The federal government is on a mission to sell-off Canada’s telecommunications industry to foreign investors. ACTRA’s response to that is “We’re not for sale!”

Canadian ownership is a cornerstone of Canadian public policy
Owning and controlling our own communications systems is an essential and long-standing principle of Canadian public policy; it is even more critical in the increasingly digital world. In order to succeed in the digital economy, Canadian-owned broadcasting and telecommunications companies must be able to prosper so that we can control the means of production and distribution of creative content. That means maintaining the current restrictions on foreign ownership in telecommunications and broadcasting.

You can’t separate telecommunications and broadcasting
We also believe that you can’t open up telecommunications to foreign investment without impacting broadcasting. These two industries do not operate in isolation of each other. Indeed with the unprecedented level of convergence in Canada, they are nearly impossible to separate.

Canadians can invest more in telecomm
We know that there needs to be increased innovation, competition and investment in both sectors. However, we can get the job done without increasing foreign ownership.

The risks are greater than the benefits
Relaxing limits to foreign investment in broadcasting and telecomm will not bring a net benefit to Canadian consumers or the Canadian economy. In fact, we believe that the negative impact will be profoundly greater than any potential benefit and therefore implore the government to keep foreign ownership limits as is.

It is the government’s duty to strive to make our communications industries stronger; not sell them off. These industries are the future of our knowledge-based economy. If we have no ownership, or no voice, we will not only lose control of our culture, but of a huge piece of our economy.

The bottom-line is that Canadians need to control our telecommunications and broadcasting. Convergence in these industries means foreign ownership rules for telecommunications cannot be relaxed without affecting broadcasting and in turn Canadian content creation.

When it comes to the question of foreign ownership in telecommunications and broadcasting, ACTRA has an easy and simple solution: the government must do nothing. Do not relax the rules.