Jean-Pierre Blais' "magic items": Over-the-air digital television delivery as Canadian regulatory revelation

This article argues that a January 2015 speech by former Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) Chairman Jean-Pierre Blais represented a moment of regulatory revelation for digital Canada. In the speech, Blais proclaimed that his Canada included over-the-air (OTA) television, elevating the profile of OTA television delivery, spectrum, and infrastructure in the process. This article discusses the policy implications of the CRTC's vision of an alternative path for Canada's television broadcast system. It is a vision that deviates from the subscription-based cable, satellite, and Internet Protocol television modes of delivery in Canada and positions OTA as a viable component of Canada's television delivery future.