CRTC

The CRTC is officially outlawing the "junk fees" that Canadian carriers use to discourage customers from hunting for better deals. In a decision released Thursday, the regulator announced a ban on activation and modification fees for both cellphone and internet plans. Most notably, this marks the end of the pricey $80 connection fees that Rogers,...

A group of independent television stations has formally asked the broadcasting regulator to force Meta to compensate them for carrying their news, arguing the tech giant remains subject to the Online News Act despite its current ban on journalism. According to a report by The Globe and Mail, a coalition of about 15 small French...

The CRTC is back with a familiar move: launching yet another public consultation. This time, the regulator says it wants to make it easier for you to find out which internet and cellphone services are actually available in your neighbourhood. While the agency frames this as "taking action," the reality is that they are mostly...

Foreign streaming companies are zeroing in on a legal fight over a new CRTC rule that would make some of their financial information public. A group of major streamers, including Netflix and Amazon, filed a challenge in the Federal Court of Appeal in December, targeting disclosure requirements tied to the regulator’s overhaul of Canadian content...

A Québec man is taking on Canada’s telecom giants, calling on the CRTC to ban what he describes as a growing wave of “junk fees” and “dark patterns” that he says have taken over the wireless market in 2025. Émile Arsalane filed a formal Part 1 application on December 8, 2025, after seeing major carriers...

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has followed up with Meta on how the company is handling news content in Canada under the Online News Act, confirming it has reviewed Meta’s responses and is continuing to monitor the situation. The update came in a letter dated December 3, 2025, from CRTC Vice-President of Broadcasting...

The CRTC has told Bell to stop selling locked cellphones after determining the company violated the national Wireless Code. In a letter dated November 28, 2025, the regulator said Bell and its flanker brand Virgin Plus began selling devices locked for up to 60 days, a move Bell said was necessary due to rising crime...

The CRTC says it’s modernizing what counts as Canadian content for TV and streaming, but the reaction from digital-rights groups suggests the regulator has once again managed to make a complicated system even more confusing — and even less connected to real Canadian life. The update is part of the CRTC’s job under the new...

The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) is accusing the CRTC of drowning radio and TV stations in pointless paperwork and decades-old processes, arguing the regulator has failed to modernize even basic administrative systems. In a sharply worded letter to CRTC Chair Vicky Eatrides, the group says the Commission’s so-called “red tape reduction” efforts amount to...

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has opened another public consultation—this time asking how TV broadcasters and online streaming services can make their content easier to access for people with disabilities. The regulator says it’s heard that some programming remains difficult to navigate for those who are blind or partially sighted and is considering...

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is once again asking Canadians for feedback—this time on when and how telecom and TV providers should tell customers about the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS). The move is meant to make it easier for people with unresolved issues, like billing mistakes or contract disputes, to...

Canada’s broadcast regulator says Ottawa could be forced back to the drawing board if streaming companies win their legal battle over the Online Streaming Act. Appearing before MPs, CRTC chair Vicky Eatrides was asked what would happen if the courts side with streamers who are fighting new rules. Bloc Québécois MP Martin Champoux pressed her...