After 11 years of bringing you local reporting, the team behind the Vancouver Observer has moved on to Canada's National Observer. You can follow Vancouver culture reporting over there from now on. Thank you for all your support over the years!

A Win: Weekly News Update from OpenMedia.ca

See video

Hi I'm Lindsey and this is your weekly news update from OpenMedia.ca.

We had a big win this week: after thousands of you made your voices heard at StopTheTakeover.ca, the CRTC decided to rule in the public interest by blocking Bell's takeover of Astral media.

The CRTC hasn't historically made such definitive moves in the name of the public interest. They've often ended up making compromises and getting into the weeds – largely because industry lobbyists had convinced them that the narrow interests of Big Telecom carried the same weight as the interests of the millions of Canadians, innovators, small businesses..you name it..who deserve an open and affordable communication system.

But you've set things straight. Over the last few years, the pro-Internet community has come together in numbers, rallying behind clear messages that told decision-makers that Canadians need to come first. We've made steady progress, which has now led up to this: a CRTC that in its rhetoric and now, it seems, in its actions, shows an understanding that all of us are stakeholders in the digital future.

What you've done—what you're doing—is historic. Don't think it's anything less. And it's certainly not over.

First, Bell is now throwing a fit. Big Telecom wanted to get bigger, and they were told no—they won't be stopped without a fight. They're going to Cabinet and asking them to rubber stamp a new policy direction that limits the CRTC's power to block their takeover of Canada's media system. In response we've updated our tool at StopTheTakeover.ca so you can email your MP and key Cabinet members and tell them to say no.

Secondly, it's important to note that this is still only the beginning. We've stopped Bell from getting bigger, but we still have a long way to go before the media and telecom industry is competitive, and gives us real choice. So let's keep going, let's build on this win, let's get momentum—this is an exciting time.

For the Internet, this is Lindsey with OpenMedia.ca signing off.

Read More:

More in Technology

Gee-Whizzery

SIGGRAPH 2018: Virtual circus comes to town
Chris Priebe and Karen Olsson of Community Sift

British Columbia tech firm guards virtual worlds from cyberbullies

VANCOUVER — As online communities come under the attack of cyberbullies, racist speech and spam, a British Columbia tech firm has developed technology to keep the trolls under the bridge. Community...

B.C. tests remote undersea glider to prevent whale-ship collisions

VICTORIA — A remote undersea glider equipped with acoustic sensors is patrolling deep water canyons off the west coast of Vancouver Island in a bid to set up a traffic alert system to prevent large...
Speak up about this article on Facebook or Twitter. Do this by liking Vancouver Observer on Facebook or following us @Vanobserver on Twitter. We'd love to hear from you.