Controversy continues: CRTC plans closed-door meeting that raises concerns

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has planned a closed-door meeting on March 23 and 24, sparking debate over the national media regulator's suspicious behaviour.

Vancouver's OpenMedia received a call over the weekend from the CRTC after the pro-Internet group crafted a letter to supporters in late February, the latest bid in an impassioned campaign to silence the CRTC's decision to implement usage-based billing (currently under a controversial self-review) that began with a groundbreaking online petition back in January.

OpenMedia says it has "asked the CRTC for the full list of invitees, reasoning that this will help ensure Canadians and innovators and adequately represented." The organization is also requesting that the meeting "be recorded and made available though a live online video and audio stream, and for meeting minutes to be made publicly available."

As of this writing, the CRTC has agreed to the former—disclosing a list of participants—but not the latter.

“It’s time to get away from industry groupthink,” said OpenMedia executive director Steve Anderson. “The CRTC has been insulated from public sentiment, especially evident in their treatment of the usage-based billing issue, but it can now take steps to fix that problem by opening their processes. This meeting is part of a larger endeavour that will shape the future of our nation’s communications policy. It is incredibly important that the CRTC take into account that the biggest and most important stakeholder is not industry groups, but rather ordinary Canadians. In the 21st century citizens want to play an active role in governance.”

A representative from OpenMedia will attend the CRTC's private meeting.