Ottawa says it wants final say over the contentious fee-for-carriage issue between conventional broadcasters and cable companies, which will play out in CRTC hearings now set for December.

In a rare move, the Department of Canadian Heritage on Thursday issued a directive, or ‘order-in-council,’ requesting that the CRTC broaden its fee-for-carriage hearings to take into consideration consumer feedback, and report back to Ottawa. It is the first time that the government has stepped in on the fee debate, which so far has been guided by the TV watchdog.

In an interview with Playback Daily, Heritage Minister James Moore indicated that the unusual move is necessary due to the large financial implications.

‘What we’re talking about here could potentially be a very large sum of money being taken from the consumer,’ he said, adding that the CRTC will report back to Ottawa and will not impose fee-for-carriage ‘without the consent of the government.’

Broadcasters including Canwest Global, CBC, and CTVglobemedia have been lobbying the CRTC to implement the fees — whereby the nets would charge distributors for their signals — as a way of ensuring the survival of conventional TV in a tumultuous economy. The CRTC has twice rejected the proposed fees, but chose to revisit the issue due to the economic crisis.

Cable and satellite distributors such as Rogers Communications and Bell Canada have said that that such fees would be passed on to consumers as part of their subscriptions.

Moore says the government is stepping in because of ‘a lot of concern raised by consumer groups and citizens’ who thought that their views weren’t being adequately addressed.

‘We want to make sure, in the interest of consumers and citizens, that there’s no uncertainty about whether or not their interests have been taken into full account,’ he adds.

In separate statements issued on Thursday, Bell and Rogers both welcomed the government’s directive.

Moore declined to say where the government stands on the issue, noting that Ottawa will make its assessment ‘at the appropriate time.’