Changing Channels: Confessions of a Canadian Communications Lawyer
About this ebook
Renowned advocate and legal trailblazer Peter S. Grant has acted for –
and against – virtually all of the major players in the Canadian
broadcast and telecommunications industry. His résumé features stints as
a rapporteur for UNESCO, Special Counsel for the CRTC, Broadcasting
Arbitrator for Canada’s political parties, and advocate for the underdog
in the David-and-Goliath struggle to expand Canada’s culture
industries.
In his sweeping memoir, Changing Channels: Confessions of a Canadian Communications Lawyer,
Grant affords readers an insider’s glimpse into some of the biggest
changes in the history of Canadian communications policy. Interspersed
with fond recollections of his hometown of Kapuskasing and anecdotes of
his growing family, Grant provides an eye-opening account of the
Canadian communications industries. He documents his role in regulating
the telecom carriers, increasing competition among service providers,
and acting for dozens of broadcast programming services in front of the
CRTC.
Grant’s reasoned prose highlights his far-reaching expertise in all
areas of communications law and cultural policy, and makes his story
compelling to anyone who has picked up a phone or turned on a television
set.
About the author
Peter S. Grant was born on November 26, 1941, and grew up in Kapuskasing, Ontario. He enrolled in Victoria College at the University of Toronto, and in addition to studying political science and economics – and later law – he spent two summers in the ‘Arrangers Workshop’ at the prestigious Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.
After being called to the bar in 1969, Grant joined McCarthy & McCarthy, currently McCarthy Tétrault, one of Canada’s largest law firms. Grant has since been instrumental in establishing the field of communications law in Canada, working as and Special Counsel to the CRTC, consulting for UNESCO, and acting as the Broadcasting Arbitrator for Canada. He is the author of numerous articles and publications, including the Canadian Broadcasting Regulatory Handbook as well as Blockbusters and Trade Wars: Popular Culture in a Globalized World, co-authored with Chris Wood. He currently sits as Counsel at McCarthy Tétrault, and as Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto and York University. He lives in Toronto.