It was suggested that the whole discussion of politics and news stations in SD, but not HD be brought over to the lounge, which makes sense.
But I am not going to talk about politics, instead, I did some research and found references to what does the CRTC mandate
Well the reality is that they don't mandate much at all, other than things in the following:
(note, on their site, there is description of how they came to this and the final outcome - most providers chose to include the US 4 + 1 Over the Air Broadcast networks because if I recall, the figure was that some 97% of Canadians can get some variation of these networks, and that the companies indicated that if they didn't provide these as basic cable and broadcast, there would be a revolt - I am sure there would be - if 97% can get them over the air, plus the basic provides access to all local and mandated stations, why wouldn't you just put up an antenna rather than pay add on fees.
Note that no specialty news network, including CBC News is included - just local stations that are broadcast over the network, and that the basic channels must include a mix of over 50% Canadian content, and there is a formula for that too.
The Starter, packages and their content:
From 2016 at https://www.canada.ca/en/radio-television-telecommunications/news/2016/03/new-tv-services-starting-m...
Affordable basic package
What does the affordable basic package include?
It must include:
- local and regional television stations;
- channels of public interest such as the Cable Public Affairs Channel (CPAC) and Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN);
- educational channels; and
- community channels and services operated by provincial legislatures, where offered.
It may also include at no additional charge:
- local AM and FM radio stations;
- other Canadian over-the-air stations (for a maximum of 10);
- stations affiliated with American commercial networks (ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC) and PBS;
- educational channels of another province or territory in each official language (if no educational channel is offered).
Does the affordable basic package include American networks like ABC, NBC and CBS?
Not necessarily. Service providers do not have to include those channels in their affordable basic package. But some service providers may include them.
We encourage Canadians to shop around and negotiate with service providers to get the services they want at an affordable price. The CRTC has made it easier for Canadians to switch service providers and take advantage of a more competitive marketplace: Canadians no longer have to give 30-days’ notice prior to cancelling these services.
Approved channels in Canada
Here is an information section that currently describes all channels currently approved for broadcast in Canada
You will note there is no reference to HD versus SD, or even analogue - yes, there are still some analogue broadcasting over the air stations out there both in U.S. and rural repeaters and stations.
A very important reference document for all people is the following - these are the things that we all need to know and must be in the contracts, and anything outside of it that contradicts any portion is a violation of regulations such as the Wireless Code, but there are other regulations around Internet, Cable and Telephone.
These frame our rights to access in how contracts are formed for our services
https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/home-accueil.htm
A historical reference to Fox News is the hoax stories about CRTC not permitting their network in Canada - in reading over the information, as it was a news station, they wanted to make a Canadian version of it, but it didn't meet the Canadian content requirements, so was declined and Global was talking about making a similiar network framed on the viewership preferences that would follow a network of that type.
Ultimately, it was approved as a US speciality network, and if it was included in a package, it had to balance out with the requirements of Canadian content across the mix to exceed 50%.
No reference to HD or SD exists anywhere that I can find, so it must lie in the carriage licenses.
So, there is the information, currently available - as I said, no politics, but some important information for us all to be aware of.
Most important for the average consumer of services is here:
https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/home-accueil.htm
On the topic of legalities thought - back in 2004 when Al Jezeer and Fox News were approved, carriers were required to keep an audio and video copy of all broadcasting, with their primary concern that laws around Anti-Semetic messages not be violated. In other words, any broadcast in the Canadian Market must not violate any existing broadcast rules or Canadian law.
And a final note - I cannot find anything that references that CRTC makes any decisions on SD or HD or 4K - that is broadcasting and their primary goal back in 2004 was to increase digital content, no reference to SD or HD.
So it appears that decision lies with the companies and the carriage holders and carriage license conditions.
It is there business and whether they broadcast a station or not, and what format, whether it is available on line, can be broadcast, seems to lie in the commercially negotiated agreements, and there are somethings that are mandated by CRTC related to the starter package content, and mix of packages they distribute, but from what I can see there are very few CRTC defined restrictions on Content, except for the traditional Canadian content requirements.
So each of us has the right to believe what they want, but I will draw my opinion from the regluations, and I just don't see much there, except for quite a lot of restrictions on companies to promote competition and to remove restrictive practices that restrict our ability to move easily and to force the companies to communicate in a clear manner, their responsibilities, and ours.
@OLDYELLR does that fit your desire to read one of my essays? 
Bruce
Even if I could add Fox News to my grandfathered VIP package, I could not see it on my small kitchen/dining room TV with a DTA, where I watch the news channels. That is unless the CRTC has a drastic change in policy and adds it to mandatory carriage among the lower channel numbers. But I can watch it live streaming on YouTube on my laptop or Smart TV anytime, in HD even. 
@OLDYELLR wrote:
Even if I could add Fox News to my grandfathered VIP package, I could not see it on my small kitchen/dining room TV with a DTA, where I watch the news channels. That is unless the CRTC has a drastic change in policy and adds it to mandatory carriage among the lower channel numbers. But I can watch it live streaming on YouTube on my laptop or Smart TV anytime, in HD even.
This is an issue specific to Rogers Cable only. Just for the record, the Competitors do not believe in using a DTA, they will offer their customers a full fledged Set Top Box which ALL the channels you subscriber to can be viewed on in any room in your house. This is a major difference between Rogers and its competitors, but you also must note, Rogers was the only TV provider which Offered Analogue cable, and they offered Analog as long as they could, while other TV providers were not around as long as Rogers were, they were able to launch their service with complete digital TV service, and not just that, some even launched IPTV service from the start, while Rogers is just figuring out how to switch over to that.
They have had their challenges, so don't fault them for being around as long as they were. it costs money to change technologies
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