QUEBEC – In a ruling issued last Wednesday, the Quebec Superior Court quashed an amendment to the Consumer Protection Law of Quebec, restating that the provincial government does not have jurisdiction over telecommunications.
In its 2015 Budget, the Government of Quebec introduced amendments to the Consumer Protection Act to put an end to what the province said was illegal on-line gambling by requiring Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block websites that engaged in that activity. After the Bill came into law, the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association appealed the disposition stating that it was unconstitutional, as reported by Cartt.ca.
Although Consumer Protection is of provincial jurisdiction, the ruling stated that the association to Consumer Protection was only superficial and that the true purpose of the Bill was to increase revenues for the Province. Loto-Quebec has seen its revenues decrease year over year principally due to on-line gambling. It set up its own gambling portal “Espacejeux” and the government took measures to stop on-line gambling by-requiring ISPs to block off other sites. ISPs not abiding could be fined between $2,000 and $100,000 per infraction.
ISPs argued that complying with the provincial disposition would find them in violation of Section 236 of the Telecommunications Act, which states that:” Except where the Commission (CRTC) approves otherwise, a Canadian carrier shall not control the content or influence the meaning or purpose of telecommunications carried by it for the public.”
The Quebec Government is expected to appeal this ruling.
