{"id":19966,"date":"2026-09-29T05:02:37","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T09:02:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mhgoldberg.com\/blog\/?p=19966"},"modified":"2026-09-22T09:50:57","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T13:50:57","slug":"a-glacial-pace-of-regulatory-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mhgoldberg.com\/blog\/?p=19966","title":{"rendered":"A glacial pace of regulatory change"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’ve often talked<\/a> about the glacial pace of regulation on the Telecom side of the CRTC. It turns out the Broadcasting side is faring no better.<\/p>\n

For more than a year, Canada\u2019s broadcasting and telecom sectors have been told that the CRTC is “building a house.” In May, CRTC Chair Vicky Eatrides described the Commission\u2019s agenda<\/a> as a careful construction project: laying foundations, erecting framing, ensuring the structure will last. Vice chair Adam Scott had used the same metaphor in his remarks to the Scotiabank TMT Conference<\/a>, emphasizing patience, sequencing, and the importance of getting the architecture right.<\/p>\n

But metaphors only work when they illuminate reality. Increasingly, this one obscures it. While the CRTC continues to talk about building a house, the industries it oversees are watching the neighbourhood burn.<\/p>\n

The frustration has been documented (repeatedly) by the people who appeared before the Commission, expressing both urgency and optimism.<\/p>\n

In early January of 2025, the CRTC launched a proceeding, The Path Forward \u2013 Working towards a sustainable Canadian broadcasting system<\/a>. The oral hearing<\/a> took place in June 2025; the paper filings were completed a year ago. <\/p>\n

In a widely shared LinkedIn post<\/a>, Steve Jones of Stingray Radio recounts appearing at the hearing “to plead for the modernization of content regulations at Canadian radio.” His summary is blunt: “One year later. Absolutely nothing has happened.” No modernization of CanCon definitions. No movement on ownership caps. No recalibration of exposure requirements. Not even minor progress. Eight more stations have gone dark in the meantime. <\/p>\n

Rod Schween of Pattison Media echoes the same experience in a separate LinkedIn post<\/a>. He says he arrived at the hearing with “cautious optimism,” believing the Commission understood the severity of the pressures facing broadcasters. Six months later, he heard the Chair\u2019s house\u2011building metaphor. He says he is still standing outside the construction site asking the same question: “How long does it take to build a house?”<\/p>\n

These are voices representing hundreds of stations, thousands of employees, and communities across the country relying on local media for emergency information, civic coverage, and cultural expression.<\/p>\n

The CRTC\u2019s glacial pace is actively harmful.<\/p>\n

Steve Jones illustrated the contrast between technological change and regulatory inertia. He observed that in the year since the proceeding closed:<\/p>\n