Canada on Net Neutrality

Michael Geist has the early warning on the Conservative government's leanings on the net neutrality issue -- and it ain't good for consumers. In the post, Geist provides evidence that government is aware of the telcos intent on prioritizing and levying fees on internet traffic that travel their networks, and don't intend to do much about it. The government is content to sit this one out, abdicating their responsibilities to Canadians to the debate that is happening in the US on the topic. However, policy makers have been successfully lobbied by the telco industry, and from the evidence Geist published, have already determined that the government's position will be to leave consumers at the mercy of the carriers. That means is the gatekeepers to internet content is shaping up to be the telecommunication industry -- who have been steadily rolling out their own content. This just can't be good for any of us.

Updated: Feb. 12, 2006

• Geist tears into Maxime Bernier, Minister for Industry in today's issue of the Toronto Star, exposing Bernier for what he is: a "parrot [to] the corporate line" of the telecom industry, aka Bell, Telus and now Rogers. Bernier is not only content to tow the corporate line, he makes absolutely no excuses for it, going so far as to counter the government's own commission on the subject,

  which recommended that Canada introduce legal protections to "confirm the right of Canadian consumers to access publicly available Internet applications and content of their choice by means of all public telecommunications networks providing access to the Internet."

  From Bernier's perspective,

  "market forces have served Canadians well when it comes to the Internet. Public policy must consider a number of aspects of this broad issue, including consumer protection and choice [and] enabling market forces to continue to shape the evolution of the Internet infrastructure, investment and innovation to the greatest extent feasible."

  [Thanks to DH for this article.]