Discretionary Services Regulations (SOR/2017-159)
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Regulations are current to 2024-04-01 and last amended on 2023-11-01. Previous Versions
Requests for Information
Marginal note:Obligation to file statement of accounts
9 (1) On or before November 30 of each year, a licensee shall file with the Commission, on the annual return form issued by the Commission, a statement of accounts for the previous broadcast year.
Marginal note:Obligation to respond to complaint or request
(2) At the Commission’s request, a licensee shall respond to
(a) a complaint or request for resolution of a dispute filed by a person or a request for information regarding the programming that is originated by or is distributed by the licensee or regarding the licensee’s technical operations, subscribership, financial affairs or ownership; and
(b) a request for information regarding the licensee’s adherence to the conditions of its licence, the Act, these Regulations, industry standards, practices or codes or any other self-regulatory mechanism of the industry.
Transfer of Ownership or Control
Marginal note:Definitions
10 (1) The following definitions apply in this section.
- associate
associate, when used to indicate a relationship with a person, includes
(a) a partner of the person;
(b) a trust or an estate in which the person has a substantial beneficial interest or in which the person serves as a trustee or in a similar capacity;
(c) the person’s spouse or common-law partner;
(d) a child of the person or of their spouse or common-law partner, including a child adopted in fact by the person, spouse or common-law partner;
(e) the spouse or common-law partner of the child;
(f) a relative of the person, or of the person’s spouse or common-law partner, if that relative has the same residence as the person;
(g) a corporation of which the person alone has, or the person together with one or more associates described in this definition have, directly or indirectly, control of 50% or more of the voting interests;
(h) a corporation of which an associate, as described in this definition, of the person has, directly or indirectly, control of 50% or more of the voting interests; and
(i) a person with which the person has entered into an arrangement, a contract, an understanding or an agreement in respect of the voting of shares of a licensee corporation or of a corporation that has, directly or indirectly, effective control of a licensee corporation, except when that person controls less than 1% of all issued voting shares of a corporation whose shares are publicly traded on a stock exchange. (lien)
- common-law partner
common-law partner means an individual who is cohabiting with a person in a conjugal relationship having done so for a period of at least one year. (conjoint de fait)
- common shares
common shares means the shares that represent the residual equity in the earnings of a corporation, and includes securities that are convertible into such shares at any time at the option of the holder and the preferred shares to which are attached rights to participate in the earnings of the corporation with no upper limit. (actions ordinaires)
- person
person includes an individual, partnership, joint venture, association, corporation, trust, estate, trustee, executor or administrator, or a legal representative of any of them. (personne)
- voting interest
voting interest, in respect of
(a) a corporation with share capital, means the vote attached to a voting share;
(b) a corporation without share capital, means an interest that entitles the owner to voting rights similar to those enjoyed by the owner of a voting share;
(c) a partnership, trust, association or joint venture, means an ownership interest in its assets that entitles the owner to receive a share of its profits, to receive a share of its assets on dissolution and to participate directly in its management or to vote on the election of the persons that are to be entrusted with the power and responsibility to manage it; and
(d) a not-for-profit partnership, trust, association or joint venture, means a right that entitles the owner to participate directly in its management or to vote on the election of the persons that are to be entrusted with the power and responsibility to manage it. (intérêt avec droit de vote)
- voting share
voting share means a share in the capital of a corporation to which one or more votes are attached that are exercisable at meetings of shareholders of the corporation, either under all circumstances or under a circumstance that has occurred and is continuing, and includes a security that is convertible into such a share at any time at the option of the holder. (action avec droit de vote)
Marginal note:Control of voting interest
(2) For the purposes of this section, control of a voting interest by a person includes situations in which
(a) the person is, directly or indirectly, the beneficial owner of the voting interest; or
(b) the person, by means of an arrangement, contract, understanding or agreement, determines the manner in which the interest is voted but the solicitation of proxies or the seeking of instructions with respect to the completion of proxies in respect of the exercise of voting interests is not considered to be such an arrangement, contract, understanding or agreement.
Marginal note:Effective control of licensee
(3) For the purposes of this section, effective control of a licensee or its undertaking includes situations in which
(a) a person controls a majority of the voting interests of the licensee directly or indirectly, other than by way of security only;
(b) a person has the ability to cause the licensee or its board of directors to take a course of action; or
(c) the Commission, after a public hearing of an application for a licence or in respect of an existing licence, determines that a person has effective control of the licensee or its undertaking and sets that determination out in a decision or public notice.
Marginal note:Obligation to obtain Commission’s prior approval
(4) Except as otherwise provided under a condition of its licence, a licensee shall obtain the Commission’s prior approval of any act, transaction or agreement that, directly or indirectly, would result in
(a) a change by any means of the effective control of its undertaking;
(b) a person that alone
(i) controls less than 30% of the voting interests of the licensee having control of 30% or more of those interests,
(ii) controls less than 30% of the voting interests of a person that has, directly or indirectly, effective control of the licensee having control of 30% or more of those interests,
(iii) owns less than 50% of the issued common shares of the licensee owning 50% or more of those shares but not having, directly or indirectly, effective control of the licensee, or
(iv) owns less than 50% of the issued common shares of a person that has, directly or indirectly, effective control of the licensee owning 50% or more of those shares but not having, directly or indirectly, effective control of the licensee; or
(c) a person together with an associate
(i) that control less than 30% of the voting interests of the licensee having control of 30% or more of those interests,
(ii) that control less than 30% of the voting interests of a person that has, directly or indirectly, effective control of the licensee having control of 30% or more of those interests,
(iii) that own less than 50% of the issued common shares of the licensee owning 50% or more of those shares but not having, directly or indirectly, effective control of the licensee, or
(iv) that own less than 50% of the issued common shares of a person that has, directly or indirectly, effective control of the licensee owning 50% or more of those shares but not having, directly or indirectly, effective control of the licensee.
Marginal note:Obligation to notify Commission
(5) A licensee shall notify the Commission, within 30 days after the day on which the act or transaction occurs or the agreement is entered into, of the occurrence of any act or transaction or the entry into any agreement that, directly or indirectly, results in
(a) a person that alone
(i) controls less than 20% of the voting interests of the licensee having control of 20% or more but less than 30% of those interests,
(ii) controls less than 20% of the voting interests of a person that has, directly or indirectly, effective control of the licensee having control of 20% or more but less than 30% of those interests,
(iii) controls less than 40% of the voting interests of the licensee having control of 40% or more but less than 50% of those interests but not having, directly or indirectly, effective control of the licensee, or
(iv) controls less than 40% of the voting interests of a person that has, directly or indirectly, effective control of the licensee having control of 40% or more but less than 50% of those interests but not having, directly or indirectly, effective control of the licensee; or
(b) a person together with an associate
(i) that control less than 20% of the voting interests of the licensee having control of 20% or more but less than 30% of those interests,
(ii) that control less than 20% of the voting interests of a person that has, directly or indirectly, effective control of the licensee having control of 20% or more but less than 30% of those interests,
(iii) that control less than 40% of the voting interests of the licensee having control of 40% or more but less than 50% of those interests but not having, directly or indirectly, effective control of the licensee, or
(iv) that control less than 40% of the voting interests of a person that has, directly or indirectly, effective control of the licensee, having control of 40% or more but less than 50% of those interests but not having, directly or indirectly, effective control of the licensee.
Marginal note:Content of notification
(6) The notification is to contain the following information:
(a) the name of the person and, if applicable, of the associate;
(b) the percentage of the voting interests controlled by the person or by the person and the associate; and
(c) a complete description of the act, transaction or agreement or a copy of the transaction or agreement.
Undue Preference or Disadvantage
Marginal note:Prohibition — undue preference or disadvantage
11 (1) A licensee shall not give an undue preference to any person, including itself, or subject any person to an undue disadvantage.
Marginal note:Burden of proof
(2) In a proceeding before the Commission, the burden of establishing that any preference or disadvantage is not undue is on the licensee that gives the preference or subjects the person to the disadvantage.
Tied Selling
Marginal note:Prohibition
12 Except as otherwise provided under a condition of its licence, a licensee shall not offer its programming service for distribution as part of a package with other programming services unless it also makes its programming service available on a stand-alone basis.
Availability of New Programming Services for Distribution
Marginal note:Obligation — distribution of new programming service
13 Except as otherwise provided under a condition of its licence, a licensee that is ready to launch a new programming service shall make that programming service available for distribution by all licensed broadcasting distribution undertakings or operators of exempt distribution undertakings, despite the absence of a commercial agreement.
Dispute Resolution
Marginal note:Referral of dispute to Commission
14 (1) If there is a dispute between a licensee and the operator of a licensed distribution undertaking or an exempt distribution undertaking concerning the carriage or terms of carriage of programming that originates from the licensee, including the wholesale rate and the terms of any audit referred to in section 15.1 of the Broadcasting Distribution Regulations, one or both of the parties to the dispute may refer the matter to the Commission for dispute resolution.
Marginal note:Mediation
(2) If the Commission accepts a referral of a matter for dispute resolution, the parties to the dispute shall participate in a mediation with a person who is appointed by the Commission.
Marginal note:Additional information
(3) During the dispute resolution process, the person who is appointed may require additional information from the parties.
Marginal note:Procedural requirements, rates, terms and conditions
(4) If a licensed distribution undertaking or an exempt distribution undertaking distributes the licensee’s programming service in the absence of a commercial agreement and the matter proceeds before the Commission for dispute resolution,
(a) the dispute shall be resolved in accordance with the procedural requirements established by the Commission in Broadcasting and Telecom Information Bulletin CRTC 2019-184, dated May 29, 2019 and entitled Practices and procedures for dispute resolution; and
(b) the rates, terms and conditions established by the Commission apply as of the day on which the programming service was first made available to the distributor in the absence of a commercial agreement.
Marginal note:Rates, terms and conditions — new programming service
(5) If the dispute relates to the rates, terms or conditions that relate to a new programming service that is being distributed in the absence of a commercial agreement and the matter proceeds before the Commission for dispute resolution, the parties will be bound by the rates, terms and conditions established by the Commission for the duration of the contractual term established by the Commission.
Marginal note:Rates, terms and conditions — agreement
(6) Despite subsections (4) and (5), the parties may reach an agreement that sets out rates, terms or conditions that differ from those established by the Commission.
Obligations During Dispute
Marginal note:Obligation — rates, terms and conditions
15 (1) During a dispute between a licensee and a person that is licensed to carry on a distribution undertaking or the operator of an exempt distribution undertaking concerning the carriage or terms of carriage of programming that originates from the licensee or concerning any right or obligation under the Act, the licensee must continue to provide its programming services to the distribution undertaking at the same rates and on the same terms and conditions as it did before the dispute.
Marginal note:Period of dispute
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), a dispute begins when written notice of the dispute is provided to the Commission and is served on the other undertaking that is a party to the dispute and ends when an agreement settling the dispute is reached by the concerned undertakings or, if no such agreement is reached, when the Commission renders a decision concerning any unresolved matter.
Transmission of Programming Service
Marginal note:Obligations — transmission of programming service
16 Except as otherwise provided under a condition of its licence, a licensee shall, in respect of each programming service that is required to be distributed under section 18 of the Broadcasting Distribution Regulations, by the Commission under paragraph 9(1)(h) of the Act or by order of the Commission made under subsection 9(4) of the Act,
(a) ensure the transmission of the programming service from its production facilities to each broadcasting distribution undertaking’s head end located within the area for which the licensee is licensed or to a satellite uplink centre located within that area; and
(b) bear the costs of the transmission.
Transitional Provisions
17 The holder of any licence for a pay television programming undertaking or a speciality services programming undertaking in effect on September 1, 2017 is considered to be a licensee for the purposes of these Regulations for the remainder of the term of the licence.
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