The Greens and a fair internet for all Canadians

Today, Prince Edward-Hastings Green Party of Canada candidate Patrick Larkin signed up as a “Pro-Internet Candidate” with Openmedia.ca and issued a statement in support of the site’s goals, including opposition to Usage Based Billing.

“The Green Party of Canada recently demonstrated great leadership as the first federal party to support Openmedia.ca’s Stop the Meter campaign,” said Larkin.

“The issue of fair, economical Internet delivery is key to Canadians, especially entrepreneurs and rural residents. Pricing of Internet usage is fundamental to the current economic shift being witnessed around the globe. Where Canadian businesses once led the way in developing telecommunications infrastructure, these same Internet Service Providers now seek to curb competition.

“We need to guard against this abuse by dominant industry concerns, and we must stimulate competition. Only by doing so can we ensure that all Canadians have fair and equal access to the economic tools that will lead us into a bright future.

“Leaving control of our media in the hands of a few corporations and poorly mandated by an outdated organization, the CRTC, will only lead to more profit and power for these corporations – and that’s the last thing we need as a country.”

Referring to the Green Party’s exclusion from the national leaders’ debates, Larkin continued, “In this election, we have watched the media consortium attempt to stifle democracy in Canada, but Elizabeth May took to the internet and independent media outlets to get her message across.

“We can no longer allow media moguls to dictate either Internet pricing or the terms of election debates if we truly value economic and democratic equality for all Canadians.”

Larkin noted that, as of this release, no other Prince Edward-Hastings candidates had registered their support with Openmedia.ca.

For more information, visit the Openmedia.ca site. A list Green candidates including Larkin, who have declared themselves “Pro-Internet Candidates,” can be found at http://openmedia.ca/candidates?term_node_tid_depth=84.