CRTC to Cut Telecom Regulation in Canada, Says New Chairman

Press Release - February 26, 2007

New CRTC chairman, Konrad von Finckenstein, said in a speech last week that the agency’s main objective would be to cut regulation in the telecommunications sector in the months to come. This likely means the end to last year’s tug-of-war for power between the telecom regulator and Stephen Harper’s Conservative government.

Mr. von Finckenstein, who was appointed chair of the CRTC late last month, says that the question is no longer whether telecom deregulation will continue, but how fast it will occur.

“Make no mistake — less regulation in telecom has been and will continue to be the commission’s prime objective,” von Finckenstein said, while noting that “excessive and untimely deregulation can end up stifling rather than stimulating competition.”

Mr. von Finckenstein’s predecessor, Charles Dalfen, frequently found himself at odds with the Conservative government over the issue of telecommunications deregulation.