New Democrats introduce net neutrality bill May 29, 2009
Posted by MelissaHK in Uncategorized.add a comment
This is a straight-up copy of the NDP’s Press Release.
New Democrats introduce net neutrality bill
Fri 29 May 2009
Time to Protect Canada’s Innovation Agenda is Now – Angus
OTTAWA— New Democrat Digital Affairs Critic Charlie Angus (Timmins—James Bay) has moved to get the issue of Net Neutrality onto the political agenda in Ottawa. Angus tabled Bill C-398 today, which will ensure the future development of the internet is not impeded by unfair throttling or interference by telecom giants.
“A neutral internet paved the way for the unprecedented level of innovation we’ve seen over the last 20 years. The principle is simple, it’s the consumer, not the corporations, who should be deciding what content has value on the internet,” Angus said. “We can’t sit back and allow the telecom giants to arbitrarily decide which content should be in the fast lane and which content should be pushed to a slow lane.”
Angus says the recent issue of throttling of third-party ISP competition should be a wake-up call for Canadian consumers.
“The telecom giants didn’t invent the internet. They don’t own the internet and they shouldn’t be able to use their position as service providers to give priority to their own content.”
Angus says the bill is not about regulating the internet, but ensuring a level playing field.
“Net neutrality is a cornerstone of an innovative economy. The federal government must ensure that there is no interference with the unprecedented level of economic, democratic and innovative enfranchisement that has occurred as a direct result of a neutral internet.”
Angus has been the New Democrat’s Digital Affairs Critic since 2006, focussing on Net Neutrality, Copyright and other internet-age issues.
New home for List of Canadian Folk-Blues-Jazz Radio Shows May 29, 2009
Posted by MelissaHK in Uncategorized.add a comment
I’ve been maintaining a list of these kinds of shows that are aired on campus and community radio stations for a while now. I recently re-designed the listings, which can now be found at http://sites.google.com/site/rootsradiolist/.
Is Ottawa Transit an essential service? Have your say. January 6, 2009
Posted by MelissaHK in Uncategorized.Tags: ottawa
add a comment
Happy New Year everyone! It’s been a few weeks now for the Ottawa Transit Workers’ Strike. There is a key vote coming up on Thursday. The City has an offer, and they don’t really have a back-up plan if it is rejected. I’ve seen a few blogs and articles indicating opinions that it will indeed be rejected. Here’s to hoping it’s not. I understand the transit workers have needs, but the impact their strike is having on people and the local economy is, in my opinion, not equal action. I personally believe that transportation is an essential service for any city. I came across this just today, and I’ve posted it here directly from from OttawaStart: Your daily guide to Ottawa on the web
CIRB looking for public input on whether Ottawa transit should be deemed an essential service
Posted by Sue Clark-Wittenberg
The Canada Industrial Relations Board is looking for input from the public into whether or not transit services in Ottawa are essential
The Canada Industrial Relations Board is looking for input from the public into whether or not transit services in Ottawa are essential.
People can provide input before Friday, January 9th, by
- e-mailing: octranspo-atu@ cirb-ccri. gc.ca
- faxing 613-941-4461
- or writing to: Canada Industrial Relations Board, Regional Director C.D. Howe Building, 4th Floor West, 240 Sparks Street Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0X8
When looking at whether or not transit services are essential, the Canada Industrial Relations Board is limited to the grounds in section 87.4 (1) of the Canada Labour Code which allow the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order a service to be provided if it is necessary, “to prevent an immediate and serious danger to the safety or health of the public.”
This will not interfere with the vote on the City’s final offer on Thursday. If drivers and mechanics vote to approve the City’s final offer on Thursday, then service will resume.
The Canada Industrial Relations Board was asked to look into this by the federal Minister of Labour. This is a shift by the federal government, which said in December that it did not want to intervene. OC Transpo is in a unique situation. OC Transpo is one of a very, very small number of urban transit systems in Canada to fall under federal labour law. The input provided to the Canada Industrial Relations Board will likely have an impact on how the federal government responds to issues that are usually addressed at the provincial level. For the City, having all or part of transit service declared essential would likely mean binding arbitration would become the way disagreements in the negotiating process are resolved. Binding arbitration means no strikes or lockouts, but it also means that both sides must live with what the arbitrator decides.
The complete notice can be found on the Canada Industrial Relations Board website at http://www.cirb- ccri.gc.ca/ octranspo_ eng.asp
