Part 1 application seeking amendment to Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2022-76 - PDF

Consumers Council of Canada was party to this Part 1 application to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) seeking amendment to Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2022-76, so the Broadcasting Participation Fund does not cease operations in 2023, substantially hampering consumer representation before the Commission concerning issues affecting the system of broadcasting in Canada. 
The Broadcasting Participation Fund is the only mechanism approved by the CRTC to reimburse the legal, policy and quantitative analysis undertaken in the public interest before broadcasting proceedings of the CRTC. Since 2011, the fund has enabled more than thirty public-interest organizations to participate in more than 110 CRTC broadcast proceedings that, going forward, are likely to involve matters such as the new regulatory frameworks required to implement new laws including the Online Streaming Act (Bill C-11).
On April 11, 2023 the Board of Directors of the fund announced its suspension effective August 2023 due to lack of funding and that, if ongoing lack of funding is not addressed, the operation of the fund could be wound up entirely in 2024.