Post Tagged with: "clement"

Government Overturns CRTC Giving Globalive The Go-Ahead

Industry Minister Tony Clement announced this morning that the Government has overturned the CRTC decision on Globalive, giving the go-ahead for the fourth national wireless carrier to enter the marketplace. Clement stated "Globalive is a Canadian company, and meets Canadian ownership and control requirements under the Telecommunications Act." While Clement was careful to say that the decision applies solely to these facts, the Order-in-Council seems to suggest that the door is open to greater foreign involvement in the Canadian wireless marketplace.

The key paragraphs focus on the need to interpret the Canadian control requirements with enhanced competition in mind and on the absence of foreign investment restrictions under the law:

December 11, 2009 — 14 comments — News

Clement on ACTA: Check Out MichaelGeist.ca To Learn More

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement made it to the floor of the House of Commons yesterday as NDP MP Charlie Angus raised concerns about the agreement, the lack of transparency, and questions about whether the recent copyright consultation was little more than theatre given the prospect that ACTA will decide what Canadian copyright law ultimately looks like.

Industry Minister Tony Clement responded by arguing that the ACTA is not law in Canada, stating that it is "subservient" to domestic law. While that is true for the moment, once it is completed the pressure to implement – much like the WIPO Internet treaties – will be enormous. Clement also stated that people interested in the treaty could check out my website to learn more. While I appreciate the shout-out, it should be obvious to everyone that this website is not a replacement for full and frank disclosure on ACTA and the Canadian government's position on the treaty. A full Hansard transcript of the exchange, along with the YouTube version, follows below:

And the transcript:

December 2, 2009 — 16 comments — News

No Response to Search Engine Request for Clement ACTA Interview

TVO's Search Engine reports that the response to its request for an interview with Industry Minister Tony Clement on ACTA has been "ambivalent and evasive."

November 26, 2009 — 5 comments — News

Copyright Consultation Provides Blueprint for Reform

Forgotten amidst the focus on ACTA over the past two weeks, was a recent column (HT PDF version, homepage version) I wrote for the Hill Times on the lessons that can be drawn from this summer's copyright consultation. The piece appears as part of a special section on copyright that included an interview with Industry Minister Tony Clement, Charlie Angus, Howard Knopf, Pina D'Agostino, and Simon Doyle (amont others). I note the government is still in the midst of posting all the submissions, but with thousands now online, it is not too early to begin drawing some lessons.

What does the consultation teach us? There are at least eight conclusions of note:

November 17, 2009 — 11 comments — Columns

Canadian Telco Ownership Rules From By-Gone Era

Appeared in the Toronto Star on November 16, 2009 as Telco Ownership Rules From Bygone Era Corporate structures and loan agreements are rarely the stuff of public interest, yet last month they attracted considerable attention in a case involving Globalive, a new wireless company vying to shake up Canada’s telecommunications […]

November 16, 2009 — Comments are Disabled — Columns Archive