The deadline for interventions into the forthcoming CRTC hearing on the Bell – CTV merger passed earlier this week with hundreds of submissions from across the country.  Many cultural groups focused solely on the proposed benefits package associated with the transaction (e.g. Directors Guild of Canada, Alberta Motion Pictures Industry Association, the Documentary Organization of Canada) but there are many others rallying to support the deal.

Local organizations and businesses are effusive with their praise for the transaction – everyone from the Ottawa Senators to retailer Tommy & Lefebvre to the Westin Hotel in Ottawa to the Surrey Honda auto dealership to Dodd’s Furniture and Mattress in Victoria, BC to the Soho Bar and Grill in Calgary took the time to chime in with support.  Moreover, MPs from across the political spectrum write with their support including Conservative MPs Bruce Stanton, Bev Shipley, Patrick Brown, and Garry Breitkreuz, Liberal MP Marcel Proulx, NDP MPs Irene Mathyssen, Brian Masse, and Joe Comartin, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, Halifax Mayor Peter Kelly, Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie, and Ontario MPP Bob Chiarelli.

The views expressed by the politicians are remarkably consistent.  For example, Chiarelli says:

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