The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage has released its report
on CETA and ACTA. The report, which is based on hearings that
featured
Minister Peter van Loan, includes a notable recommendation with respect
to ACTA implementation and future trade negotiations, including the
ongoing Canada - European Union Trade Agreement discussions.
Recommendation #3 states:
The Committee calls on the Government
of Canada to ensure that domestic copyright policies are not part of
any present or future trade negotiations; that Canada’s commitments to
the implementation of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)
are limited to the agreement’s focus on combating international
counterfeiting and commercial piracy efforts; and that the Government
of Canada retains the right to maintain domestic copyright policies
that have been developed within the framework of its commitments to the
World Intellectual Property Organization and the Berne Convention.
While the Conservatives dissented from all the report's recommendations
on the basis that it believed the issue should not have addressed by
the committee, this particular recommendation (as well as another one
calling for greater transparency and public input) packs in several
issues. First, it effectively calls for the removal of the copyright
provisions from CETA and from future trade agreements. Even if the
government refuses, this suggests that those provisions could face a
rough ride if an agreement is reached. Second, it rightly seeks to
limit ACTA implementation to counterfeiting and commercial piracy
concerns, which could raise questions about some Internet provisions in
the agreement that are outside that scope. Third, it reaffirms the
flexibility that exists under WIPO and the Berne Convention and the
need for Canada to conform in accordance with our own interests.
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When Bell's Mirko Bibic appeared before the Standing Committee on
Industry to answer questions on usage based billing last month, he
focused on the "fairness" associated with the billing approach. Using
the word "fairness" seven times, Bibic mixed congestion, heavy users,
and fairness with responses such
as:
As for small businesses, which are
generally on the same network as residential users, what you have is
really a case where the congestion during peak periods is largely a
residential phenomenon. It's in that area that we've addressed the
usage-based billing issue, and all we're asking the CRTC for is to
follow a fundamental principle of fairness. If we asked 97% or 98% of
Canadians if they would be prepared to pay more so that the 2% of
heaviest users pay less, I'm pretty sure of what the answer would be.
While Bell emphasized fairness once UBB became a political hot potato,
the company had a far different emphasis when discussing UBB last year
with financial analysts. In an August 2010 quarterly call, BCE
CEO George Cope stated:
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One day after formally launching a Canadian open data portal, the
federal governmental on Friday unveiled a new Open Government initative.
The Open Gov initiative includes three prongs: open data, open
information, and open dialogue. The most noteworthy change is a new requirement
that all government departments must proactively release summaries of
access to information requests. Canadians can use the information to
informally request a copy of the released documents. This is a good
step, though it falls short of reinstating the CAIRS database (which
provided access all ATI requests) or making the full text of ATI
requests readily available, as the UK has proposed doing.
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The Globe's Derek DeCloet has a
terrific piece
on the fat profit margins for Canadian cable giants - bigger than those
in the U.S. due to massive price increases and no foreign competition.
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Francois Caron has produced The
UBB Deception, which does a nice job of explaining UBB and some of
the reasons behind it.
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The CRTC announced
new rules on Friday that should make it easier for consumers to switch
providers. The new rules allow consumers to switch TV, home telephone,
wireless or Internet services in a single call and require providers to
comply with 2.5 hours.
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