OTTAWA — Shaw Communications will resume its monthly payments to the Canadian Television Fund, CEO Jim Shaw said during his appearance Tuesday before the standing committee on Canadian Heritage.

But the industry renegade continued to call for changes to the fund, proclaiming during questioning by MPs that the CTF was ‘flawed and broken and it has to be fixed or it won’t go anywhere.’

In a scrum following his appearance, Shaw would not say why he had the about-face after proclaiming two days ago that he would not resume the payments unless forced to by the federal government.

He insisted his company was ‘not in violation of any laws anywhere’ when it ceased making the contributions.

‘It was totally within our right, but we have decided to pay to help stabilize the industry,’ he told MPs.

Under later questioning by committee members, Shaw argued that his earlier decision to cease making the payments would make the production industry stronger by bringing problems with the fund to the forefront.

CFTPA president and CEO Guy Mayson welcomed Shaw’s news.

‘It’s clear the committee endorses the fund’s role in production, but that isn’t saying there aren’t any issues that need to be dealt with,’ he noted. ‘In our view though, the [CTF] board is a solid entity that has been flexible.’

Calls continued, though, for the monthly payments to be given greater regulatory weight so the fund could not be held hostage again.

The Canadian Association of Broadcasters urged the CRTC to amend the Broadcast Distribution Regulations immediately — to codify payment schedules by distributors to independent funds. The monthly payments are currently spelled out in a CRTC circular, which doesn’t carry the same legal weight as the regulations.

‘No one player can decide to unilaterally withhold payments when it no longer suits their purpose,’ said CAB president and CEO Glenn O’Farrell in his appearance before the committee.

The CAB also recommended the government direct the CRTC to hold a hearing or compile a report on matters related to production funding mechanisms. Like Quebecor, the CAB said production funding must take into account new technologies and ‘remain relevant to broadcasters’ changing business and regulatory realities.’

Hot on the heels of that request, the CRTC announced Tuesday it was setting up a task force, headed by its broadcasting vice-chair Michel Arpin, to deal with unresolved CTF issues.

In his appearance before the committee, Quebecor president and CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau insisted production money in an era of new distribution technologies, such as YouTube, would be better doled out through a fund controlled by his company.

‘The CTF is no longer adapted to the new digital reality,’ he said.