With less than a week remaining until the election, the Conservative Party has finally released its platform [pdf] and surprisingly, telecom policy figures prominently in the document.
In the forefront of the consumer protection section (page 5 of 40), the Conservatives say that they will prevent charges for unsolicited incoming text messages, strengthen the powers of the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecom Services and create a compliance and deterrent power for the CRTC. Further, the Conservatives commit to address spam:
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will introduce legislation to prohibit the use of spam (unsolicited commercial email) to collect personal information under false pretenses and to engage in criminal conduct. The new law will reduce dangerous, destructive and deceptive email and web site practices, and will establish new fines for those who break the law.
Broadband investment isn’t directly addressed, but may be part of the infrastructure super-fund:
A re-elected Conservative Government will continue to support rural and remote communities by investing in new infrastructure throughout rural and northern Canada.
The Conservatives make interesting cultural composition commitments for the CRTC. They say that chairs will alternate between English and French speakers and that the two vice chairs will be split: one English and one French. A quarter of the Commissioners will be French speakers and a majority of those hearing cases involving French-language or Quebec broadcasters will be from that group.
In practice, the CRTC has operated this way without rules that would seem to question whether immigrant Canadians are equal in the eyes of those responsible for filling vacancies. What does this mean for future representation in the CRTC by Canadians who are not from either official language group?