Prime Minister Jean Chretien has appointed former CRTC vice chair Charles Dalfen as the commission’s new chairperson, effective Jan. 1, 2002.

An international communications lawyer, Dalfen is a senior partner in the Torys law firm, where he chairs the Communication Law Group and advises Canadian and foreign clients on domestic and international telecommunications and broadcasting law.

He has also handled regulatory and licensing matters for clients involved in conventional TV, cable TV, satellite, radio and related fields.

Other career highlights include serving as deputy minister of transport and communications in B.C., a law professor at University of Toronto’s faculty of law, and a legal advisor to the federal Department of Communications.