Vote for the future

Monday is election day in Canada. Please go out to vote.

Despite the efforts of many commentators and media, a national digital strategy was at best a marginal issue in the campaign. Digital issues did not make the cut of questions debated by the leaders which in many ways was unfortunate.

I don’t think that Open Media has a monopoly on assessing whether a political party is pro-Internet and the group has used the label “pro-Internet” to refer to parties that have policies that strike me as contrary to the interests of a progressive, innovative and open internet.

The Green Party turned out to be the earliest supporter and promoter of Open Media‘s pro-Internet project, but there is no mention of “digital” nor “internet” in the Green’s platform. How pro-Internet can they be?

The NDP has carried a pro-Internet label from Open Media, but this is the party that has said it would impose greater government controls on Internet content than perhaps any democracy on the planet. In its responses to the Open Media Digital Future Survey, the NDP has clarified its platform statements on carrier matching funds: the party would impose a $500M per year tax on the major telecommunications companies to support a $1B per year universal broadband fund. If applied in a competitively neutral manner, this would raise broadband prices by about $4 per month or nearly 10%. Not sure how this can be seen to help with broadband adoption or affordability.

The Liberals have proudly proclaimed that it has the most candidates who have signed up for the Open Media pledge. Its technology critic was caught in the heat of an online chat supporting functional separation and couldn’t back away, although the party has issued a reassuring statement: “carriers that invest heavily in the advanced services and infrastructure of tomorrow deserve the chance to earn a fair return.”.

And the Conservatives have remained largely silent on digital issues, save a rant on the elusive iPod tax. Preferring to let their platform statements and pre-election record do most of the speaking for the party, the Conservatives would not engage with Open Media, refusing to take the bait from the Twitt-iverse that sought to extract additional information or promises.

On Monday evening, we will learn the outcome of the election and which policies will prevail. Which party will lead the release of a long overdue national digital strategy? What policy shifts will impact the investment in communications  infrastructure and delivery of content and services.

A month from now, these issues and more will be debated when the leaders of the telecom industry gather in Toronto at The 2011 Canadian Telecom Summit, May 31 – June 2. Prices for registrations increase this weekend. Register today to save more than $250.