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e-2896 (Media and telecommunications)

E-petition
Initiated by Hugh Wallis from Stouffville, Ontario

Original language of petition: English

Petition to the Government of Canada

Whereas:
  • In 2016, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) declared high-speed Internet an essential service;
  • The Government of Canada has indicated that the provision of high-speed Internet to all areas of Canada, including rural areas and indigenous communities, is a priority;
  • Existing Internet services are either inadequate, unaffordably priced, or non-existent for many areas of Canada, especially rural areas and Indigenous communities;
  • On May 20, 2020, SpaceX filed a request to the CRTC to obtain a BITS License, Ref. 8190-S206-202002799, which has still not been approved;
  • The request has received wide support from the general public, especially those living or running businesses in underserved rural areas and Indigenous communities in Canada as evidenced by over 2000 supportive interventions filed to the CRTC, in respect of this request;
  • Objections have mostly come from competitive companies who are, nevertheless, unable or unwilling to provide satisfactory service, or even any service at all, to currently underserved rural areas and indigenous communities; and
  • SpaceX has indicated that, following the currently running, successful, private beta test, they will very shortly be in a technical position to start a public beta test of this service in both the northern USA and southern Canada.
We, the undersigned, citizens or residents of Canada, who are concerned at the inordinate delay in approving necessary licences to SpaceX for their Starlink service, call upon the Government of Canada to encourage the CRTC to expedite the approval of SpaceX's request for any and all licencing required to begin providing Starlink high-speed Internet service to Canadians, to ensure that all Canadians, especially the many rural and Indigenous businesses who are presently unable to obtain satisfactory Internet service, are not left behind and competitively disadvantaged.
Open for signature
October 15, 2020, at 6:38 p.m. (EDT)
Closed for signature
December 14, 2020, at 6:38 p.m. (EDT)
Presented to the House of Commons
Jamie Schmale (Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock)
June 11, 2021 (Petition No. 432-01097)
Photo - Jamie Schmale
Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock
Conservative Caucus
Ontario