Urgent re: Internet Tax

Things are escalating quickly.

One of the lobbyist groups pushing the Internet Tax the hardest – the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA)1 – appears to be getting very close to the one person who can stop it, Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly.

Last week, Minister Joly participated in a live-streamed chat with the CMPA.2

This week, they put her on the cover of their magazine.3

And she still refuses to take the idea of an Internet Tax off the table4 – even though a new poll confirms 70% of Canadians clearly hate it.5

This is outrageous. It’s so clear the lobbyists are ramping up their efforts.

The CMPA and others have been pushing new fees that would, in effect, jack up your phone and Internet bills through a consultation led by Minister Joly – and the results of that consultation are expected any day now.

We need to be ready for what comes next. Over 35,000 Canadians have signed a petition telling the government to stop the Internet Tax, and to focus their efforts on lowering the cost of Internet access.

We are having an impact, and your voices are being heard.

Here’s what we’ve done together:

In October we sounded the alarm about the Internet Tax in one of Canada’s largest-circulation newspapers.6

Then we met with Minister Joly’s top advisors at Canadian Heritage to discuss the issue.7
In November, we met with the Office of the Prime Minister to make sure Prime Minister Trudeau knows exactly where you stand.8

In February, we commissioned an official poll showing 70% of Canadians hate this tax.9

And now we’re in talks with both Finance Canada, as well as Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada to discuss your concerns about the Internet Tax before the upcoming budget.

But , this work isn’t easy, and it isn’t cheap. And if we’re going to succeed against powerful opponents like the CMPA, we’re going to need your help.

Will you donate to help fight any attempt to crank up our Internet bills? We’re counting on you.

Thanks in advance,

Josh, on behalf of OpenMedia

Footnotes:
[1] CMPA asks for CanCon contributions from OTT, ISP. Source: The Wire Report.
[2] Joly talks expectations for future of Canadian media. Source: Macleans.
[3] “Check out the latest issue of CMPA’s Indiescreen magazine featuring the Honourable @melaniejoly and @MargaretAtwood.” Source: Twitter.
[4] Joly not afraid of change following cultural review. Source: The Wire Report.
[5] Internet Tax Widely Opposed By Canadians, But GST On Netflix Not So Bad. Source: The Huffington Post.
[6] Stop the federal government before it taxes everything on the Internet. Source: Financial Post.
[7] We met with Mélanie Joly’s top advisors about the ISP tax. Here’s what went down. Source: OpenMedia.
[8] “.@OpenMediaOrg thanks The Office of the Prime Minister @CanadianPM for meeting with us today to discuss the rumoured Internet tax #cdnpoli.” Source: Twitter.
[9] Poll: Vast majority of Canadians oppose Internet Tax, prefer funding CanCon by extending GST/HST to foreign online companies. Source: OpenMedia.
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