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“I can see their argument,” Blais said, referring to Videotron Inc.’s Illico, BCE Inc.’s CraveTV and soon-to-be shuttered Shomi, the failed joint venture between Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc.

“(They) are subject to GST payments, whereas other foreign services that still use our banking system through credit card set-offs don’t seem to be,” Blais said. “Just as an ordinary citizen I’m a bit surprised by that, I know it’s not the approach taken in other jurisdictions.”

Blais, who was grilled on how to deliver local news and Canadian content in a digital age, has pursued a consumer-focused agenda at the helm of the CRTC. When the Conservatives were in power – they were adamantly opposed to a Netflix tax – the regulator did not heed calls from broadcasters who suggested a levy requiring foreign streaming services to pay into a fund that supports Canadian content.

The CRTC did, however, loosen up regulations for Canadian streaming services such as Shomi and CraveTV competing against Netflix. It ruled they wouldn’t have to pay into the fund as long as they made their services available over any Internet connection.

“Broadcasters came to us in our hearing and complained and indicated they were competing with one hand tied behind their back with respect to digital products… we provided them with a bit of a leg up,” the CRTC’s executive director of broadcasting Scott Hutton told the committee.

But the CRTC does not control fiscal policy and thus has no role in deciding whether Netflix should collect and remit sales tax, he said.