CRTC chairwoman Francoise Bertrand resigns by Jennifer Ditchburn
Source : Toronto Star
Dec 05, 2000
by Jennifer Ditchburn
Françoise Bertrand, the woman credited with giving the public a greater say in broadcast and telecommunications policy, is leaving her post as Canada's chief regulator to return to the private sector.
Bertrand, 52, will leave the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to join Montreal-based corporate management firm Secor Consulting on Feb. 15.
The former Radio-Quebec president joined the CRTC in 1996, replacing outspoken chairman Keith Spicer. She was faced with challenges such as media mergers and the expanding Internet.
While some criticized Bertrand for not being a more high-profile activist like Spicer, she was praised by others for opening the CRTC's doors to the public.
Bertrand took the CRTC on the road to big and small towns across the country and in the North, consulting with regular folk on issues like television programming and multicultural media.
''In the end they had thousands of interested Canadians giving them input,'' said Ian Morrison, spokesperson for Friends of Canadian Broadcasting.
''The CRTC used to be $300- to $400-per-hour lawyers sitting in hearing rooms and it hasn't been all that accessible to the outside.''
Bertrand confides that when she first got the job, people extended their sympathies rather than their congratulations, viewing the CRTC as a dry and thankless job.
''I worked very hard when there weren't any obvious recipes,'' Bertrand said in an interview.
''You always have to enrich the public process and embrace more people and make sure we are not only open but also listening.''
Bertrand was also an unflappable defender of the Broadcasting Act.
She reinforced Canadian content rules in radio and television and approved an aboriginal channel and a second French news network as part of basic cable.
And few in the broadcasting world forget how Bertrand went head to head with the CBC last spring, directing the public broadcaster to pour more money into local and regional programming while cutting down on sports and big American movies.
Michael McCabe, president of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, said a big part of her legacy will be her keen management style.
Bertrand introduced a ''vision plan'' and regular calendar that set out the issues the CRTC would address several years in advance.
''Prior to her coming to the commission, the inclination was to have to read the tea leaves, wondering what a pattern of decisions meant and where they went next,'' McCabe said.
''What she did was to say, `Here is our direction and here are our plans ahead,' and I think the whole of the industry benefited from that.''
Bertrand's departure came suddenly, surprising even her closest staff. Secor Consulting announced her appointment as partner before the government had time to announce her resignation.
And so begins the months of speculation, jockeying and searching for a new commissioner.
Some names that have been floating around include current commissioner David Colville, who is credited as being the brains behind the CRTC's decision two years ago to not regulate the Internet.
Francois Macerola, current chairman of Telefilm Canada, ends his term in the next few months, and former Canadian Cable Television Association president Richard Stursberg is another potential contender.
Richard Schultz, author of Still Standing: The CRTC 1976-1996, said the commission needs a leader with a telecommunications background to address the converging worlds of technology and broadcasting.
''I would expect it would be someone from the broadcast side, and I think that's unfortunate because there has been no one as chair who has had a significant understanding of telecommunications ... , '' said Schultz, who favours Colville as successor.
''The chair's position has been regarded by the culturati as their privileged position.''
