Category Archives: Internet
Towards Progressive Internet Policy in Canada
In this post I want to first perform a quick inventory of a few ‘key issues’ that ought to be weighing upon Canadian policy bodies with authority over the Internet. I then transition to focus on what CIRA could do to take up and address some of them. I focus on this organization in particular because they are in the process of electing new members to their board; putting votes behind the right candidates might force CIRA to assume leadership over key policy issues and alleviate harms experienced by Canadians. I’ll conclude by suggesting one candidate who clearly understands these issues and has plans to resolve them, as well as how you can generally get involved in the CIRA elections. Continue reading
Online Voting and Hostile Deployment Environments
Elections Canada cannot secure an online electoral process, and that process is too important to risk to the Internet. Paper voting is annoying. It’s not necessarily as convenient as using a smartphone to move your money around. It takes time. It’s also one of the very few political expectations/hopes that are put on Canadians every few years. It is not too much to mail in a vote, go to a polling station, or (quite reasonably) abstain from voting for political, personal, or other reasons. It is too much to expect that we would endanger the entire electoral process just to attract those who are already unwilling to take a half-hour of their time every few years to cast a ballot. Continue reading
Letter to Stephen Harper on Lawful Access Legislation
Working from the most recent lawful access bills, which died when the last election was called, advocates and academics have come together to draft a letter of concerns to the Prime Ministers Office (PMO). Continue reading
ISP Audits in Canada
If our closest military and economic allies can go to the trouble and conduct audits of their broadband networks, and if Canada wants to compete globally in the digital economy, then doesn’t the Government of Canada owe it to Canadians to mimic the best accountability programs that exist in countries that are already invested in encouraging ICT-driven economic growth? Continue reading
