OTTAWA – Parliament must assume leadership of the issue of net neutrality in order to safeguard consumers’ rights, says a new report from the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC).
In the report “Staying Neutral: Canadian Consumers and the Fight for Net Neutrality” released on Tuesday, PIAC calls on federal legislators and policymakers to protect consumers’ rights to “use their Internet connection to access the lawful content, applications or services of their choice without discrimination, modification, interruption, or delay of their internet transmissions by any party, subject to law”.
It also recommends that the federal government set minimum speed standards for broadband providers, similar to the EU approach. Further, the report suggests that the CRTC, in conjunction with Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services, provide guidance on how consumers can file a formal complaint about the internet traffic management practices of their ISP and the evidence that they would be required to bring forward.
Based on the results of six focus groups with Canadian Internet users in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal in January, PIAC counsel and report co-author John Lawford said that most consumers appeared unaware of the definition of net neutrality.
“Canadians are frustrated by interference with their Internet connections and want their rights protected,” Lawford said in a statement. “It’s not clear to them that the Internet is neutral enough in Canada.”
