The Canadian Radio-television Commission was established in 1968 as a federal agency to oversee broadcasting in Canada and in 1976 had its powers expanded to include telecommunications (and the name changed accordingly to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission [CRTC]). Broadcasting and telecommunications encompass radio and television services (including terrestrial broadcasting, cable, and satellite), telephony and wireless networks, and some aspects of the Internet (by order of the CRTC, online content is exempted from the broadcasting system, but the Commission does regulate wholesale billing and pricing for network access and has introduced restrictions against spamming and digital traffic management practices).

Together, broadcasting and telecommunications account for more than $60 billion in the Canadian economy and provide essential infrastructure for the exchange of cultural and informational resources ...