The licensing of wireless technologies in Canada : an examination of the use of ministerial licensing

Our examination of ministerial licensing under the Radio Act, attempts to first show that its use in the early 1980s was driven more by a desire within the Department of Communications to be dominant in setting policy than by necessity. The case studies we then discuss show that the argument advanced at the time of the Department's announcement to license cellular---that there is greater accountability in expanding elected officials' powers in regulatory affairs---fails to prove itself in practice. After careful examination of the two cases in which Ministerial licensing has been used in Canada, this paper points problems with ministerial licensing. First, as our case studies will clearly show, Ministerial licensing is apparently incapable of providing any of the policy leadership or public accountability. Second, and perhaps more important in the long term, Ministerial licensing in telecommunications contravenes all of Canada's own efforts to secure a fair and procedurally defined international regime for telecom regulation. (Abstract shortened by UMI.