Federal judge von Finckenstein to lead CRTC

Federal Court Judge Konrad von Finckenstein, former commissioner of the Competition Bureau, has been named the head of Canada's broadcast regulator.

Heritage Minister Bev Oda announced on Thursday von Finckensteinwill be the new chairman of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.

"Mr. von Finckenstein's credentials will bring strong leadership to the CRTC," Oda said in a statement issued late Thursday.

"I am confident that his experience will greatly benefit the commission."

Von Finckenstein takes over for Charles Dalfen, whose five-year term as CRTC chair ended in December. Michel Arpin, the CRTC's broadcasting vice chair, had been serving as interim leader.

The German-born von Finckenstein holds political science and law degrees from Carleton University and Queen's University, respectively. He was called to the bar in 1971 and, two years later, joined the federal Justice Department. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1984.

Over the years, he has held a host of public service positions, including senior general counsel of the Trade Negotiations Office, chair of the Canadian dispute settlement mechanism (where he worked on the drafting and implementation of the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement) and various assistant deputy minister positions with the External Affairs and Justice departments.

In 2002, he was recognized with the outstanding achievement award of the Public Service of Canada, considered the most prestigious award in the public service.

From 1997 to 2003, von Finckenstein headed the Competition Bureau, where he oversaw several major cases, including Air Canada's takeover of Canadian Airlines.

In 2003, von Finckenstein was appointed a federal court judge. One of his most well-known decisions came in 2004, when he ruled that putting music into a computer directory that might be shared remotely by someone else doesn't constitute copyright infringement under Canadian law.

Von Finckenstein's appointment comes at a controversial time for the CRTC, as it continues to battle with the Conservative government over broadcasting and telephone regulations, as well as dealing with two major media consolidation cases: Bell Globemedia's takeover of CHUM Ltd. and the acquisition of Alliance Atlantis by CanWest Global Communications and New York-based Goldman Sachs Capital.