Ian & Stuart's Australian Mac: Not for Sale/Another.not.for.sale (Australia).iso/hold me in your arms/Nexus/nexus.politics/canada.pub-access

Internet Message Format | 1994-05-18 | 9KB

From: [e-mail] (Dwayne)
Date: Thu, 21 Apr 1994 15:52:43 -0500
To: Multiple recipients of list <[e-mail]>
Subject: FWD>Ottawa Citizen op-ed (fwd)

Glyn Rimmington blew a bubble, which danced and sang:
From: Glyn Rimmington <[e-mail]>
Date: Wed, 20 Apr 1994 10:33:54 +1000
Subject: FWD>Ottawa Citizen op-ed
To: Melbourne FreeNET <[e-mail]>

Mail*Link(r) SMTP               FWD>Ottawa Citizen op-ed
something to think about

--------------------------------------
Date: 19/4/94 23:38
From: [e-mail]

The following article appeared in Friday's (April 8) Ottawa Citizen.

    Jacqueline van Dyk : [e-mail]
    Systems Librarian, North Vancouver District Library
    tel: [phone]    fax: [phone]


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                          INFORMATION RIGHTS WEEK

                      OPENING THE DOOR FOR THE PUBLIC

Canada is beginning the development of its much touted electronic
superhighway.  Unfortunately for the public, the loudest voices in
determining its direction are those who want to make a profit from
it.  Not visible to the public, which has been excluded from the
debates, are the extensive discussions between governments and the
corporate sector over who will control and profit from it.

Who is protecting the public interest in access to information and
the new telecommunication networks?

Not the Federal Government.  Industry Canada's, "The Electronic
Connection: An Essential Key to Canadian Survival" was released
only after a Freedom of Information request.  Of the 200
individuals consulted for the research, none were proponents of
public access.  The Honourable John Manley, Minister, Industry
Canada is now establishing a high-level Advisory Committee on the
electronic highway which will meet in secret and may not issue a
final report.  This is completely unacceptable.

Not the Federal Government.  It has been legislatively increasing
exemptions from the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.  The Ottawa-
based Coalition for Open Government is organizing a lobby to
increase the power and range of existing FOI legislation and
broaden dissemination of government information.  The Library
Depository program, which provides free copies of government
documents to selected libraries across Canada, the main access for
public use of government reports, is not even protected by
government legislation and is in constant financial jeopardy.

Not the Federal Government.  It's Interdepartmental Committee on
Database Industry Support encourages the commercial distribution
of government electronic information but there is no comparable
organization to assure public distribution.

Not the Federal government and the many provincial and municipal
governments which are investigating or have implemented "tradeable
information" policies based on the Thatcher government's decision
to increase government revenue through the sale of government
information.

Not Stentor.  The telephone company consortium released "The
Information Highway: Canada's Road to Economic and Social Renewal
- A Vision Statement" with almost no reference to public
participation and with no consideration of social policy issues.
How can equal access to information can be assured when only 25% of
the population own microcomputers?  This report, along with
virtually all others, ignores the cost of providing broad public
access and training.

Not the cable industry.  Fixated on 500 channels of money-making
entertainment and interactive commercials, the cable industry has
shown no concern for public access and public involvement.  The
bubble may burst on these dreams of mega-dollars if the public agree
with critics such as Neil Postman, who talks about "info-garbage"
and the lack of content on the existing 60 channels.

Not the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.
It has effectively deregulated the telephone system and is now
considering, with minimal public input, optional regulatory
environments, such as new ways to charge for local telephone
service.  Options could include Local Metered Service - charging for
every call and its length.  The one tool of the information age
which is currently available in most households will follow the U.S.
experience after de-regulation, resulting in substantially increased
local telephone rates.

What about the media?  Its role is two-sided.  In its traditional
role as newsgatherer, the media wants to force the government to
expand the Freedom of Information Act and open the government to
closer scrutiny.

On the other hand, as business corporations different forms of media
consolidating into ever larger units, as the recent Roger's offer to
buy-out MacLean-Hunter demonstrates, it is integrating all forms of
media including books, magazines, film, video, cable, newspapers,
databases, television and radio.  This consolidation limits the
sources of news and editorial perspective.  The loss of cognitive
diversity, like bio-diversity, is a cause for alarm and concern.
A new organization, Project Censored is concerned about this
limitation and has evaluated a number of news stories to determine
which has been the most censored in Canada in 1993.  The winner
(loser?) will be announced at the general meeting of the Canadian
Association of Journalists in April.


Only recently have public interest groups and activists emerged to
present the case for free access to government information, access
to the high speed telecommunication networks of the future, and
access to community networks to create and disseminate information.

Foremost among these have been Canadian library associations,
librarians across Canada and FreeNets which are currently creating
a national organization - Telecommunities Canada.  Libraries are the
predominant source for public access to information in Canada.
Viewing themselves as the electronic library of the 21st Century,
FreeNets are in their infancy world-wide, and struggling to
establish non-profit, freely accessible, community computer networks
in towns and municipalities.  Ottawa, Victoria, and Trail are
currently operational, and another sixteen FreeNets are actively
organizing.  Many other community and advocacy organizations,
especially at the national level, are becoming aware of the
implications for their organizations of the current debates on
information policy.

A revealing irony of the so-called "information age" is that while
debates continue regarding who will benefit from the billions of
dollars expected to be generated by new commercial information
products and the information highway, libraries struggle to stay
open and FreeNets are forced to exist hand-to-mouth.

Information policy is not currently a "hot" public policy issue.  It
does not command the public attention of debates on the economy,
unemployment, racial intolerance, the environment or the
disintegration of civil society which is occurring all around us.
The public is as unaware of information issues as are most of the
politicians.  An attempt to have an all-candidates meeting on these
issues during the last Federal election resulted in an
acknowledgement that no local B.C. candidates knew anything about
the issues.

However, the existence of libraries, FreeNets, and information
policies which encourage free public access to government
information and data collected in the enforcement of government
regulations are fundamental to thorough discussions of our key
public issues.  Policies which widen the gap between those who have
easy access to information and those who do not will further
undermine democratic debate.

Information Rights Week (April 11 - 17) is organized by the Canadian
Library Association, with the co-operation of Telecommunities
Canada.  Libraries across Canada will have posters, displays,
brochures, and programs to focus attention on these issues.  The
profound changes taking place in government policy regarding access
to information, high-speed telecommunication networks, and the
telephone system must be opened to the public.  We are already
divided into information rich and the information poor.  Current
policies to create a "pay per" society will magnify these
disparities.  TV programs, videos, government information, local
telephone calls would all be paid per minute, per byte of
information, per database searched.  Simultaneously, public sources
of information, like libraries, will deteriorate and electronic
alternatives such as FreeNets will struggle to provide a non-profit
option.

Decisions regarding future access to free government information,
universal and affordable telephone service and options for the
creation and distribution of non-commercial content must be made
openly and not behind closed doors.

Brian Campbell
Chair, Canadian Library Association Information Policy Committee
President, Vancouver Regional Freenet Association

For more information contact your local public library or the
Canadian Library Association, #602 200 Elgin St., Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 1L5 613-232-9625 Fax [phone] or Telecommunities Canada c/o
David Sutherland, Computing Services, Carleton University, Ottawa,
ON, K1S 5B6 or [e-mail].