Regulation is not a dirty word.

That was the message from the Writers Guild of Canada to a Heritage Committee formed to examine an issue which has flummoxed policy makers and industry leaders around the globe: media convergence.

The committee, which began its hearings in November, has a formidable task: to look at ownership changes in the private TV sector, as well as vertical integration – the term used to describe the merging of digital, Internet and conventional broadcast systems.

The WGC, which represents 2,000 professional screenwriters, believes that if the CRTC doesn’t start to regulate the Internet, Canadian content will get lost and forgotten as audiences move online for their entertainment fix.

“We need a similar regulatory framework for the digital platforms which are now part of the Canadian broadcasting system,” WGC executive director Maureen Parker (pictured) told the committee this week. “We encourage the government and this Committee to think of the Canadian broadcasting system as one integrated system.”

Although the The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) officially decided not to regulate the Internet last year, chair Konrad von Finckenstein told the heritage committee last month that he has scheduled hearings on vertical integration for May 9 because broadcasting is changing at lightning speed and Canada’s regulations may need to adapt.

Recently, Shaw bought Canwest’s Global TV network, and Bell is in the process of absorbing CTV. Meanwhile, Quebecor is launching a new 24-hour cable news network.

The WGC is concerned about Shaw and Bell’s recent acquisitions as well as the introduction into the Canadian broadcasting landscape of ‘over the top’ services such as Netflix and Apple TV because they are outside the jurisdiction of the CRTC – the legal definition of the Canadian broadcasting system is too narrow to include them – and they are non-Canadian.

Last week Shaw told the Commons heritage committee that online movie providers Netflix, Hulu and video site Google TV need to be subject to the Broadcasting Act because the Canadian cable company is forced to pay about $150 million a year for local content and to support Canadian producers through the Canadian Media Fund. Shaw maintains that it’s unfair that companies such as Netflix aren’t subject to the same regulations.

The WGC maintains that Rogers, Shaw and Bell are benefiting from the current regulatory vacuum by setting up online broadcasting services and offering film and television programming free to subscribers.

“Because all of these services are unregulated, there is no obligation for them to carry or promote Canadian programming even though they are owned by regulated businesses,” Parker told the committee.