OpenMedia is a community-based organization that works to keep the Internet open, affordable, and surveillance free. To: Ms. Pamela Miller Director General Telecommunications and Internet Policy Branch Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada 235 Queen Street Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H5 April 8, 2019 Re: Order Issuing a Direction to the CRTC on Implementing the Canadian Telecommunications Policy Objectives to Promote Competition, Affordability, Consumer Interests and Innovation Dear Ms. Miller, We are writing to you on behalf of OpenMedia, a community-based organization that works to ​ keep the Internet open, affordable, and surveillance-free. We work toward informed and ​ participatory digital policy by engaging hundreds of thousands of people in protecting our online rights. On behalf of the OpenMedia community, and the 14,482 signers of our petition below, we are writing in support of the government’s proposed new policy direction for the CRTC. This new direction is necessary to address the uncompetitive and unaffordable nature of Canada’s telecom market and put affordable, competitive connectivity at the forefront of all future CRTC decisions. However, we also believe that some amendments are required in order to ensure this direction will be effective, and wanted to ensure they were noted as a part of this consultation process, to allow for the necessary revisions before the direction is finalized. We are concerned that until the previous policy direction from 2006 is removed, the two versions will remain in conflict, which will undermine the ability for the new direction to truly take effect. Unless it is clearly specified that the 2006 direction is no longer in force, all future CRTC decisions could continue to rely on market forces, and overshadow this new guidance. Additionally, the previous direction was written with mandatory language, while this petition drafts considerations for the CRTC. This means that unless the language is strengthened in this new direction, and the previous one is completely replaced, this new direction will fail to take hold or affect any substantive change, inherently defaulting to its predecessor every time the two are in conflict. Without these amendments, the CRTC will effectively be expected to continue to rely on market OpenMedia Engagement Network // P.O. Box 21674, 1424 Commercial Dr, Vancouver, BC, Canada V5L 5G3 // 1-844-891-5136 OpenMedia is a community-based organization that works to keep the Internet open, affordable, and surveillance free. forces for its future decisions — a strategy that has simply failed to bring people in Canada the affordable, competitive and innovative services that this new direction attempts to address. We strongly believe that this new direction has the potential to benefit people throughout all of Canada, and will serve to help address the lack of affordability in Canada’s telecommunications market. We hope you will implement the noted adjustments to make this a reality. Please find below the content of OpenMedia’s petition endorsed by 14,482 signers as well as the names, last names and postal codes of the people who endorsed this petition. Sincerely, Laura Tribe, Marie Aspiazu Executive Director, OpenMedia Digital Rights Campaigner, OpenMedia [email protected] [email protected] https://openmedia.org https://openmedia.org ​ OpenMedia Engagement Network // P.O. Box 21674, 1424 Commercial Dr, Vancouver, BC, Canada V5L 5G3 // 1-844-891-5136 OpenMedia is a community-based organization that works to keep the Internet open, affordable, and surveillance free. Petition text from https://act.openmedia.org/PolicyDirection: ​ ​ Pamela Miller Director General Telecommunications and Internet Policy Branch Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada 235 Queen Street, 10th Floor Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H5 I am writing in support of the government’s proposed new policy direction for the CRTC. I believe this direction is necessary to address the uncompetitive and unaffordable nature of Canada’s telecom market, and put customers first. However, until the previous 2006 policy direction is removed, I am concerned that the CRTC will continue to rely on market forces, even to enforce the new priorities it is being given – a strategy that simply does not work. Relying on market forces to guide Canada’s telecommunications market for the past 15 years has led to Canadians paying some of the highest Internet prices in the world. We need to completely step away from the policy that led us here, and replace it with this new proposed direction, to make the path forward clear – put affordable, competitive connectivity first. In fact, I believe the new policy direction could actually be further improved by making sure it not only promotes competition, affordability, customer interests and innovation, but maximizes these aspects in every CRTC decision. Finally, I would like to ask the government to maximize the openness and transparency of the data that the CRTC uses in its regulatory decision-making, to ensure all parties are able to equally participate in CRTC decision-making processes and so that there is consistent data that the public can use to understand how the telecommunications market is evolving year over year. 14,482 concerned citizens OpenMedia Engagement Network // P.O. Box 21674, 1424 Commercial Dr, Vancouver, BC, Canada V5L 5G3 // 1-844-891-5136 OpenMedia is a community-based organization that works to keep the Internet open, affordable, and surveillance free. First Name Last Name Postal Code .grant fraser K0M 2B0 A Conroy R3B 2S9 A Paradis N6G 0J7 A Scott K8P 2B5 a Robertson K1L 8B5 A Ferguson T8N 1y7 A Wurr R3R 2P6 A - David P Long N0L 1R0 A Hermann Kerr V0E 1K0 A PETER LISSETT V7H 2E7 A. Born V5L 2R2 A. Cleary T2E 1H6 A. Lavoie R3G 0W6 A. O'Neill V6Z 2H2 A. Katherine Duperron V0R 1S0 A. Marlene Jackson M6S 3N5 A.C. Edward L9N 1E1 Aaron Ang V5J 1E3 Aaron Peterson T9W 1N6 Aaron Hoffer K2B 6T4 Aaron Siebenga V3S 3L3 Aaron Berning K0L 3C0 Aaron Liscum M4B2W4 Aaron Heaton L4N 3C4 Aaron Levenson L4h1j4 Aaron Gillrie V5Y 0B9 Aaron Gould N6H 3M4 Aaron Mandley L4r 3w2 Aaron Pocock M6g1z5 Aaron Thompson V1X 1L6 Aaron Dyck L8H 3K5 Aaron Carr V7R 2R6 Aaron Van HuisselingL9W 2Z6 Aaron Strelbisky L7M 4E9 Aaron Goulding A1C 1W6 Aaron Reynolds l4m 5a6 Aaron Akehurst V5V 4R9 Aaron Bartlett V2T 6t7 Aaron Levenson L4h 1j4 OpenMedia Engagement Network // P.O. Box 21674, 1424 Commercial Dr, Vancouver, BC, Canada V5L 5G3 // 1-844-891-5136 OpenMedia is a community-based organization that works to keep the Internet open, affordable, and surveillance free. Aaron Archer M1S 1R7 Aaron David M6H 2N4 Aaron Bleackley V5R 3L1 Aaron Cross L1S 3V9 Aaron Young V2M 4K4 Aaron French N3C 3H4 Aaron Leon V0E 1B1 Aaron Rasmusson T7N 1C9 Aaron Fruman L3P 6H7 Aaron Brighton L1Z 0S2 Aaron Poole M6j0a2 Aaron Monminie N8Y 3A1 Aaron Bidinger V3b 2h1 Aarti Christian T7X 4A7 Aaryn Bechard N5P 2H1 Aasim Ajaz l5v 2s8 Abbey Desjarlais L6H 6H9 Abby Clemens L8H 1V9 Abdallah Chaudhry N9E 4L7 Abdallah Zakhem M2M 2B9 Abdellatif Moustabchir K1c 0c4 Abdul Latif T3J 2Y1 Abdurahman Ahmed M4J 3C9 Abid Salman M5M 1K6 Abraham Stephen T5T 0W8 Abraham de Klerk V9E 2A1 Abraham Stephen T5t 0w7 AC Thivierge J0L 1C0 Ace Coast L1l 0g6 Adalbert Homa M8V 4B4 Adam Caughy N0P 1A0 Adam Verity V5c 6v2 Adam Saulnier A1V 2T5 Adam Ferland T5K 1V5 Adam Thompson N6G 5N7 Adam Forrestall B3R 1G9 Adam Godin e1a 6w3 Adam Kent N2R 1T6 Adam Leblanc M8X 1A3 Adam Veenendaal M6C 2M9 OpenMedia Engagement Network // P.O. Box 21674, 1424 Commercial Dr, Vancouver, BC, Canada V5L 5G3 // 1-844-891-5136 OpenMedia is a community-based organization that works to keep the Internet open, affordable, and surveillance free. Adam Barth k0k 1s0 Adam Rilkoff V6N 2J1 Adam Feldstain H9G 2T2 Adam Chafe A1C 4N1 Adam Gillies n2a 3t4 Adam Wuthrich V1C 5X3 Adam Guenther T1K4B8 Adam Coirazza H2M 2J6 Adam Douglas L3V3H5 Adam Robichaud K0A 2Z0 adam Tingey R3N 1Z1 Adam Siscoe a1l 0b2 Adam Coulter N4W 2C9 Adam Kucharik K7S 2T8 Adam Smyth N5W 4B3 Adam van Diepen T2E 0Z1 Adam Turnbull K2E 7X3 Adam McEwen N2A 1R9 Adam Socha L4C 7Y8 Adam Cortens R3L 0C5 Adam Ferguson x0a 1h0 ADAM PICZAK N2T 2N2 Adam Smith L3Y 5A8 Adam Hutt V6B 0L1 Adam Lewco R3r 0y2 Adam Carlucci T2a 5l9 Adam Podlosky T6E 4R3 Adam Savoie E1c 1h7 Adam Owsianicki V0H 2B0 Adam Advocaat V3C 6H2 Adam Noble B3A 1G3 Adam Borchert R3G 1T6 ADAM GORDON T1K 7W8 Adam Tundak T5N 1L9 Adam Williams T4C 0S9 Adam Nicholas V2J 2W2 Adam Keech R3P 0S3 Adam Iwanski V3R 1V1 Adam Shaka M4Y 1T1 Adam Nisula M4S 1C3 OpenMedia Engagement Network // P.O. Box 21674, 1424 Commercial Dr, Vancouver, BC, Canada V5L 5G3 // 1-844-891-5136 OpenMedia is a community-based organization that works to keep the Internet open, affordable, and surveillance free. Adam Clarke A1E 4A6 Adam Sevcenko R0H 0Y0 Adam Tremblay L3r 7m7 Adam Andrews L3Y 3y9 Adam Oldfield L8N 2C3 adam macer V0K 1A0 Adam Cwiok R2K 1M7 Adam Clarke V1Y 2V1 Addie Campaigne B0R 1H0 Addison Olijnyk v0r 1n1 Addy Levadoux V0K 1W0 Adele Coulas K0j 1t0 Adele Armin M1N 0A1 Adele MacGillivray L9V 0H7 Adeline Jerome K1T 1T4 adham shaikh V1L 4B7 Adina Schroeder v0k 1s1 Adnan Gilani K1C5M8 Adnan Khalid H3G 1C1 Adolf Lange V3S 6Y7 Adria Fraser V9A 5S9 Adrian Balraj L6V 3S3 Adrian Harper V2V 7G3 Adrian Helleman M6C 1A8 Adrian K M9B 2E2 Adrian Kelly V0E 1V2 Adrian Jozwik L6Y 2N7 adrian gittens h8n 1l3 Adrian Gordon L7L 3P7 Adrian Nita k1t 1c9 Adrian Cormier V6G 1J1 Adrian K M9B2E2 Adrian Bondett K1K 4X6 Adrian Waite B0J 3C0 Adrian Goldmintz K0H2N0 Adrian Marceau L2T 3S5 Adrian Day T2K 0A3 Adrian Paunescu H3V 1G1 Adriana Bouwmeester N6G 5M4 adriana spighi V0T 1T0 OpenMedia Engagement Network // P.O.