Download file

Paper for the National Media Reform Conference Media Research Pre-Conference, January 11, 2007, Memphis by Longford and Shade.

This paper provides a perspective on current initiatives in Canada on telecommunications reform and community and academic activism in ensuring the maintenance of telecommunications policy that reflects the interests and need of Canadian citizens. It reports on the recently completed Alternative Telecommunications Policy Forum, an event (October 19-21, 2006) that brought together a group of policy experts, academics, and representatives from over a dozen community and public interest organizations from across Canada to discuss the public interest implications of telecommunications policy reforms currently under consideration by Industry Minister, Hon. Maxime Bernier. The proposed reforms, which include weakening consumer protection guarantees and legislation aimed at protecting Canada’s cultural sovereignty in favour of maximizing market forces, were recommended last spring by the Liberal-appointed Telecommunications Policy Review Panel (TPRP).