CRTC says it can force Quebec to free gambling sites

Canada’s telecom regulator doubled down on its assertion that its powers trump provincial law when it comes to Quebec’s disputed legislation that would force Internet service providers to block certain gambling websites.

Quebec’s Bill 74, passed in May, empowered provincial gambling agency Loto-Quebec to order Internet service providers to block a list of its competitors’ websites under the guise of protecting consumers from irresponsible gaming sites.

Big business and consumer groups alike opposed the bill, arguing it violates federal laws that prohibit carriers from censoring content and infringes upon the net neutrality principle that all content be treated equally. Plus, providers contended it would be next to impossible to implement from a technical standpoint.

The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association filed a challenge asking the Quebec Superior Court Quebec’s gambling market is estimated to be worth $250 million. to strike down the law and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre asked the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to declare the law unconstitutional.

In a decision issued Friday, the CRTC suspended action on the file until the court proceedings wrap up, as advised by Quebec’s attorney general.

But it took the opportunity to reiterate its preliminary views that Internet service providers cannot block websites without the CRTC’s permission — no matter what provincial law states. Even so, it would take “exceptional circumstances” to convince the CRTC to grant such permission, it stated in a September letter.

The CRTC also noted that none of the parties that participated in the process opposed its preliminary views, a rare show of solidarity between large players (Telus, Shaw and Cogeco), smaller competitors (TekSavvy and the Canadian Network Operators Consortium) and consumer groups (Open Media).

The Telecommunications Act explicitly states that Canadian carriers (telephone and Internet companies) “shall not control the content or influence the meaning or purpose of telecommunications carried by it for the public.” The CRTC noted it is exclusively responsible for administering that provision, regardless of whether Bill 74 is constitutional.

“Compliance with other legal or juridical requirements — whether municipal, provincial, or foreign — does not in and of itself justify the blocking of specific websites by Canadian carriers, in the absence of commission approval.”

Quebec’s gambling market is estimated to be worth $250 million. Quebec’s minister of finance has previously estimated that Bill 74 would result in an extra $13.5 million in the first year and $27 million in following years for provincially owned gambling site Espacejeux.

The Quebec Superior Court is scheduled to hear CWTA’s court challenge next April.