Canada minister Bains bats for open internet

TORONTO: While one North American official of Indian-origin led the charge to remove strong net neutrality protections in the United States, another, i n Canada, has come out in support of that regime that prevents throttling of access to some websites over others.

Hours after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the US, chaired by IndianAmerican Ajit Pai, created a firestorm as the Republican majority voted down rules governing net neutrality, Canada’s minister of innovation, science and economic development Navdeep Bains tweeted: “Regardless of what other jurisdictions decide, Canada will remain committed to the principles of net neutrality. #Netneutrality.”

An accompanying statement issued by his ministry quoted him as saying, “We support an open internet where Canadians have the ability to access the content of their choice in accordance with Canadian laws.” Bains added: “Net neutrality is one of the critical issues of our times, much like freedom of the press and freedom of expression before it.”

The ministry noted that the Canadian government had a strong net neutrality framework in place through the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission .

"We believe that an open and accessible internet is vital to the free flow of content and information, which, in turn, is vital to our democracy,” Bains said.