The Broadcasting Act is too protectionist and doesn’t promote Canadian culture, Shaw Communications executives told the CRTC on Wednesday as hearings on the future of satellite and cable continued in Gatineau.

‘It’s a bad policy and it doesn’t work. If you look at the strong Canadian cultural contributions to the world, they aren’t protected,’ Shaw Communications SVP Ken Stein told CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein.

Stein pointed to Margaret Atwood and Canada’s pop music industry as examples of how culture can thrive without government regulations, adding that he reads far more about Canadian music in Rolling Stone than he does about Canadian TV in Variety.

Stein made the comments during his company’s presentation on the issue of genre protection.

Shaw Communications wants genre protection rules removed entirely so that different specialty stations can have similar programming themes and so that it can have more freedom to import popular U.S. channels such as HBO and ESPN for Canadian consumers. Critics say that limiting the distribution of foreign channels promotes homegrown culture, and that genre protection will help guarantee the health of existing specialty channels.

‘We believe a competitive system will achieve more diversity and will achieve the objectives of the Broadcasting Act,’ said Stein, adding that there are parallels between the transportation sector and cultural industries.

‘Everyone was afraid about what would happen when they privatized Via Rail, and it’s working,’ said the executive.

But von Finckenstein responded that comparing transportation and culture and doesn’t make sense. The CRTC chair also said it was doubtful that market forces alone could achieve the goals of the Broadcasting Act. ‘If we adopt the Shaw approach, won’t programmers say what’s the minimum I can do in terms of Canadian content?’ he asked.

Guilds and unions as well as cable and satellite companies Rogers and Bell are united in their support for genre protection.

Shaw executives also reiterated their objection to the fee-for-carriage proposal put forward by conventional broadcasters including CTV, Global and CBC. The broadcasters maintain it’s unfair that cable and satellite providers can carry their signal free of charge. They want to charge 50 cents a month per channel per subscriber for their feeds.

But Shaw warns that the proposal could be disastrous because American networks may want to charge similar fees.

‘Fee-for-carriage must be resoundingly rejected once and for all,’ Shaw president Peter Bissonette told the CRTC.

Last week, Jim Shaw sent a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper blasting the CRTC for allowing the fee debate at the BDU hearings.

The Calgary-based CEO didn’t show up for Wednesday morning’s hearings, which prompted comments from von Finckenstein. ‘Given his vociferous views on these hearings, I thought he would have done us the courtesy of appearing in person,’ the CRTC chair said.

‘Since we have been subject to his criticism, I would have appreciated the opportunity to deal with him one on one.’