They said to the state-censor and uberbiggovernment liberal-style regulator, the CRTC: “market forces”.
Liberals looked it up, and they don’t like it.
*
CRTC told to rely on market forces
BY MARK EVANS
CanWest News Services, Bloomberg and Canadian Press
[via Vancouver Sun – June 14 2006]TORONTO — The federal government delivered a strong signal Tuesday that market forces should play a key role in the $34-billion telecommunications industry — a major victory for telephone carriers such as Bell Canada and Telus Corp. that want the freedom to compete against cable and web-based rivals.
Tuesday, Minister of Industry Maxime Bernier said the government has tabled a proposed policy direction for the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to “rely on market forces” whenever possible.
It’s the first time since the adoption of the Telecommunications Act, which sets out the role of the CRTC, that a government has issued such a directive to the regulator.
Say that last line over and over to yourself, and then say, “See? Liberals aren’t socialists! Vote liberal!” It will cause you to giggle just a little if you’re awake, and not in complete denial.
“What we are asking the CRTC to do is act and do its mandate more in line with market forces, and only regulate when necessary,” Bernier said after a keynote speech at the Canadian Telecom Summit in Toronto.
Ready for a reporter unwittingly being funny?
A core element of the 392-page report, commissioned by the Liberal government before it was defeated in the last election, is telecom services should be deregulated unless there are reasons to protect consumers and maintain a competitive market. This contrasts with the CRTC’s current approach to regulate unless there is reason not to do so.
See? Liberals aren’t socialists!
Lawson Hunter, an executive vice-president with BCE Inc., said it is another sign the government intends to implement the Telecom Policy Review in a timely fashion.
“I think it’s a good decision for consumers, a good decision for the country overall,” he said. “I find it refreshing he has these views, values and courage of his convictions, and he intends to act on it.”
[…] Telus feels “fortunate to see liberalized thinking coming out of Minister Bernier in terms of his desire to let free-market forces reign and his desire to take that from a theme into implementation,” chief executive officer Darren Entwistle told reporters Tuesday.
*No link to the Vancouver Sun article was available.
PTBC was founded by Mr. Johannesen in 2000.
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