Telecommunications Act (S.C. 1993, c. 38)

PART IVAdministration

Exercise of Powers

Marginal note:Commission subject to orders and standards

47 The Commission shall exercise its powers and perform its duties under this Act and any special Act

• (a) with a view to implementing the Canadian telecommunications policy objectives and ensuring that Canadian carriers provide telecommunications services and charge rates in accordance with section 27; and

• (b) in accordance with any orders made by the Governor in Council under section 8 or any standards prescribed by the Minister under section 15.

Marginal note:Inquiries and determinations

• 48 (1) The Commission may, on application by any interested person or on its own motion, inquire into and make a determination in respect of anything prohibited, required or permitted to be done under Part II, except in relation to international submarine cables, Part III or this Part or under any special Act, and the Commission shall inquire into any matter on which it is required to report or take action under section 14.

• Marginal note:Accessibility inquiries

  (1.1) The Commission may, on application by any interested person or on its own motion, inquire into and make a determination in respect of anything prohibited, required or permitted to be done under sections 51 to 53 of the Accessible Canada Act.

• Marginal note:Interested persons

  (2) The decision of the Commission that a person is or is not an interested person is binding and conclusive.

Marginal note:Quorum

49 For the purposes of this Act, a quorum of the Commission consists of two members, but in uncontested matters a quorum consists of one member.

Marginal note:Extension of time

50 The Commission may extend the period, whether fixed by regulation or otherwise, for doing anything required to be done in proceedings before it or under any of its decisions.

Marginal note:Mandatory and restraining orders

51 The Commission may order a person, at or within any time and subject to any conditions that it determines, to do anything the person is required to do under this Act, under sections 51 to 53 of the Accessible Canada Act or under any special Act, and may forbid a person to do anything that the person is prohibited from doing under this Act, under those sections of the Accessible Canada Act or under any special Act.

Marginal note:Questions of law and fact

• 52 (1) The Commission may, in exercising its powers and performing its duties under this Act or any special Act, determine any question of law or of fact, and its determination on a question of fact is binding and conclusive.

• Marginal note:Factual findings of court

  (2) In determining a question of fact, the Commission is not bound by the finding or judgment of any court, but the finding or judgment of a court is admissible in proceedings of the Commission.

• Marginal note:Pending proceedings

  (3) The power of the Commission to hear and determine a question of fact is not affected by proceedings pending before any court in which the question is in issue.

Marginal note:Counsel assigned by Minister of Justice

53 Where an issue of particular importance affecting the public interest arises, or may arise, in the course of proceedings before the Commission, the Minister of Justice may, at the request of the Commission or of the Minister’s own motion, instruct counsel to intervene in the proceedings with respect to the issue.

Marginal note:In camera hearings

54 A hearing or a portion of a hearing before the Commission may, on the request of any party to the hearing, or on the Commission’s own motion, be held in camera if that party establishes to the satisfaction of the Commission, or the Commission determines, that the circumstances of the case so require.

Marginal note:Judicial powers

55 The Commission has the powers of a superior court with respect to

• (a) the attendance and examination of witnesses;

• (b) the production and examination of any document, information or thing;

• (c) the enforcement of its decisions;

• (d) the entry on and inspection of property; and

• (e) the doing of anything else necessary for the exercise of its powers and the performance of its duties.

Marginal note:Award of costs

• 56 (1) The Commission may award interim or final costs of and incidental to proceedings before it and may fix the amount of the costs or direct that the amount be taxed.

• Marginal note:Payment of costs

  (2) The Commission may order by whom and to whom any costs are to be paid and by whom they are to be taxed and may establish a scale for the taxation of costs.

Marginal note:Rules, orders and regulations

57 The Commission may make rules, orders and regulations respecting any matter or thing within the jurisdiction of the Commission under this Act or any special Act.

Guidelines and Advice

Marginal note:Guidelines

58 The Commission may from time to time issue guidelines and statements with respect to any matter within its jurisdiction under this Act or any special Act, but the guidelines and statements are not binding on the Commission.

Marginal note:Advice

• 59 (1) Where a person proposes to provide a telecommunications service that would utilize telecommunications services obtained from a Canadian carrier, the Commission may, on application by the person or the carrier, advise the applicant whether and under what conditions the carrier is obliged or entitled to provide telecommunications services for the purpose of that utilization under the applicable decisions of the Commission and tariffs of the carrier, but the advice is not binding on the Commission.

• Marginal note:Saving

  (2) This section does not affect the power of the Commission to advise any person with respect to any other matter within its jurisdiction.

Decisions of Commission

Marginal note:Partial or additional relief

60 The Commission may grant the whole or any portion of the relief applied for in any case, and may grant any other relief in addition to or in substitution for the relief applied for as if the application had been for that other relief.

Marginal note:Conditional decisions

• 61 (1) The Commission may, in any decision, provide that the whole or any portion of the decision shall come into force on, or remain in force until, a specified day, the occurrence of a specified event, the fulfilment of a specified condition, or the performance to the satisfaction of the Commission, or of a person named by it, of a requirement imposed on any interested person.

• Marginal note:Interim decisions

  (2) The Commission may make an interim decision and may make its final decision effective from the day on which the interim decision came into effect.

• Marginal note:Ex parte decisions

  (3) The Commission may make an ex parte decision where it considers that the circumstances of the case justify it.

Marginal note:Review of decisions

62 The Commission may, on application or on its own motion, review and rescind or vary any decision made by it or re-hear a matter before rendering a decision.

Marginal note:Enforcement in Federal Court

• 63 (1) A decision of the Commission may be made an order of the Federal Court or of a superior court of a province and may be enforced in the same manner as an order of that court as if it had been an order of that court on the date of the decision.

• Marginal note:Procedure

  (2) A decision of the Commission may be made an order of a court in accordance with the usual practice and procedure of the court in such matters, if any, or by the filing with the registrar of the court of a copy of the decision certified by the secretary to the Commission.

• Marginal note:Effect of revocation or amendment

  (3) Where a decision of the Commission that has been made an order of a court is rescinded or varied by a subsequent decision of the Commission, the order of the court is vacated and the decision of the Commission as varied may be made an order of the court in accordance with subsection (2).

• Marginal note:Saving

  (4) The Commission may enforce any of its decisions whether or not the decision has been made an order of a court.

Appeals

Marginal note:Appeal to Federal Court of Appeal

• 64 (1) An appeal from a decision of the Commission on any question of law or of jurisdiction may be brought in the Federal Court of Appeal with the leave of that Court.

• Marginal note:Application for leave

  (2) Leave to appeal shall be applied for within thirty days after the date of the decision appealed from or within such further time as a judge of the Court grants in exceptional circumstances, and the costs of the application are in the discretion of the Court.

• Marginal note:Notice

  (3) Notice of an application for leave to appeal shall be served on the Commission and on each party to the proceedings appealed from.

• Marginal note:Time limit for appeal

  (4) An appeal shall be brought within sixty days after the day on which leave to appeal is granted.

• Marginal note:Findings of fact

  (5) On an appeal, the Court may draw any inference that is not inconsistent with the findings of fact made by the Commission and that is necessary for determining a question of law or jurisdiction.

• Marginal note:Argument by Commission

  (6) The Commission is entitled to be heard on an application for leave to appeal and at any stage of an appeal, but costs may not be awarded against it or any of its members.

Evidence

Marginal note:Judicial notice

65 A decision of the Commission or a tariff approved by the Commission that is published in the Canada Gazette by or with leave of the Commission shall be judicially noticed.

Marginal note:Business documents

• 66 (1) In proceedings under this Act, a document purporting to have been issued by a Canadian carrier or by an agent or a mandatary of a Canadian carrier is admissible in evidence against the carrier without proof of the issuance of the document by the carrier or the authenticity of its contents.

• Marginal note:Ministerial or Commission documents

  (2) A document appearing to be signed by the Minister, the Chairperson of the Commission or the secretary to the Commission is evidence of the official character of the person appearing to have signed it and, in the case of the Chairperson or secretary, of its issuance by the Commission, and if the document appears to be a copy of a decision or report, it is evidence of its contents.

• Marginal note:Copies

  (3) A copy of a document submitted to the Commission and appearing to be certified as a true copy by the secretary to the Commission is, without proof of the secretary’s signature, evidence of the original, of its submission to the Commission, of the date of its submission and of the signature of any person appearing to have signed it.

• Marginal note:Certificate

  (4) A certificate appearing to be signed by the secretary to the Commission and bearing the Commission’s seal is evidence of its contents without proof of the signature.

Regulations

Marginal note:Regulations

• 67 (1) The Commission may make regulations

  • (a) prescribing standards governing the height of transmission lines of Canadian carriers, not inconsistent with standards prescribed under any other Act of Parliament;

  • (b) establishing rules respecting its practice and procedure;

  • (b.1) prescribing classes of international telecommunications service licences;

  • (b.2) requiring international telecommunications service licensees to publish their licences or otherwise make them available for public inspection;

  • (c) establishing the criteria for the awarding of costs; and

  • (d) generally for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Act or any special Act.

• Marginal note:Application

  (2) Regulations made by the Commission may be of general application or applicable in respect of a particular case or class of cases.

• Marginal note:Incorporation by reference

  (3) Regulations made by the Commission incorporating any standard or enactment by reference may incorporate it as amended from time to time.

Marginal note:Regulations prescribing fees

• 68 (1) The Commission may, with the approval of the Treasury Board, make regulations prescribing fees, and respecting their calculation and payment, for the purpose of recovering all or a portion of the costs that the Commission determines to be attributable to its responsibilities under this Act or any special Act.

• Marginal note:Debt due to Her Majesty

  (2) Fees required to be paid under this section constitute a debt due to Her Majesty in right of Canada and may be recovered in a court of competent jurisdiction.

Marginal note:Pre-publication of regulations

• 69 (1) Any regulations proposed to be made under section 67 or 68 shall be published in the Canada Gazette at least sixty days before their proposed effective date, and a reasonable opportunity shall be given to interested persons to make representations to the Commission with respect to the proposed regulations.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (2) Proposed regulations that are modified after publication need not be published again under subsection (1).

PART IV.1Telecommunications Apparatus

Application

Marginal note:Application

69.1 This Part applies to telecommunications apparatus that can be

• (a) connected to telecommunications networks of Canadian carriers; and

• (b) used by a telecommunications service subscriber at their premises.