The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) is accusing the CRTC of drowning radio and TV stations in pointless paperwork and decades-old processes, arguing the regulator has failed to modernize even basic administrative systems. In a sharply worded letter to CRTC Chair Vicky Eatrides, the group says the Commission’s so-called “red tape reduction” efforts amount to little more than baby steps.

According to the CAB, in a letter sent via email on November 13, broadcasters are forced to file “dozens of annual financial reports,” duplicate ownership filings, monthly television logs, emergency alert tests, music lists, diversity reports, and a long list of other obligations the CRTC rarely even looks at. The group says the situation has become so absurd that small and medium-sized stations can’t keep up.

“The measures will alleviate dated requirements that no longer meaningfully contribute to broadcasting policy objectives and demand a disproportionate number of resources,” the CAB warns, adding bluntly that the CRTC’s current system “does not go nearly far enough,” writes CAB President Kevin Desjardins.

Broadcasters say the Commission’s monitoring process has become nitpicky to the point of parody. The letter describes staff using stopwatches to calculate “seconds of music, advertising, promos,” and even demanding “evidence (e.g. passports)” to prove longtime Canadian songs are actually Canadian.

One of the biggest complaints is the CRTC’s monthly television logs, which is a requirement the CAB says is outdated and redundant. The group argues that the Commission’s own bottlenecks, including delayed Canadian-content certification numbers, now make filing those logs nearly impossible. “The back-and-forth efforts… are incredibly time-consuming,” the CAB writes.

Here are the reports broadcasters need to file as per CRTC requirements, as listed by the CAB:

• Dozens of annual financial reports (“annual returns”), many of which are duplicative
• Aggregated annual returns for certain large groups
• Multiple ownership reports
• Annual television programming log evaluation reports
• Monthly programming logs (for television)
• Local news audits for television
• Independent production report
• Regional production reports and plans
• Women in production report
• Emerging and Indigenous artist reporting (for radio)
• Tangible benefits reports and post-ownership transaction reports
• Emergency alert testing reports
• Annual Digital Media Survey
• Accessibility plans and progress reports
• Cultural diversity annual reports
• DV exemption reports (for certain groups)
• CC reports on quality and accuracy rates
• Alcohol advertising reports
• Monthly 120-days reports (for dispute resolution)

Even the Commission’s data collection system is described as virtually antique. Introduced in 2004 and barely updated since, the CAB says it is now so dysfunctional that whole broadcaster groups had to document its failures themselves.

The letter also blasts the glacial pace of CRTC ownership approvals, which can take “between 8 and 18 months,” causing direct financial harm to buyers and sellers.

Overall, the message is blunt: broadcasters are complying, the CRTC is not. The CAB says the Commission must overhaul its systems and stop forcing the industry to waste resources on procedures the regulator itself does not use.