Raj Shoan, Ontario Commissioner with the CRTC – the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission – will be the keynote speaker at the upcoming meeting of the Canadian Ethnic Media Association.
The meeting, starting at 6:45 p.m., will be held in the TransMedia Zone, at the Rogers Communications Centre, Ryerson University, 80 Gould Street.
Mr. Shoan has broad experience in communications law and regulatory affairs within the public and private spheres. Prior to his appointment to the CRTC he served as the CBC/Radio-Canada’s director of regulatory affairs. In this role, he led the corporation’s participation in CRTC public hearings on various policy and regulatory matters, including the applications to renew the public broadcaster’s licences for its television and radio services.
As director of regulatory affairs at Astral Media Radio Inc., from 2008 to 2011, Mr. Shoan ensured that the company’s radio and local television stations were compliant with the CRTC’s policies and regulations. He was also responsible for the company’s annual contributions to initiatives that promote emerging Canadian talent, and support for the development of high-quality Canadian music and spoken word programs.
Between 2004 and 2008 Mr. Shoan gained expertise in the interpretation of the Broadcasting Act and Telecommunications Act. As a senior policy analyst and legal counsel at the CRTC he provided policy and legal advice on a number of matters, such as the review of the regulatory frameworks for broadcasting distribution, and pay and specialty television channels.
In 2007 he was the senior advisor to the chairman.
Mr. Shoan worked as an analyst and lawyer at Industry Canada from 2002 to 2004. He was also the legal counsel for its Telecommunications Law Group. Among other responsibilities, he provided litigation support, interpretation and prosecutions under the Radiocommunication Act, interpretation of the Telecommunications Act, and conducted legal research and drafted legal opinions. He also assisted in the development of regulatory policies for the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy.
During his career, Mr. Shoan has served on various committees and organizations, including the Board of Directors of FACTOR – the Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent on Recordings – and the Governance Council for Pelmorex’s national emergency alert system. He holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of New Brunswick and a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University. He is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada and the Ontario Bar Association.
