The Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission is seeking Canadian input to determine the future of local television.

This past Monday, a public hearing began in Gatineau, Quebec giving  Canadians the chance to address the CRTC with their suggestions and concerns. A random sampling of Canadians across the country was chosen, along with representatives of the Local TV Matters and Stop the TV Tax campaigns.

The hearing is the result of months of campaigning between the two parties.

Konrad Von Finckenstein, chairman of the CRTC, mediated the hearing.

“The purpose of the present hearing is to collect the necessary information to prepare a full report for the government,” Finckenstein said in Monday’s meeting.

Included in the report will be the views expressed at the hearing and recommendations to regulate television signals.

The recommendations will centre around ways to improve the current regulatory process while ensuring the interest of the consumers, as well as ensuring a smooth transition to digital cable.

Carolynn Parsons, a Vancouver Island citizen, appeared before the CRTC via Skype lamenting the ineffectiveness of the advertising campaigns of Local TV Matters and Stop the TV Tax.

“As a concerned citizen, I tried to find the [information] concerning the two sides of the hearing, one being the local stations and the other my cable provider,” Parsons said during the hearing. “I cannot help but think there is more to this than what meets the advertisements.”

Parsons added she holds a lot of value in local television, but was unwilling to pay the costs requested by local television networks.

Anthony Hémond, telecommunications analyst for the Unions des consommateurs, voiced concerns a shift to digital would risk the creation of two levels of consumers: those who would have access to the signal, and those in urban areas who wouldn’t.

Continued at Tuesday’s hearing, representatives from cable service providers including Cogeco and Bell had the opportunity to introduce their Stop the TV Tax panel.

Marko Bibic, senior vice-president regulatory and government affairs at Bell Canada, noted many Canadians are unwilling to pay extra to receive local TV stations.

“The broadcasters that launched the Save Local TV campaign in April of this year know this,” Bibic said on Tuesday. “This is why they have gone to such great length to assure consumers that the fees for basic service would not go up as a result of their compensation charges.”

The hearing will end Nov. 21, with results to be sent to the government to determine the future of local television.