OTTAWA – The NDP’s industry critic says the federal government should have provided more detail about the promised rollout of a Digital Charter ) in Thursday’s Speech from the Throne.
Instead, it only referenced a plan to “review the rules currently in place…to ensure fairness for all in the new digital space.”
Windsor West Member of Parliament Brian Masse, the New Democratic critic for digital government; innovation, science and industry; and telecommunications, said the charter deserved a mention since it provides a “broad framework” of expectations and rules for industry, consumers and government regarding online rights that address such issues as data protection and portability.
Last year, Masse tabled a private member’s motion that called on the government to create a “Digital Bill of Rights” which features 13 principles, including one that would establish equivalency of privacy rights in the digital world with “those in the physical world, so that full informed consent must be stipulated prior to the collection, use and disclosure of personal information by private or public organizations.”
(In May, Navdeep Bains, the minister of what is now Innovation, Science and Industry, told the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology that the government had adopted some of the “great ideas” from Masse’s bill of rights in the Digital Charter.)
Although the throne speech was silent on the issue, Masse used the day the government’s plan opening Parliament was read in the Senate chamber to table another motion (M-16) called “Telecommunications Principles,” but which essentially restates his 2018 M-175 outlining his proposed bill of rights.
Canadian Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Perrin Beatty – a former federal Conservative Cabinet minister who at one point held the communications portfolio eventually folded into the industry and heritage files – said he expected more details on digital rights and regulation will emerge once the Prime Minister’s Office releases mandate letters for Justin Trudeau’s Cabinet ministers. That could come next week before the House of Commons rises for the Christmas-winter break on Friday.
The chamber released its own wish-list to the government, entitled Roadmap to Prosperity: Minority Parliament Guide to Economic Growth which addresses the proposed Digital Charter the Liberals promised to move forward on in their election platform.
“The business community takes privacy and trust in the digital economy seriously and has learned that adding regulatory compliance obligations for consent and data governance does not, and will not, solve security concerns. We need a more complete and transparent public dialogue on cyber resilience,” says the chamber of commerce guide. “Investment in skills and training will help. Better enforcement, with massive penalties against those who perpetrate cybercrime and enforcement resources to go after bad actors will also help.”
“The real solution for Canada is to build a world-leading cybersecurity solutions industry. Providing policy and financial incentives for business to invest in new technologies, like artificial intelligence and quantum computing, will be far more effective than adding new consent requirements for the collection of personal information, which are already adequately addressed in legislation.”
Thursday’s throne speech also reiterated the Liberals’ campaign-platform commitment to reduce the cost of cell and wireless services by 25%, with still no other details surrounding that. (The NDP’s election pledge was to put a price cap on cellphone and internet bills; ensure that providers offer a basic plan for wireless and broadband service; and introduce a “Telecom Consumers’ Bill of Rights and put an end to gouging for good.”)
“Canadians pay the same amount for five gigabytes of data as an American pays for 12 gigabytes, [a] difference…even more stark when compared to what a European pays. It is not fair to Canadians who are struggling to make ends meet and it makes us uncompetitive.” – Michelle Rempel Garner
Cartt.ca attempted to reach Michelle Rempel Garner, the Official Opposition Conservative shadow minister for industry and economic development, for comment on the throne speech.
But during the first Question Period of the new Parliament on Friday, Rempel raised the issue of wireless costs.
“Canadians pay the same amount for five gigabytes of data as an American pays for 12 gigabytes, [a] difference…even more stark when compared to what a European pays. It is not fair to Canadians who are struggling to make ends meet and it makes us uncompetitive,” said Rempel, who accused the Liberals of “always put[ting] Canada's big wireless companies first, as opposed to lowering costs for Canadians, with innovative spectrum licence designs, or other ways of getting low-cost wireless access for Canadians.”
In response, Bains said the 25%-reduction in cellphone bills addresses the cost issue, and is “above and beyond the actions we have taken to help consumers,” which he said includes the 2019 policy directive to the CRTC to make “affordability” a priority.
“We have also dealt with consumer-related issues when it comes to high-pressure sales tactics, which has led to a new wireless code of conduct as well as an internet code of conduct,” Bains added.
Masse, who was first elected to Parliament in 2002, believes the government could also do more to expand high-speed internet access across Canada.
“We’ve used the broadband spectrum auctions to be basically a cash cow bringing in $20 billion over the last decade and a half, and it hasn’t done enough for rural or remote communities,” he said, noting that it has also put educational institutions and businesses “at a distinct disadvantage” to compete for young, bright talent.
“The spectrum is a public asset and can be a good public good.”
A decision as to whether Huawei will be allowed to help build Canada’s 5G network has yet to be announced, and Masse hopes that happens soon.
“We’ve seen complications related to universities that are doing research joint ventures with Huawei with questions [emerging] over who owns the intellectual property and patents,” he said in an interview on Friday.
The issue was not raised in the throne speech, nor was the Liberals’ campaign plan to tax multinational digital giants, regulate social-media platforms, or – as they promised to do in the first year of their second government mandate – introduce legislation to “ensure that all content providers – including internet giants – offer meaningful levels of Canadian content in their catalogues, contribute to the creation of Canadian content in both official languages, and promote this content and make it easily accessible on their platforms.”
“It was a missed opportunity for the government to show that it’s serious about its platform commitments in these areas,” said Friends of Canadian Broadcasting executive director Daniel Bernhard.
