Bloc New Liberal Conservative

Quebecois Democratic Party Green Party Pirate Party Party

Party

Digital Endowment

Bring fast Internet access to all Canadians and stimulate the economy • The federal
government should invest 2.2 billion (from spectrum auction proceeds) in 21st
century Internet infrastructure - investment decisions should be guided by public 3 4 5 4 5 Did Not
interest criteria and made in consultation with citizens and, where appropriate, local (neither (somewhat (strongly (somewhat (strongly Respond
governments • Projects should only be funded if they are open access networks; agree nor agree) agree) agree) agree)
subsidized providers must guarantee minimum levels of service in the subsidized disagree)
markets • Governments should provide incentives for construction to include fibre
as a component of any construction process • Invest in city-wide open wireless
Internet access initiatives • Support the installation and extension of fibre to public
institutions such as schools, libraries, community centres, hospitals, and public
housing. Encourage CANARIE to allow these institutions to connect to its network.  

Internet Transparency

Canada needs objective, reliable, open and understandable data to gauge our
progress. - Mandate regular ISP openness audits, measuring: o Traffic
management practices o Average speeds (Ofcom in the UK and the FCC in the US
do this in various ways) o Billing practices as set against costs (there have been 5 5 5 4 5 Did Not
stories of overbilling/mis-measuring usage by ISPs etc.). o Congestion o Regional (strongly (strongly (strongly (somewhat (strongly Respond
broadband speed levels (See: http://broadbandmap.gov/) • The audits should be agree) agree) agree) agree) agree)
applied to both wired and wireless access to the Internet • Parliament should
amend the CRTC Act to permit the CRTC to levy administrative monetary penalties
(AMPs) that can be used to enforce transparency requirements and regulations •
The objective of the audits is to ensure users are able to freely decide which
applications they run on their Internet connection, no matter which device or pricing
tier they choose.  
Open the CRTC

The CRTC needs to be transparent, citizen-centered, and public interest oriented •

The Government should direct the CRTC to "ensure the creation of open, 4 5 5 4 5 Did Not
accessible and neutral networks and maximize user preference." • In the interests (somewhat (strongly (strongly (somewhat (strongly Respond
of accountability and transparency, the government should show how all new agree) agree) agree) agree) agree)
appointments ranked in the overall scorecard based on the must-have and should-
have criteria listed in the job postings. The criteria should include significant
experience in the public interest or consumer advocacy community • The
Government should include broader stakeholder and citizen participation in the
appointment process of CRTC commissioners.  

Internet Choice

Enable ISP autonomy, competition and choice • Functional separation should be

5 5 5 5 4 Did Not
adopted to enable ISP competition and choice • Users and service providers should (strongly (strongly (strongly (strongly (somewhat Respond
be free to develop applications and operate any services without the prior approval agree) agree) agree) agree) agree)
of carriers, provided they do not interfere unduly with network operations or violate
the neutrality of the network.

Mobile Diversity

Spectrum allocation in the public interest • Reserve from auction a band of no less
than 2 contiguous 5 MHz in the 700 MHz band for Canadian innovation and local
community services. (example: City of Fredericton’s Wireless access programme) • 4 5 4 2 5 Did Not
Make spectrum available to lease rather than to own. • Impose a use-it-or-lose-it (somewhat (strongly (somewhat (somewhat (strongly Respond
clause that requires the successful bidder to launch the planned service within three agree) agree) agree) disagree) agree)
years, or give up the spectrum. • Ensure that a portion of the spectrum available
after full digitization of TV signals is available for unlicensed use. • Set aside one-
quarter of the remaining spectrum in the band for auction to carriers with less than
2% of market share in order to enable the development of more carriers and more
consumer choice.  

Vertical Integration
3 5 3 5 5 Did Not
Parliament should take steps to de-concentrate and minimize cross ownership in (neither (strongly (neither (strongly (strongly Respond
Canada's media and telecommunications sector.   agree nor agree) agree nor agree) agree)
disagree) disagree)
  
 
Total  
24/30 29/30 27/30 24/30 29/30 Did Not
Respond