Canadians Need Affordable Internet

Watch our Virtual Day of Action. Demand federal action now!

Canadians pay some of the highest prices in the world for internet and mobile service. It’s only getting worse. The federal government and the CRTC can take steps to lower your bills. Instead, they are protecting Big Telecom’s massive profits.

How You Can Take Action

Watch The Live Event

Click to view speakers and sessions.

Watch The Event

Call Your MP through OpenMedia

Tell them you need Affordable Internet NOW!

Take Action

Email Your MP through OpenMedia

Tell them you’re done waiting for lower prices!

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Sign The OpenMedia Petition

Demand accessible & affordable Internet for everyone in Canada!

Take Action

Email Your Federal Representatives through ACORN

Tell the federal government to ensure all people can access the internet!

Take Action

Open Letter To Ottawa

Participants write to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to take action.

Read Letter
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Day of Action For Affordable Internet

All schedule times are Eastern (EST).

1:00 pm
-
1:15 pm

Introductory Comments

Why we need federal action on affordable internet now.

Participants:
  • OpenMedia
1:15 pm
-
1:40 pm

The Human Cost of the Affordability Problem

Personal stories from those most affected.

Moderator: Shelley Robinson, National Capital FreeNet
Participants:
  • ACORN Canada
  • PovNet
  • 411 Seniors Centre
1:40 pm
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1:55 pm

The Digital Divide – Not Just For Rural Canada Anymore

The most recent research on the digital divide in Canada.

Participants:
  • Ryerson Leadership Lab
1:55 pm
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2:10 pm

Keynote Address: Regulatory Capture and Government Inattention

Government strategy, caving to big telecom and a lack of leadership.

Participants:
  • Michael Geist - Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-Commerce Law
2:10 pm
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2:35 pm

Gaming the System: Why Home Internet is So Expensive

Big telecom is preventing small ISPs from competing.

Moderator: Vass Bednar, McMaster University
Participants:
  • TekSavvy
  • Ebox
  • Competitive Network Operators of Canada
2:35 pm
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3:00 pm

Why Isn’t Ryan Reynolds Here? Our Cellphone Bills Are Too High

Wireless challengers keep failing and we still don’t have MVNOs.

Moderator: Ellen Roseman, Consumer Advocacy Journalist
Participants:
  • Iristel
  • dotmobile
  • Distributel
3:00 pm
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3:15 pm

Keynote Address: Monopolies With No Public Interest

Large telecom companies don’t have the public good in mind.

Participants:
  • Cory Doctorow - Activist, Author, and Journalist
3:15 pm
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3:45 pm

The Government’s Failing Approach to Rural Connectivity

Subsidies to incumbents aren’t solving the problem.

Moderator: Marina Pavlovic, University of Ottawa
Participants:
  • Foundation for Rural Youth Empowerment
  • Eeyou Communications Network
  • Teach for Canada
3:45 pm
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4:00 pm

Is Municipal Broadband the Answer?

Municipalities are doing it for themselves with their own connectivity plans.

Host: Bianca Wylie, Co-founder, Tech Reset Canada
Participants:
  • City of Toronto
4:00 pm
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4:30 pm

The Action We Need Right Now – How We Get Affordability

It’s time for new approaches and a break from the status quo.

Moderator: Franca Palazzo, Internet Society Canada Chapter
Participants:
  • Canadian Media Concentration Research Project
  • OpenMedia
  • Public Interest Advocacy Centre
  • Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic
4:30 pm
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4:40 pm

Closing Comments

Watch The Event

Time For Action!

Full list of participants:

  • 411 Seniors Centre
  • ACORN Canada
  • Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship
  • Canadian Civil Liberties Association
  • Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic
  • Canadian Media Concentration Research Project
  • Cloudwifi
  • Author and internet advocate Cory Doctorow
  • Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-Commerce Law Michael Geist
  • Competitive Network Operators of Canada
  • Cybera
  • Distributel
  • DotMobile
  • EBOX
  • First Nations Technology Council
  • Foundation for Rural Youth Employment
  • Internet Society Canada Chapter
  • Internet Society Manitoba Chapter
  • Iristel
  • Mamawapowin Technology Society
  • National Capital FreeNet
  • New/Mode
  • North99
  • Open Media
  • PovNet
  • Public Interest Advocacy Centre
  • Rally
  • Ryerson Leadership Lab
  • Simbi
  • TekSavvy Solutions Inc.
  • Telecommunities Canada
  • VMedia

What Day of Action Participants Are Saying

Broadband is a human right, the nervous system of the 21st century. It is far too important to be left up to the whims of monopolists building atop public infrastructure without any commitment to the public interest.

Cory Doctorow
Activist, Author, and Journalist

ACORN Canada is joining this national Day of Action because of the federal government's complete failure to put people over the profits of the big telecommunication companies during this pandemic.

ACORN Canada

It's time for the CRTC and the government to step up, and the Canadian public to demand better.

Laura Tribe
Executive Director, OpenMedia

For far too long, persistently high profit margins and world-leading prices keep us from realizing this potential. The time to adopt a comprehensive solution is long past due.

Tamir Israel
Staff Lawyer, Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC)

Delays in implementing fair wholesale rates have resulted in consumers subsidizing the huge profits of the largest and most powerful and profitable telecom companies in Canada. The government has stood by and watched this happen at a time when competition and fair pricing for internet is needed more urgently than ever.

Andy Kaplan-Myrth
Vice-President of Regulatory and Carrier Affairs, TekSavvy Solutions Inc.

The pandemic has highlighted the urgent need for greater policy and programmatic response to ensure digital inclusion across Canada.

Sam Andrey
Director of Policy and Research, Ryerson Leadership Lab

The affordability and accessibility of the internet has never been more critical. More than ever, we are being asked to work, learn and connect online. The lack of meaningful competition in Canada has Canadians paying more and getting less. Government and regulators need to work together to bring in reforms that make the system work for Canadian consumers.

Franca Palazzo
Executive Director Internet Society Canada Chapter

Few issues are more important to Canada’s long-term economic and cultural future than digital policy. Once a top government priority, Canada has discouragingly moved away from prioritizing the interests of Canadian consumers and the broader public interest. It is time to hit the reset button.

Michael Geist
Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-Commerce Law

All consumers, but especially low-income Canadians, struggle to afford internet and cellphone connections in an environment made infinitely more difficult by inadequate laws, regulatory capture and market dominance by big companies. The first step is protest, the next is action on all of these barriers.

John Lawford
Executive Director, Public Interest Advocacy Centre

Canadians deserve affordable connectivity, no matter who they are or where they live. We believe in a Canada where network infrastructure investments, affordability and better service innovation co-exist.

Algis Akstinas
Founder & CEO, DotMobile

More than 40% of Canadians households are connected to the internet at substandard speed. When asked why, price remains the main factor. All eyes are turned towards the CRTC to lift its own stay on an important decision to lower rates for Canadians.

Jean-Philippe Béïque
President Directeur General / CEO, EBOX

In the pandemic, the internet has become a lifeline – we can’t afford to have anyone left behind. That’s why we need affordable and complementary access solutions that can reach people where traditional services don’t, and community networks are proving to be a path forward.

Mark Buell
Regional Vice-President North America, Internet Society

Cloudwifi is passionate in our belief that the Internet should be classified as an essential utility and all Canadians should have equal access to it, regardless of one's income level. No family should have to choose between paying their Internet bill and putting healthy food on the table.

Gary Kenning
Co-Founder, Cloudwifi

Now more than ever accessible high-speed internet access is a prerequisite for inclusive civic participation in our democracy. It's time for the Government to change course and ensure everyone across this country enjoys access to affordable high speed Internet services.

Steve Anderson
Co-founder and CEO, New/Mode

As an educational technology [organization] with the mission to inspire learners to "read for good" - as both lifelong learners and volunteer narrators - our global community relies on internet access. We understand that Canada has some of the most expensive internet in the world, especially in our country's most remote regions.

Alex Gillis
Co-Founder & Head of Educator Success, Simbi

Disparities between education opportunities available for rural and urban youth are perpetuated by a lack of reliable and affordable internet. The Foundation for Rural Youth Empowerment believes all youth should have reliable and affordable internet in order to access quality education opportunities, explore a wide range of subjects and disciplines and connect with youth and mentors across Canada.

Annaliese Loeppky
Co-chair, Foundation for Rural Youth Empowerment (FRYE)

Imagine these pandemic months without internet, or with slow internet, or having to choose between food, and the high-speed internet you need to keep your job, or your child online with school. This is real life for hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Canadians. When Canada’s major city, Toronto, feels it has to jump into the breach, and build its own network to ensure none of its residents have to suffer in this way, we know we have a failed system. It can be fixed. Let’s fix it now!

George Burger
Co-Founder, VMedia Inc.
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