Following on yesterday's post on how Conservative MPs submitted comments to the CRTC in support of fee-for-carriage, this morning Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore announced an Order-in-Council directing the CRTC to hold hearings and report back on a fee-for-carriage system in Canada. The challenge, as noted yesterday, is the possibility […]
Blog
Privacy Law Emerges as Latest Canadian Export
The recent Canadian privacy case involving Facebook attracted international attention as the world's leading social networking site agreed to implement a series of changes that will affect 250 million users. While the case is widely viewed as a significant victory for Canadian privacy, my weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes the issue might never have been addressed but for a second, little-noticed privacy decision released two weeks later.
City of Vancouver Launches Open Data Portal
David Eaves reports that the City of Vancouver has launched its open data portal.
UK Music Industry Preparing To Backdown on Three Strikes Proposals
The Times reports that the UK music industry is preparing to backdown from demands for a three-strikes and you're out system in the face of opposition from artists. The Featured Artists Coalition calls the approach "grossly disproportionate."
Conservative MPs Voice Support For Fee-For-Carriage
As the CRTC gears up for yet another round of hearings later this fall that will address the fee-for-carriage issue, the most recent batch of submitted comments contains what may constitute an interesting shift in policy by the Conservatives. Earlier this year, the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage conducted extensive hearings on the future of local broadcasting. Fee-for-carriage (ie. a requirement for broadcast distributors such as cable and satellite to pay for retransmission of over-the-air signals) figured prominently in the discussion. The Conservative members of the committee issued a dissenting opinion in the final report and offered up the following:
this dissenting report must now indicate our most fervent and rigorous opposition to any potential fee for carriage system, either negotiated or imposed, that would have a detrimental effect on the consumer. We believe it is fundamentally unfair to expect Canadian consumers to pay new and substantial charges each month to their cable or satellite distributor to reflect such a system.
Fast forward several months later and Conservative MPs Ed Holder (London West), Laurie Hawn (Edmonton Centre), Bruce Stanton (Simcoe North), Patrick Brown (Barrie), Gord Brown (Leeds-Grenville), and Lois Brown (Newmarket-Aurora) have each submitted comments to the CRTC public hearing process on the issue. Each MP sent roughly the same letter, suggesting that they all come from the same playbook. The new message:
Recent Posts
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 232: What Will Canadian Digital Policy Look Like Under the New Liberal Carney Government? 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 231: Sara Bannerman on How Canadian Political Parties Maximize Voter Data Collection and Minimize Privacy Safeguards 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 230: Aengus Bridgman on the 2025 Federal Election, Social Media Platforms, and Misinformation 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 229: My Digital Access Day Keynote – Assessing the Canadian Digital Policy Record 
Queen’s University Trustees Reject Divestment Efforts Emphasizing the Importance of Institutional Neutrality
