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But Mr. Kee said Google was counting all videos uploaded from Canada in its numbers, lumping in National Film Board of Canada documentaries with your neighbour’s cellphone recording of her cat’s head stuck in a cardboard box. When pressed for specifics about what proportion of these videos were scripted or unscripted and representing both official languages, Mr. Kee said he would have to take the questions back to Google to determine whether the company has the data and is willing to release it.

That prompted a rebuke from CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais. “You’re very much the antithesis of your open platform this morning,” he said.

The exchange set the stage for the next two weeks of testimony. At issue is not only the future of television in the Internet age, but the future of the CRTC’s Canadian content requirements as well, which are difficult if not impossible to apply online. Cable companies, the Internet video providers that are increasingly competing with them and a long list of advocacy groups, government departments and individuals are all scheduled to have their say.

A CRTC report released last week found Canadians of all ages watched less traditional TV in 2013 than the previous year, with the biggest drop among 18-to-34-year-olds. The commission found average viewing among that age group fell nearly 4%.

Meanwhile, time spent viewing Internet-based TV surged 46% to 1.9 hours a week, up from 1.3 hours the previous year.