Speaking to a breakfast crowd of delegates at the Banff World Television Festival, CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein spoke of the need to streamline operations at the federal agency, and explained the thinking behind some of its recent decisions.

‘In a nutshell, we need to move to a lighter and smarter way of regulating. This means we need to review our entire web of policies and practices,’ he said.

‘It’s incumbent on us to find the least burdensome way to regulate as long as the twin objectives of the Broadcasting Act are achieved,’ he added, referring to domestic content and access to the system for all Canadians.

To that end, an independent examination of CRTC policies and regulations is underway by lawyers Laurence Dunbar and Christian Leblanc, who are due to report in August.

Speedier decisions were on von Finckenstein’s mind during the recent hearings into CTVglobemedia’s purchase of CHUM, the decision for which came down earlier than expected on Friday, 39 days after the hearings.

‘I remember reading in Playback that a decision was expected in seven months,’ he said.