Gatineau, Quebec
September 26th, 2005
(CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY)
Good morning ladies and gentlemen, and welcome. My name is Charles Dalfen, and I am Chairman of the Commission.
With me on the panel are:
Richard French, the Commission's Vice-Chair, Telecommunications, Michel Arpin, the Commission's Vice-Chair, Broadcasting, Stuart Langford, National Commissioner, Joan Pennefather, National Commissioner,
Andrée Noel, Commissioner, Quebec Region, Elizabeth Duncan, Commissioner, Atlantic Region, Rita Cugini, Commissioner, Ontario Region, Barbara Cram, Commissioner, Manitoba and Saskatchewan Regions, Ronald Williams, Commissioner, Alberta and the Northwest Territories regions, and Helen del Val, Regional Commissioner representing the regions of British Columbia and the Yukon.
We have a number of Commission staff here as well. Seated at the staff table are: our Consultation Secretary Marielle Girard, Commission counsel, James Wilson and Shelley Cruise, Chris Seidl, Project Manager and other members of the team.
Over the next few days, we will hear the oral presentations of parties who indicated in their submissions that they wished to appear in person. In addition, we will give careful consideration to all of the written material filed in this proceeding, both by those appearing this week and by others.
As you know, in Telecom Public Notice CRTC
2005-2, the Commission initiated a public proceeding concerning forbearance from regulation of local exchange services. Our main objective in this proceeding is to establish clear criteria that the Commission can use to determine when it is appropriate to forbear from regulating local exchange services.
This is the latest in a series of Commission proceedings intended to foster competition in local markets. The Commission established its framework for local competition in Telecom Decision CRTC 97-8 (Decision 97-8), which grew out of Telecom Decision CRTC 94-19 (Decision 94-19), Review of Regulatory Framework. In that decision, the first comprehensive decision following the enactment of the 1993 Telecommunications Act, the Commission enunciated its basic policy of opening all telecommunications markets to competition, including the local exchange market, and established a regulatory framework within which that objective could be achieved.
In its annual monitoring reports of the Canadian telecommunications industry over the past five years, the Commission has found that in general competitors have not gained a substantial market share with respect to local telecommunications services since the issuance of Decision 97-8. Local competitors have, however, made some inroads in local business urban markets and in local residential urban markets in some parts of the country.
Since Decision 94-19, the Commission has forborne from regulation in most telecommunications markets as competition has taken hold. The Commission looks forward to the time when it can forbear from regulating the local exchange market as well; when competition in that market is sufficient to protect the interests of users. In the Commission's view, robust, sustainable competition is the key not only to protecting consumers of telecommunications services, but about stimulating investment and fostering innovation by telecommunications companies.
I will quickly recap the six questions that the Commission put to interested parties in Telecom Public Notice CRTC
2005-2. They are:
What local exchange services should be within the scope of this proceeding?
What is/are the appropriate relevant market(s) for forbearance from the regulation of local exchange services, taking into consideration both services and geographic areas?
What are the appropriate criteria to be applied to determine whether the relevant market(s) is/are sufficiently competitive for forbearance?
What Commission powers and duties should be forborne?
What post forbearance criteria and conditions should a pply and why?
What is the appropriate process for future applications for forbearance from the regulation of local exchange services?
As stated in the Public Notice, the Commission intends to apply these criteria in deciding upon Aliant Telecom's forbearance application, as well as in decisions on future applications for forbearance from regulation of local exchange services.
These proceedings will also assist the Commission to determine whether there should be a transitional regime that provides ILECs with more regulatory flexibility by removing certain competitive safeguards prior to forbearance and, if so, what the appropriate criteria should be.
As we have a packed agenda, I would ask all parties to ensure they are available when their turn is called, to restrict their presentations to the matters set forth in the Public Notice, and to adhere to their allotted time. Your co-operation will ensure that our time is used efficiently and effectively.
Unless otherwise indicated in the organization and conduct letter of August 17th, parties will be allotted a maximum of 20 minutes to make their presentation. The Consultation Secretary will advise you by holding up a card when you have five (5) minutes remaining.
Generally, Commissioners' questions, as well as questions by Commission counsel, if any, will come after each party has completed its presentation. Parties wishing to make a closing statement will be allotted five minutes in a reverse order of their presentation after all the parties have made their presentations.
Parties who have additional questions regarding the conduct for this consultation are advised to consult with the Consultation Secretary, Marielle Girard.
I now invite the Consultation Secretary to review some additional housekeeping matters.
Mrs. GirardÂ….
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