Let's be cautiously optimistic about the decision expected tomorrow. The Chairman of the CRTC - Konrad Von Finckenstein - was formerly the Commissioner of Competition and a judge in the Federal Court. He has never been afraid of controversy - after all, he wrote the famous BMG decision that effectively stopped the file sharing lawsuits against individuals in Canada by protecting their privacy. That decision was essentially upheld in the Federal Court of Appeal. See my analysis here. Disclosure - I was involved.
The Competition Bureau is currently apparently not interested in doing anything about these types of issues. So maybe - just maybe - the CRTC will step up to the plate now and hit a home run.
A little inter agency competition is good for consumers. That may explain why the USA is way better off than Canada in matters having to with wireless and internet service and, indeed, net neutrality. The USA has the FCC, DOJ, and the FTC to look into these types of issues.
This question could quickly cross over into the copyright arena - because some ISPs have so many conflicting agendas these days that the copyright rights of users are seriously imperilled - especially if Canada ends up with protection for and not from DRM and TPM.
Anyway, the CBC has a good analysis of the current state of play here, which suggests, as we all know, that the war won't end one way or the other tomorrow morning.
HK
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