Dissolve the CRTC?

No Usage Based Billing

Here’s an interesting link that was sent to me from two different sources (thanx Joan & Bob):

Scrap The CRTC, Petition Urges

Interesting. The CRTC has been behaving in ways I consider to be questionable for a very long time. This is not the first time that they’ve pandered to large corporation like Bell Canada. So maybe the time has come. Nice article– thank you CBC.

So I checked out the website Dissove The CRTC for this:
I found myself agreeing with the petition. At the time of writing, they had 2080 signatures. Cool.

I even posted a comment in the sectionHow do we ensure there is a new, balanced commision?

This is what I wrote:

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Submitted by Laurel L. Russwurm on Thu, 08/20/2009 – 12:44. New

new and balanced

I would think that a key to creating a balanced commission would involve recruiting members who are not former Bell Canada employees.

It seems to me that Canadian consumers should be represented, since we are supposed to be “helped” by this type of regulation. How about representation from across Canadian society.

And it might be interesting to institute some kind of interactive forum which would allow consumers to provide their input directly.

One thing that really makes me angry is that I only found out about UBB — like most Canadians, and those of us who even know about UBB are still sadly a minority– after it was a “done deal”. Most people won’t know until they get the bill. The CRTC or any successor organization should NOT be allowed to quietly change our world without telling us until it is too late.

Now that I’ve found this site I’m off to blab about it on my dedicated blog:
https://stopusagebasedbilling.wordpress.com/

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This is what the CRTC is supposed to do:

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CRTC

Canadian Telecommunications Policy
(from telecommunication act. Every CRTC decision must be in accordance to these principles)
Objectives

7. It is hereby affirmed that telecommunications performs an essential role in the maintenance of Canada’s identity and sovereignty and that the Canadian telecommunications policy has as its objectives

(a) to facilitate the orderly development throughout Canada of a telecommunications system that serves to safeguard, enrich and strengthen the social and economic fabric of Canada and its regions;

(b) to render reliable and affordable telecommunications services of high quality accessible to Canadians in both urban and rural areas in all regions of Canada;

(c) to enhance the efficiency and competitiveness, at the national and international levels, of Canadian telecommunications;

(d) to promote the ownership and control of Canadian carriers by Canadians;

(e) to promote the use of Canadian transmission facilities for telecommunications within Canada and between Canada and points outside Canada;

(f) to foster increased reliance on market forces for the provision of telecommunications services and to ensure that regulation, where required, is efficient and effective;

(g) to stimulate research and development in Canada in the field of telecommunications and to encourage innovation in the provision of telecommunications services;

(h) to respond to the economic and social requirements of users of telecommunications services; and

(i) to contribute to the protection of the privacy of persons.

–courtesy of the Facebook group Canadians Against Usage Based Billing

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Obviously Usage Based Billing is contrary to what the CRTC is supposed to be doing. So maybe it IS time for some big changes.

—laurel