The key question surrounding the federal government’s choice of telecom veteran Ian Scott for the post of CRTC chairman isn’t whether he’ll end up favouring industry, but whether his appointment will make much of a difference one way or the other for consumers.
Having spent years as an executive at Telus and most recently as a lobbyist for satellite firm Telesat, consumer advocates fear Mr. Scott’s stewardship may signal a return to regulatory capture. In those bad old days, the perception was that corporate interests routinely trumped consumer concerns.
Under previous chairman Jean-Pierre Blais, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission managed to reshape that image by siding with consumers on big decisions more often than not. The concerns now – about putting the proverbial fox back in charge of the henhouse – are easy to understand in that light.
Peter Nowak – Globe and Mail – July 25, 2017.
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