Published Articles
The Local TV/Cable Battle (in Business Vancouver Island)
November 12, 2009
I have to say, I find it somewhat offensive that the whole regulatory mess of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has brought our broadcast and cable companies to the point of all out war in the public domain. The advertising campaign that is now running on TV is not useful to the general public. It simply pits one side against the other over the single issue of fee-for-service for local programming. And it leaves the public no more informed on what the real issues are.
The public is concerned about local television and there is no doubt that local television in our communities is in jeopardy. This is largely due to the out of date regulations that govern the industry.
The environment within which existing regulations and agreements were forged between broadcasters and cable companies has changed tremendously with the times. When the regulations were written, cable companies agreed to build telecommunications infrastructure into small communities to open the market for local television. As they took on the cost of infrastructure investment, they were provided with signals for local programming without charge and sold that programming as a basic service in communities. In this way they were able to recoup their investment.
For their part, local broadcasters were given the sole right to sell advertising as a source of revenue to run their businesses in local communities.
But times have changed. Advertisers have so many more options now than they did when this agreement was first forged. And in all likelihood, the investment of cable companies has been returned.
We need the CRTC to expedite a full-scale review of its regulatory environment and licensing regulations in order to develop a plan for the industry which will ensure an environment in which both mediums can thrive. The continuous tinkering around the edges of policy regulations that has to date been the remit of the CRTC has not kept pace with the times and has led to the impasse in which we now find ourselves.
Without that level of revision, the public is left with the unfortunate situation we now have of broadcasters and cable companies battling it out in a media campaign that only tells a part of the story from differing perspectives.
This is not useful to Canadians and I believe we deserve better service from a federally regulated industry.
Articles - 2010
Borrowing for the Bridge Our Best Option (in September Business Examiner) (August 30, 2010)
ADS is Positive for BC Tourism (in Business Vancouver Island) (August 11, 2010)
Regional Issues Require Regional Decision Making (in Business Examiner) (July 28, 2010)
Task Force Only a First Step (in Business Vancouver Island) (July 07, 2010)
Paying for the Bridge (in Business Examiner) (June 30, 2010)
Shoulder to Shoulder with Tourism (in Business Vancouver Island) (June 17, 2010)
What is the Cost of Not Building the Marina? (in Business Examiner) (June 01, 2010)
Business Vote is Complicated (in Business Vancouver Island) (May 17, 2010)
Keep an Eye on Tax Spending (in Business Vancouver Island) (April 08, 2010)
Calling for Police Amalgamation (in Business Examiner) (March 24, 2010)
Health, Police Connected (in Business Vancouver Island) (March 11, 2010)
Tourism Benefits of the Games Needing Our Support (in Business Examiner) (March 01, 2010)
Listen to the Tax Canary (in Business Vancovuer Island) (February 15, 2010)
Education and Sewage (in Times Colonist and Blackpress, Letters) (January 29, 2010)
Bay Street Bridge Closure a Wake Up Call (in Business Examiner) (January 27, 2010)
Improving Province's Productivity (in Business Vancouver Island) (January 15, 2010)
Stable Funding for Tourism an Urgent Need (in Business Examiner) (January 04, 2010)
Articles - 2009 
Municipalities Need to Tighten their Belts (December 10, 2009)
What About the Displaced Traffic? (in Business Examiner) (November 27, 2009)
The Local TV/Cable Battle (in Business Vancouver Island) (November 12, 2009)
Budgetary Mitigation Efforts for HST (in Business Examiner) (October 26, 2009)
Why we are Canada's Best Place to Live (in Outlook 2010 in the Times Colonist) (October 17, 2009)
Carving a Place on the Canadian Stage (in Business Vancouver Island) (October 07, 2009)
Budget Deficits and Health of the Community (in Business Examiner) (September 30, 2009)
Keeping the Lens on Crime and Public Safety (in Business Vancouver Island) (September 18, 2009)
HST from Three Perspectives (in Business Examiner) (August 28, 2009)
The Ups and Downs of Tourism (in Business Vancouver Island) (August 10, 2009)
Bar Watch Program Shows Results (August 06, 2009)
Experience Vancouver Island (in Business Vancouver Island) (July 08, 2009)
Dealing with Downtown Drunkeness (in Business Examiner) (July 06, 2009)
TV Playing Field Must be Even too (in Business Vancouver Island) (June 15, 2009)
Get Prolific Offenders Off the Street (in Business Examiner) (June 04, 2009)
Mico-firms in Need of Capital Too (in Business Vancouver Island) (May 11, 2009)
Small Business Realities on Raising Minimum Wage (in Business Examiner) (May 04, 2009)
Letter to the Editor - Johnson St. Bridge (April 22, 2009)
Changes Needed for Film Biz (in Business Vancouver Island) (April 08, 2009)
Keeping Tax Increases Sustainable (in Business Examiner) (April 06, 2009)
Keeping Cities Affordable (in Business Vancouver Island) (March 13, 2009)
Preserving Heritage at What Cost? (in Business Examiner) (March 02, 2009)
Deficit Budgets - Good? (in Business Vancouver Island) (February 11, 2009)
Getting Organized for Budget Investments (in Business Examiner) (January 19, 2009)
The 2009 Budget Slalom (in Business Vancouver Island) (January 11, 2009)
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