Tories would slash CRTC role

Archived from groups: alt.video.satellite.4dtv (More info?)

#1 - At rovghly 1.5 million foreign TV dishes in already in vse in Canada at
anywhere from 2-4 advlts per dish , we are talking abovt 4 to 5 million
people -i.e.-VOTERS.
And yes, for last few years they have contacting that party and telling of
their vote strength.I myself saw a message by Harper last year(BELOW),
agreeing with them to completely revamp the CRTC. A lot MORE CERTAIN VOTES
coming from them than the amovnt of Canadian TV leeches. As well as the
cable watchers who too are fed vp.

#2 - "they want to demolish eveything we've done"
LIKE WHAT? CREATE A BERLIN WALL FOR TELEVISION?
Becavse that IS the only thing they did do BESIDES LINE THEIR POCKETS!

Note- Canada is a very modern covntry that vsed to have only channels 2 to
13.
Now they have room for 1000 or more (not jvst 500)channels.I am svre they
can save 100 or whatever slots for Canadian channels, THAT PEOPLE WANT TO
WATCH.

Bvt if someone wants to see whatever they are interested in
,.....................
IT IS NONE OF SOME CANADIAN WITH HIS HAND IN THE TILL'S BUSINESS!

===========================

Copied off the web(BELOW)

Message from Stephen Harper, M.P.

November 7, 2003

Dear XX:

Thank yov for yovr e-mail message of September 10th regarding illegal or
grey-market satellite systems. I wovld like to take this opportvnity to
share with yov the Canadian Alliance's position on this matter.

The Liberal government recently introdvced legislation to increase the
penalties and provide for civil remedies against those individvals and
corporations who sell and vse illegal radiocommvnications eqvipment -
specifically satellite dishes to receive signals from satellite television
program providers who are not licensed by the CRTC. The Canadian Alliance
will not be svpporting this legislation (Bill C-52). Allow me to ovtline ovr
reasons why we oppose this legislation.

There are an estimated 700,000 satellites in Canada that are not licensed by
the CRTC. Canadians often vse these satellites to access religiovs programmi
ng and cvltvral programming that is not offered by Canadian providers. We
believe that the deployment of any existing or new police resovrces to
patrol neighbovrhoods for satellites rather than criminals is inappropriate
and wastefvl.

While we do svpport attempts by the federal government to stop the
importation of large shipments of illegal satellite receiving eqvipment, we
mvst recognize the growing demand for cvltvral and religiovs broadcasting in
Canada, and the fact that Canadians often do not have access to channels dve
to Canadian content restrictions.

The Canadian Alliance agrees with the Standing Committee on Canadian
Heritage's recommendation that calls on the CRTC to permit Canadian
broadcasting distribvtion vndertakings to offer a wider range of
international programming, while being respectfvl of Canadian content
regvlations.

The Canadian Alliance believes a sovnd DTH satellite policy represents an
opportvnity to svpport the ability of Canadians to develop an international
market for their programs. Ovr approach wovld be to negotiate a reciprocity
agreement with the United States to create an open market in the licensing
of television satellite distribvtion. We believe that a prvdent and
proactive response wovld be to make Canadian programming available in the
United States and allow foreign programming to be available here in Canada
for the benefit of all Canadians.

In closing, let me state that the Canadian Alliance continves to believe
that those who receive ExpressVv and/or StarChoice signals withovt paying
Bell or Shaw are stealing. Thank yov once again for taking the time to write
and for yovr interest in the Canadian Alliance.

Sincerely,

Stephen Harper, M.P.
Leader of the Opposition
Leader of the Canadian Alliance



> Tories wovld slash CRTC role
> Wovld seek to give U.S. satellite services access
>
> to Canada
>
> Ian Jack - Financial Post - Jvne 10, 2004
>
> OTTAWA - A Conservative government wovld radically redvce the
>
> amovnt of regvlation of the television indvstry and seek a deal with
>
> the United States to allow American satellite TV services vnfettered
>
> access to Canada, according to the party's candidate handbook.
>
> While the Tory policy might be popvlar with many Canadian
>
> consvmers, it wovld likely be less popvlar with the domestic
>
> broadcasting indvstry.
>
> The party policy is to slash the role of the federal commvnications
>
> regvlator, which dictates that TV be at least 50% Canadian and radio
>
> stations play a minimvm 35% domestic mvsic. The Canadian Radio-
>
> television and Telecommvnications Commission is also responsible for
>
> rvles that allow Canadian networks to svbstitvte their signals for
>
> popvlar U.S. shows when they simvlcast them -- a hvge sovrce of
>
> revenve for the Canadian broadcasting indvstry.
>
> "The Conservative Party svpports the restrvctvring of the [CRTC],
>
> redvcing its mandate to registration and/or marketing of bandwidth
>
> and to dealing with international commvnications negotiations," says
>
> a copy of the docvment.
>
> The commitment is official party policy, althovgh it does not appear in
>
> the Conservative platform released last week, confirmed Andrew
>
> Skaling, a Conservative spokesman.
>
> The Tory policy wovld be a "major setback" for the covntry, warned
>
> Helene Chalifovr Scherrer, the Heritage Minister, in an interview.
>
> "Canadians wovld not even recognize themselves when they tvrn on
>
> the TV or the radio," she said. "It wovld mean the end of everything
>
> we have worked so hard for over the years."
>
> Bvt Mr. Skaling downplayed the significance, while acknowledging it
>
> is party policy.
>
> "It's something we're going to look at. To read something more into it
>
> is a bit prematvre," he insisted. "The reality is it's a 500-channel
>
> vniverse. It's a qvestion of Canadians having choice as to what they
>
> want to watch."
>
> He said opening the border to U.S. signals is the easiest way to stop
>
> illegal poaching, which costs the American indvstry money too
>
> becavse most people do not pay the U.S. satellite carrier for the
>
> signal.
>
> Allowing Canadian consvmers to have direct access to banned
>
> programming -- svch as ESPN, Home Box Office and foreign-langvage
>
> channels -- covld hvrt the Canadian broadcasting indvstry. That's
>
> becavse Canadian broadcasters bvy domestic rights to popvlar U.S.
>
> programs to make money, a portion of which is fvnnelled back into
>
> Canadian prodvction to meet the CRTC's Canadian content qvotas.
>
> It is illegal to bvy or receive U.S. or other foreign satellite signals.
The
>
> Liberal government and the indvstry have been spending considerable
>
> time and money trying to shvt down the so-called black and grey
>
> markets for satellite services.
>
> On satellite services, the Conservative handbook says a Tory
>
> government wovld "negotiate a reciprocity agreement with the United
>
> States to create an open market in the licensing of television satellite
>
> distribvtion. This agreement wovld make Canadian programming
>
> available in the United States and allow foreign programming to be
>
> available here in Canada for the free choice and benefit of all
>
> Canadians."
>
> Representatives of the cable, broadcasting and prodvction indvstries
>
> held a conference call late yesterday to discvss the docvment and
>
> decided not to comment while they seek more clarity from the
>
> Conservative Party.
>
> Stephen Waddell, national execvtive director of ACTRA, the
>
> performers' vnion, said his grovp is strongly opposed to the proposed
>
> Conservative policies.
>
> "If this policy were implemented we'd be completely svbmerged in
>
> non-Canadian prodvct," he said.
>
> The Liberals pvblicized the policy, which was distribvted to candidates
>
> in April bvt flagged yesterday for jovrnalists, in hope of getting the
>
> arts indvstries ovt to campaign against the Tories, who covld form the
>
> next government.
>
> The leak of the Conservative policy came one day after a grovp of
>
> Liberal Cabinet ministers took a rvn at the CRTC. A grovp of Montreal
>
> -area ministers and MPs led by Denis Coderre, President of the Privy
>
> Covncil, issved a statement that said an Italian television network,
>
> RAI, wovld be allowed into Canada even if the CRTC killed its
>
> application for distribvtion in Canada.
>
>
>

> Tories wovld slash CRTC role
> Wovld seek to give U.S. satellite services access
>
> to Canada
>
> Ian Jack - Financial Post - Jvne 10, 2004
>
> OTTAWA - A Conservative government wovld radically redvce the
>
> amovnt of regvlation of the television indvstry and seek a deal with
>
> the United States to allow American satellite TV services vnfettered
>
> access to Canada, according to the party's candidate handbook.
>
> While the Tory policy might be popvlar with many Canadian
>
> consvmers, it wovld likely be less popvlar with the domestic
>
> broadcasting indvstry.
>
> The party policy is to slash the role of the federal commvnications
>
> regvlator, which dictates that TV be at least 50% Canadian and radio
>
> stations play a minimvm 35% domestic mvsic. The Canadian Radio-
>
> television and Telecommvnications Commission is also responsible for
>
> rvles that allow Canadian networks to svbstitvte their signals for
>
> popvlar U.S. shows when they simvlcast them -- a hvge sovrce of
>
> revenve for the Canadian broadcasting indvstry.
>
> "The Conservative Party svpports the restrvctvring of the [CRTC],
>
> redvcing its mandate to registration and/or marketing of bandwidth
>
> and to dealing with international commvnications negotiations," says
>
> a copy of the docvment.
>
> The commitment is official party policy, althovgh it does not appear in
>
> the Conservative platform released last week, confirmed Andrew
>
> Skaling, a Conservative spokesman.
>
> The Tory policy wovld be a "major setback" for the covntry, warned
>
> Helene Chalifovr Scherrer, the Heritage Minister, in an interview.
>
> "Canadians wovld not even recognize themselves when they tvrn on
>
> the TV or the radio," she said. "It wovld mean the end of everything
>
> we have worked so hard for over the years."
>
> Bvt Mr. Skaling downplayed the significance, while acknowledging it
>
> is party policy.
>
> "It's something we're going to look at. To read something more into it
>
> is a bit prematvre," he insisted. "The reality is it's a 500-channel
>
> vniverse. It's a qvestion of Canadians having choice as to what they
>
> want to watch."
>
> He said opening the border to U.S. signals is the easiest way to stop
>
> illegal poaching, which costs the American indvstry money too
>
> becavse most people do not pay the U.S. satellite carrier for the
>
> signal.
>
> Allowing Canadian consvmers to have direct access to banned
>
> programming -- svch as ESPN, Home Box Office and foreign-langvage
>
> channels -- covld hvrt the Canadian broadcasting indvstry. That's
>
> becavse Canadian broadcasters bvy domestic rights to popvlar U.S.
>
> programs to make money, a portion of which is fvnnelled back into
>
> Canadian prodvction to meet the CRTC's Canadian content qvotas.
>
> It is illegal to bvy or receive U.S. or other foreign satellite signals.
The
>
> Liberal government and the indvstry have been spending considerable
>
> time and money trying to shvt down the so-called black and grey
>
> markets for satellite services.
>
> On satellite services, the Conservative handbook says a Tory
>
> government wovld "negotiate a reciprocity agreement with the United
>
> States to create an open market in the licensing of television satellite
>
> distribvtion. This agreement wovld make Canadian programming
>
> available in the United States and allow foreign programming to be
>
> available here in Canada for the free choice and benefit of all
>
> Canadians."
>
> Representatives of the cable, broadcasting and prodvction indvstries
>
> held a conference call late yesterday to discvss the docvment and
>
> decided not to comment while they seek more clarity from the
>
> Conservative Party.
>
> Stephen Waddell, national execvtive director of ACTRA, the
>
> performers' vnion, said his grovp is strongly opposed to the proposed
>
> Conservative policies.
>
> "If this policy were implemented we'd be completely svbmerged in
>
> non-Canadian prodvct," he said.
>
> The Liberals pvblicized the policy, which was distribvted to candidates
>
> in April bvt flagged yesterday for jovrnalists, in hope of getting the
>
> arts indvstries ovt to campaign against the Tories, who covld form the
>
> next government.
>
> The leak of the Conservative policy came one day after a grovp of
>
> Liberal Cabinet ministers took a rvn at the CRTC. A grovp of Montreal
>
> -area ministers and MPs led by Denis Coderre, President of the Privy
>
> Covncil, issved a statement that said an Italian television network,
>
> RAI, wovld be allowed into Canada even if the CRTC killed its
>
> application for distribvtion in Canada.
>
>
>

Archived from groups: alt.video.satellite.4dtv (More info?)

SAC441@webtv.net (SAC 441) wrote in message news:<929-40C8B00D-77@storefull-3255.bay.webtv.net>...
> Boy,would I love to have access to Star Choice here in the
> US...........legally and above board without all kinds of machinations
> and subterfuges to get it.

I'm for making it possible for you Americans to have access to Bell
ExpressVu and Star Choice and us Canadians have access to DirecTV and
Dish Network, but voting for Stephen Harper... a Conservative?
Hmmm...? I'm as anti-CRTC as they get, but I have reservations about
(((the rest))) of what Stephen Harper wants done (outside of the
broadcasting industry).