Industry veteran Ian Scott named new chair of CRTC
Appointments

Industry veteran Ian Scott named new chair of CRTC

Former Telus executive Ian Scott has been named as the next chair of the Canada Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.




Blais CRTC
Scott will replace Blais, pictured

Scott is an industry veteran, having worked most recently as director of government and regulatory affairs at Telesat. He also served as VP of government regulations at Telus, and was a registered lobbyist for both firms. He's also worked for Call-Net Enterprises — the corporate parent of Sprint Canada, which was bought out by Rogers in 2005.


He will begin his five-year term at the regulator in September, marking a return to the CRTC – Scott has previously held lesser roles at the regulator and also had stints at Canada’s Competition Bureau.

Heritage Minister Melanie Joly announced Scott’s appointment earlier this week, while also naming Caroline Simard as the CRTC’s vice-chairperson, saying the two have a “deep understanding of what Canadians expect in their telecommunications and broadcasting systems.”

Scott replaces Jean-Pierre Blais, who opted not to reapply for the job when his term ended earlier this year. Judith LaRocque has been acting as interim chair while Joly sought a replacement.

Upon his exit from the regulator, Blais blasted the Canadian telecoms sector, saying it needs more competition and that network sharing has had an adverse effect on mobile prices.

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