industry, pursuant to subsection 12(1) of the Telecommunications Act, hereby declines to vary or rescind Telecom Decision CRTC 2006‑9 or to refer it back to the Canadian Radio‑television and Telecommunications Commission for reconsideration.
Technorati Tags:
CRTC, cabinet, Bell, MTS Allstream, TELUS, deferral account