OTTAWA — HELP WANTED: Seeking strong leader with significant experience in either the telecommunications or broadcasting sectors.
Must be willing to accept pointed direction and public criticism from federal cabinet ministers, stakeholders, media, and analysts -- and rarely, if ever, respond.
Must be willing on a regular basis to explain the importance of a federal regulator at a time when the digital world is making many regulations almost impossible to enforce.
Bilingualism and a very thick skin are considered assets.
The race to succeed Charles Dalfen as the next CRTC chairman is shaping up as a showdown between two leading candidates, sources say, and a battle over who will lead an overhaul of the regulations governing the broadcast and telecommunications sectors.
Government and industry sources say Fernand Bélisle, a former CRTC vice-chairman of broadcasting, and George Addy, a former Telus Corp. executive and head of the federal competition watchdog, have emerged atop a pack of at least five candidates who have already been interviewed for the job.
But two well-regarded candidates, including one executive of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission who many observers once viewed as Mr. Dalfen's likely heir apparent, have now bowed out.
Sources say Richard French, the commission's vice-chairman of telecommunications, said he hasn't applied for the top job. Mr. French couldn't be reached for comment.
Perrin Beatty, a former CBC president and Tory communications minister during the Mulroney era, also said during an interview that he's not interested.
One of the reasons, he explained, is that it would likely be frustrating to head a national telecom and broadcast regulator at a time when the industries are being dominated by new technologies that don't recognize borders.
"We're using regulatory instruments that are badly out of date," said Mr. Beatty, who is now the head of Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters. "Limiting what people can hear and see is not sustainable."
But the job opening, as often is the case, has triggered a power struggle in government and within the commission's two rival sectors.
Mr. Bélisle is seen as the choice of Heritage Minister Bev Oda and many of the broadcast industry's largest players.
Mr. Addy, meanwhile, is being pushed by Industry Minister Maxime Bernier and the large telephone companies.
While each of the two cabinet ministers is responsible for a wing of the commission's mandate, industry sources say the Prime Minister's Office, perhaps even Prime Minister Stephen Harper himself, will likely make the final call. That decision is expected to be made within the next few weeks, as the new chair's term is scheduled to begin at the start of the year.
Whoever's shoulder is tapped, however, will take the CRTC's reins at a most difficult time.
In addition to the significant regulatory challenges being created by new technology, the commission has been under increasing pressure from the Tory government for being too slow to turn the telecom sector over to market forces.
The broadcasting industry, which is facing similar challenges given consumers' wide access to content in the new digital age, is expected to be the next area of focus.
Industry officials agree the government will want the new chair to be an agent of change to help the commission continue to adapt to the digital world. "It should be about a reform agenda," said Janet Yale, executive vice-president of government and regulatory affairs at Telus Corp.
But implementing effective reforms isn't easy.
Mr. Dalfen, who came into the job five years ago with impeccable credentials and near-unanimous support from within government and industry circles, acknowledged in an interview last year that the job was "more intense" than he expected. There were occasions, he said at the time, he was so frustrated that he even considered throwing in the towel.
In a single season, the summer of 2004, for example, the normally staid CRTC found itself embroiled in high-profile controversies involving Italian TV network Rai International, Quebec City radio station CHOI-FM, and Arabic language TV news network Al-Jazeera.
Iain Grant, managing director of SeaBoard Group, a telecom consulting firm in Montreal, said he's not surprised that some leading candidates may not be interested. "I'm not sure how many people are putting their hands up."
Some analysts say the pace of technological change is fast enough that the next CRTC chair may even be the last.
There will almost certainly be a future role for some government body to implement regulations and act as referee in corporate disputes, they say, but those roles might be performed more efficiently by Heritage Canada, Industry Canada, and the Competition Bureau.
"The forces of change have accelerated," said Jeff Leiper, an analyst at Yankee Group.
The contenders
Sketches of the two leading candidates to replace outgoing CRTC chairman Charles Dalfen, above:
Fernand Bélisle
Experience: Former CRTC vice-chairman of broadcasting (until 1997), corporate director, consultant.
Key supporters: Heritage Minister Bev Oda, key players in the broadcast industry.
Pros: Comes from the broadcast industry at a time when government may want to tilt the commission's focus in that direction. The son of a Diefenbaker-appointed senator, he has a strong Tory pedigree.
Cons: The former CRTC exec is no outsider and the reform-minded Harper crowd may be looking for one.
George Addy
Experience: High-profile lawyer who was once head of the federal Competition Bureau (1993-96); former executive at Telus Corp., the country's second-largest phone company.
Key supporters: Industry Minister Maxime Bernier, large phone companies.
Pros: If government wants a nominal outsider and a market-oriented reformer, he may have an edge over Mr. Bélisle. He's got strong telecom experience when there's still lots of work to do in that sector.
Cons: Telcos started pushing his name long after broadcasters and Ms. Oda had settled on Mr. Bélisle.
