Dissolve the CRTC !
p2pnet news view Freedom | P2P:- “It looks like it is picking up steam,” says a p2pnet comment post, with a link to a CBC story.
The phrase is a euphemism for ‘ gaining momentum’ and it applies to growing discontent on the part of ordinary Canadians with the CRTC (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission) which seems far more interested in kow-towing to Big Bidniz than in making sure the rights of Canadians are upheld.
“Dear Minister of Industry,” says the new online Dissolve the CRTC petition which, at 4:59 am Pacific had, 3,045 signatures.
It states »»»
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) was created for the purpose of ensuring broadcasting and telecommunications systems serve the Canadian public and ensure that Canadians have a wide variety of options to create and view works of media or communicate across the country and the entire world.
We, the undersigned, believe that the CRTC has become a burden on the Canadian public and are failing to perform their duties in the interest of the Canadian public and that of a fair and unbiased telecom policy.
Says the CBC story, “Online forums, including the CBC News comments section, have been buzzing over the past day with readers debating the effectiveness and future of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. Many commenters agreed with the petition, which seeks to disband the CRTC in its current form and replace it with a new regulator.
” ‘Could it be that the CRTC has finally driven Canadians to the boiling point? Let it be, oh let it be!’ wrote one poster on a CBC story posted on Wednesday. ‘The CRTC has a history of regulating ineffectively, restrictively and unfairly. So get rid of it and replace it with a body that is going to act with the best interests of the rights and values that Canadians are endowed with,’ wrote another.”
The petition continues »»»
In the last 3 years, we have seen the CRTC give undue preference in the interest of commercial entities and their preference for traditional business models over competing models that would create competition and help ensure that new business models can be created to entice and prosper original Canadian productions.
In the case of Bell Canada vs CAIP, involving the use of deep packet inspection (DPI) on Bell wholesale clients, the CRTC ruled in favor of Bell Canada to allow them to continue the use of deep packet inspection activities on wholesale customers without their permission or consent regardless of the implications for the end user customers. We believe this action greatly impacts the Canadian public`s choices, competition in the broadband market and may violate privacy laws based on the Privacy Commissioners findings.
In the case of Cybersurf requesting to match speeds of that for Bell retail customers, the CRTC ordered Bell Canada to produce a new tariff to match speeds for wholesale customers. Bell submitted a revised tariff to the CRTC, however the revised tariff did not fulfill the requirements as set out by the CRTC in Telecom Decision CRTC 2008-117. Bell proposed to offer lower speed tiers and introduce UBB (usage base billing) in lieu of matching speeds. The CRTC decided to accept the tariff on an interim basis with no logical explanation. This is not only anti-competitive but shows a clear bias towards Bell Canada.
These are only two of several instances in the past few years that show the CRTC is incapable of upholding the telecom act and the interest of the Canadian public. We demand that the commission is immediately dissolved and a new commission created and appointed based on the follow criteria:
1) The commission members must not be appointed solely based on their career history
2) The commission members must not only be comprised of ex-telecom employees
3) The commission should be more transparent to the Canadian public about regulatory issues
4) The analysts should be more involved in the regulatory process to ensure that decisions are handed down in a fair and balanced manner
We hereby request that the CRTC be dissolved and a new commission formed immediately to ensure that the regulatory process and competitive environment remain in tune with the needs of the Canadian public.
There are also Fa$ebook and Twitter ‘Dissolve the CRTC’ pages.
Don’t just stay tuned in, SIGN!
When we posted this at 5:11 am, 3,051 people had done so.
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ~ Mahatma Gandhi
August, 2009
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August 21st, 2009 at 10:12 am
The CRTC are nothing more then a bunch of lackeys for the big telecoms & cable companies they don’t give a damn about Joe public. They only care about who can grease their palms the most.
August 21st, 2009 at 11:20 am
Also, Competition bureau is not doing its job and must be dissolved too. Bell, Rogers, Telus and Fido have been making too many anticompetitive moves and the Competition bureau did not lift a finger.
August 21st, 2009 at 11:23 am
And the third organization that should be closed is the infamous Conference Board of Canada. It should be closed because it produces biased reports from which policy decisions affecting all Canadians are made. Here is one of their latest sponsors, Thierry Vandal at Hydro-Quebec.
QUEBEC â Autre chapitre dans la saga des dons et commandites controversés d’Hydro-Québec: la société d’Etat s’est engagée à verser 50 000 $ au Conference board du Canada.
Le hic, c’est que le président-directeur général d’Hydro, Thierry Vandal, siégeait aussi au conseil d’administration du groupe de réflexion et d’analyse économique lorsque la commandite a été accordée en 2006.
Via “The Canadian Press”.
August 21st, 2009 at 11:36 am
Mike (mlerner of dslreports) Lerner was interviewed by a radio station CHQR – AM 770 Calgary (ripped MP3s here),
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r22900965- radio station here, http://www.radiotime.com/station/s_31172/AM_770.aspx, in regards to the “Dissolve The CRTC” petition he put online here http://dissolvethecrtc.ca.
If you are a Canadian reader, take the time to sign his petition.
People Power.
August 21st, 2009 at 11:39 am
@ Ottawa Gal:
I did.
Cheers!
August 21st, 2009 at 12:09 pm
Yeah, I kinda jumped on it as soon as I heard about it.
At that time, there were about 300 signatures.
At the time I’m typing this, there are 3,280 signatures.
I still think there should be another effort like this, with the theme “We need to break Bell into non-conflicting, separately-owned companies”.
August 21st, 2009 at 7:21 pm
And let us not forget the useless CCTS, which the CRTC demanded be set up to handle telecom disputes. Problem is that it is funded and operated by the companies that the disputes are filed against. I know first hand (through the non-result of a recent complaint that I filed with them) that they a corporate sham of an institution.
And yes, I also signed the petition a few days ago
August 21st, 2009 at 7:41 pm
Its all nothing but a lobby.. EVERYTHING.. Fund a study with forgone conclusions.. push it off to friendly or bought off media.. claim you have a bogus consensus.. then rake the cash in.. The whole house is rotten.. Top to bottom..