Liberal MP Brian Murphy criticizes the Canadian do-not-call list, noting the need for co-operation with the United States on international telemarketing.
Post Tagged with: "crtc"
CRTC Claims Misuse of Do-Not-Call List An Urban Myth
CRTC Chair Konrad von Finckenstein delivered a speech this week in which he challenged reports that the do-not-call list is being misused. Von Finckenstein stated that: I would like to take this opportunity to deflate an urban myth that has emerged about misuse of the list. There have been allegations […]
Canada’s Telecom Crisis: My Appearance Before the Senate Transport and Communications Committee
Two weeks ago, I appeared before the Standing Committee on Transport and Communications to discuss the state of telecommunications in Canada. The committee is conducting a study on the wireless sector and access to high-speed Internet. The full hearing last over 90 minutes and the transcript has just been posted online. My opening statement is posted below.
Appearance before the Senate Standing Committee on Transport and Communications
May 26, 2009
Good morning. My name is Michael Geist. I am a law professor at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law, where I hold the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law. I am also a syndicated weekly columnist on law and technology issues for the Toronto Star and the Ottawa Citizen. I served on National Task Force on Spam struck by the Minister of Industry in 2004 and on the board of directors of the Canadian Internet Registration Authority, which manages the dot-ca domain name space, from 2000 – 2006.
I appear before the committee today in a personal capacity representing only my own views. I grateful both for the opportunity to appear before you and for your decision to address this issue. As you know, Canada was once a global leader in the telecom field. Companies like Nortel led the world and – befitting a country with our geography – Canada consistently ranked toward the top on most telecom measures. No longer. While RIM has carved out an important niche and become a household name, the Canadian telecommunications scene is in a state of crisis. This is no exaggeration. Following years of neglect by successive governments, the absence of a forward-looking digital agenda, and cozy, uncompetitive environment, we now find ourselves steadily slipping in the rankings just as these issues gain even more importance for commercial, educational, and community purposes.
I know that you are focused primarily on the wireless sector, but I think the problems within our telecommunications infrastructure are not so easily divisible. I would like to briefly discuss three issues – wireless, broadband access, and net neutrality.
CRTC New Media Decision: Hands Off The Internet. . . For Now
The CRTC has released its 2009 new media decision (full decision here) and it looks not unlike the 1999 new media decision. Days of hearings, thousands of pages of submissions and the Commission has side-stepped the pressure to "do something," by maintaining its hands-off approach. It concluded that regulatory intervention would get in the way of innovation and that a compelling case was not made that additional support through an ISP levy was needed. Indeed, the decision notes that "the Commission is of the view that parties advocating repeal of the exemption orders did not establish that licensing undertakings in the new media environment would contribute in a material manner to the implementation of the broadcasting policy set out in the Act."
There is at least one very noteworthy change to the new media exemption, however. The CRTC was clearly troubled by allegations of undue preferences being granted by wireless providers (the issue raised by the Weather Network and discussed in this March column). It has therefore proposed amendments prohibiting such practices:
CRTC Chair Says Broadcast and Telco Acts Need Overhaul
CRTC Chair Konrad von Finckenstein told an audience last week that the Telecommunications Act and Broadcasting Act require an overhaul with a single communications law the better approach.
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