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In a brief response to a request for comment on the letter, a spokesman for the CBC said “We are addressing these latest claims by Quebecor with the Commission and have no further comment at this time.” A brief note from a heritage ministry spokesman said: “The Government respects the independence of the CRTC and would direct questions to the agency itself.”

National Post was unable to reach the CRTC for comment by press time.

Specifically, the letter makes three allegations against the CBC, none of which National Post was able to independently confirm.

The first claim is that CBC is selling advertising well below market rates, undercutting private competitors in a bid to “weaken its competitors.”

“This unfortunate situation argues compellingly for the complete elimination of the public broadcaster’s advertising revenues, in order to end once and for all this behaviour unworthy of a Crown Corporation,” the letter says.

(They are) taking advantage of this devastating crisis to plunge the private sector deeper into the financial abyss

The letter further alleges, in its second claim, that a workaround is basically allowing advertisers free space on public radio stations, where CBC is forbidden by regulation from selling advertising. Citing anonymous “clients and an advertising agency,” the Quebecor letter says advertisers that purchase advertising elsewhere in the CBC network are given interviews and “non-sponsored live coverage on radio,” giving them additional exposure.

Quebecor’s third and final allegation, which it says it has confirmed with sources, is that as broadcast coverage of major events dried up due to the COVID-19 lockdown, CBC paid well above market pricing to secure broadcast rights to fill the programming void, leaving private broadcasters chasing fewer and more expensive program options.

“This leaves TVA and the other broadcasters in a very tricky situation, with scant content available to them and very high costs for broadcast rights,” says the letter.

Asked how Quebecor would like their allegations addressed, a company official replied “In light of the upcoming CBC licence renewals and the review of the Broadcasting Act, we believe the CRTC and the government must ensure that this type of behaviour does not continue.”

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