ACTRA and other cultural organizations declared a minor victory on Thursday following an appearance before a federal court over foreign ownership regulations.

ACTRA chief Stephen Waddell said the union was ‘very pleased’ that the court ‘accepted that cultural issues are relevant to the case, which is terrific… That’s a victory for us.’

The actors union — together with CEP and the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting — is backing start-up mobile phone company Public Mobile in its bid to challenge the federal government’s approval of Globalive and its mobile brand Wind. The company was turned away by the CRTC on the grounds that its Egyptian roots violated Canada’s foreign ownership restrictions, but this ruling was later overturned by cabinet.

The coalition is concerned that a loosening of foreign ownership restrictions could lead to a loss of Canadian content in both the emerging mobile market and the bread and butter of broadcasting. Getting cultural issues on the table was the coalition’s biggest initial goal, said Waddell.

‘The government didn’t need to bring Wind in through the back door to create more competition. We have a number of Canadian companies entering the market,’ he said, including Public Mobile, Mobilicity and Videotron.

Public Mobile is also backed by phone giant Telus, which also wants the CRTC ruling upheld, says Telus SVP Michael Hennessy.

Globalive chairman Anthony Lacavera maintains that the parent and its mobile brand ‘are proudly Canadian companies.’ Globalive has also requested to appear before the court, though a further schedule has not been set.

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Photo: John Major Photography