Globe: Harper preparing to appoint new CRTC chair

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It may only be a matter of weeks before Canada has a new CRTC chair. We'll have more information on the contenders coming at you soon. What do you want to see in Canada's next (great?) CRTC chair? We at OpenMedia.ca believe the next chair should have significant experience in the public interest or consumer advocacy community—for an open Internet to thrive, we need policymakers that value a process that is open, citizen-centered, and public-interest oriented.

Article by Steven Chase and Rita Trichur for The Globe and Mail:

The Harper government is preparing to announce a new chair for Canada’s telecom and broadcast regulator and industry players believe officials are leaning towards an Ottawa insider and veteran public servant named Jean-Pierre Blais.

Mr. Blais’s record suggests he would be a relatively cautious hand at the helm of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, telecom industry sources say.

Unlike former chair Konrad von Finckenstein, telecom insiders predict Mr. Blais would be relatively compliant with Conservative government policy leanings and endeavour to keep the CRTC out of the headlines. Those who know Mr. Blais say he is more of a conciliation-minded type who would seek compromise on issues rather than strike out independently with bold initiatives.

Mr. Blais has a working relationship with Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore, one of the two Conservative ministers who oversee the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. Now posted with the federal Treasury Board Secretariat, Mr. Blais previously served in senior roles at the Department of Canadian Heritage, including assistant deputy minister, cultural affairs, where he was responsible for files including copyright and cultural industries. Read more »

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Read more at theglobeandmail.com