What comes next

As we head into fall, we’re energized to see that our work is moving forward, bringing greater cooperation and coordination both with international partners and with groups of citizens. We’re taking a moment to update you on what’s at stake, and ways you can help: Fair pricing and affordability Advancing our vibrant digital economy, and defending your wallet We at OpenMedia.ca are best known for our unprecedented win in the fight against Internet metering, when over half-a-million Canadians used OpenMedia.ca as a platform to take power away from telecom giants, and give it back to citizens. But the fight for an affordable Internet is far from over. Canadians still pay some of the highest prices in the industrialized world for some of the worst service.

The next step? Thanks to the thousands of you who spoke out, the CRTC is taking steps to require Big Telecom to be honest about the true costs of providing Internet service. The right decision from the CRTC will allow us to make a clear, informed call for fair pricing, and to know when we are being massively overcharged. Use our online tool to tell the CRTC that you want open information and fair pricing, and show the CRTC that citizens should have more influence than industry.

Control of Canada’s Internet
Pushing back against the expansion of Big Telecom’s power

We’re carefully watching lobbyists from telecom giant Bell, which has announced plans to buy Astral, one of Canada’s largest media companies. The CRTC is reviewing the Bell/Astral merger now, and we’re forming a coalition to stand up to Bell and stop this takeover.

Imagine if every time you turned on your TV, computer or mobile device, you were forced into a preselected menu of Bell content, rather than having the list of choices you’re used to. That’s where this merger could be taking us. Owning more media gives Bell unprecedented power over the content and delivery of our daily communications, and creates an incentive for Bell to maximize profits by restricting access to other content it doesn’t control.

You can help undermine Big Telecom’s dominance of the Internet in Canada by making the switch to an independent provider today.

International threats to the open Internet
Building a global movement and stopping the TPP

With our international coalition partners, we reached the 100,000-strong milestone on our petition against the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, a secretive trade deal being negotiated by industry lobbyists and unelected trade representatives that threatens Internet openness on a new scale.

If you’ve been following, you know that the TPP could create a system where you would receive fines in the mail for normal online behaviour, and where Big Media companies could remove online content and even terminate your access to the Internet. They tried this approach in Canada and it failed; now they’re using an anti-democratic international process to get their way.

Thanks to all those who donated, including our OpenMedia Allies, we’re building a new website that will serve as the home of the growing global movement to keep the Internet open. You can still chip in as we continue to build new tools to empower citizens around the world to push back against international threats like the TPP.

Defending the open, affordable, and surveillance-free Internet
The incredible progress of the StopSpying.ca campaign

Together, we successfully held off the government’s spying plans. This is a huge win for citizens using the Internet to save the Internet, overpowering the surveillance lobby. But Public Safety Minister Vic Toews—the MP behind the invasive online spying bill—is still promising not to back down.

To build on Canadians’ amazing momentum, we’re putting together Street Teams in select ridings—for film screenings, petition drives, and other on-the-ground action—to keep pressure on the government to scrap this costly and poorly thought-out legislation. Learn more about the Street Teams here, then sign up!

Your work matters

The approach taken by lobbyists who seek greater control over the Internet represents the past. The open Internet, where we can all share our creations online and act together to shape policy, represents the future. We need to keep moving forward toward openness, and your work—signing petitions, spreading the word, and chipping in—is pushing Canada in the right direction.Thank you so much.

As part of your team at OpenMedia.ca, we promise to always let you know when your action is needed in defense of the open Internet. Your empowerment is our priority.

Thank you for your time and your ongoing support.

- Reilly and Lindsey, on behalf of the whole OpenMedia team

P.S. Your support keeps us going—make a one-time contribution or a sustaining monthly gift today.