Explainers
News, analysis, and guides on Canadian broadcasting accountability.
Latest · CRTC proceeding
Two Business Days, Not Sixty
Bell and Virgin Plus sold phones that stayed locked for 60 days. The CRTC has ordered Bell to explain itself, and paused the rule that phones be sold unlocked for every provider, on the condition that they unlock within two business days. What you can still ask for, and how to comment by September 24.
Read the explainerSeptember 2026
September 2026
More explainers
By the numbersTwo Numbers in the CCTS Data Nobody Has Written Up
SpeakOut Wireless went from 32 complaints a year to 638 in six months, and Public Mobile's fell 61 percent without getting any better. The CCTS's own open data shows what each number really measures: a wholesale contract ending, and a rewards program being replaced. What a complaint can and cannot do about either.
ReadSeptember 2026
Your billThe Fees That Died on June 12
Activation and change fees became illegal this summer, and cellphone cancellation fees with them — but only where no subsidized device is involved, and the internet side kept its exit fees. What Policy 2026-43 actually banned, what it left standing, and what to do when a dead fee shows up on your bill anyway.
ReadAugust 2026
LicensingThe Appendix Won
On August 24 the CRTC cancelled the renewal calendar for 999 radio licences — including the one service you cannot tune away from, cancel, or decline. What Decision 2026-216 did, the one sentence an intervener got into it, and where accountability lives now that no meeting is ever scheduled again.
ReadAugust 2026- CRTC proceeding
A $40 Fee for Handing You a Phone
On June 12 it became illegal to charge a fee for starting or changing a phone or internet plan. Within weeks, all three national carriers had fees the ban supposedly did not cover. The CRTC has ordered them to explain themselves — comments closed August 31, and if you paid one of these fees, keep the bill.
ReadAugust 2026 - Licensing
Always Read the Appendix
Nobody reads appendices. Appendices are counting on it. How a 1,010-licence housekeeping list came to include the one service you cannot tune away from, cancel, or decline — and why the most useful consumer skill in broadcasting is scrolling to the bottom of the document.
ReadAugust 2026 - CRTC proceeding
It's Moving Day for Your Consumer Rights
The CRTC is merging four consumer rulebooks into one. In a merge, every protection has to re-apply for its job — and no press release announces the ones that do not make it. Moving day is when you watch the boxes.
ReadAugust 2026 - CRTC proceeding
The Referee Nobody Mentions
Canada has a free referee for fights with your provider. Two percent of people with unresolved complaints were told it exists — and for TV customers, no CRTC code says anyone has to. The CRTC is deciding whether that changes, and the comment window is open until October 7.
ReadAugust 2026 
Your rightsCRTC Mandates Self-Service Cancellation for Internet and Cellphone Plans
Telecom Regulatory Policy 2026-78 closes a three-part Consumer Protections Action Plan. The broadcasting side of the regulator's mandate has not yet received the same treatment.
ReadApril 2026
Take partThe Broadcasting Participation Fund: Get Funding to Participate in CRTC Hearings
Did you know public interest groups can get funding to participate in CRTC broadcasting proceedings? The Broadcasting Participation Fund exists to help level the playing field.
ReadMarch 2026- Bill decoder
5 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Your Cable Bill
Most Canadians pay their cable bill every month without thinking much about what's in it. From bundled services you never chose to regulatory loopholes, here are five things most subscribers don't know.
ReadMarch 2026 
Who handles it?CRTC vs. CCTS vs. CBSC: Which Body Handles Your Broadcasting Complaint?
Canada has three separate organizations that handle broadcasting-related complaints, and filing with the wrong one is the single most common mistake consumers make.
ReadMarch 2026- Licensing
What Happens at a CRTC Licence Renewal? A Consumer's Guide
Broadcasting licences don't last forever. Here's what happens when they come up for renewal — and how you can have your say in the process.
ReadMarch 2026