High-profile CRTC hearings underway to determine new broadcasting rules

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission's hearings into the prospect of regulating the Internet in Canada got underway February 17. The hearings will examine the viability of a controversial proposal to tax Internet service providers in order to support and promote original Canadian-made online content. This spring, the CRTC will also examine the similarly contentious issue of 50/50 funding for Canadian/US content, in which assorted content creators and actors' groups are calling for equal spending on the part of broadcasters for both foreign and Canadian programming.