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High-speed internet a human right: New Brunswick Tories
by Scott Gilbreath ~ October 18th, 2008
The “human rights” shtick in Canada has definitely gone too far.
Both candidates for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party [of New Brunswick] are backing the idea of filing a complaint with the New Brunswick Human Rights Commission over the lack of high-speed Internet in parts of rural New Brunswick.
Jack Carr, the Tory candidate in the Nov. 3 New Maryland-Sunbury West byelection, filed a complaint this week with the human rights commission against the provincial government, Aliant and Rogers over the lack of high-speed Internet in rural New Brunswick.
Business New Brunswick Minister Greg Byrne condemned the move as a political stunt and hypocrisy since the Tories didn’t fix the problem when they were in power.
Agreed! This complaint is nothing more than an attempt to use the HRC to do an end run around a principle of parliamentary democracy. Whatever happened to “Parliament controls the purse strings”?
One of Tory leadership candidates went away over the top.
“To me it is strategic infrastructure, every bit as important as roads, every bit as important as hospitals,” [David] Alward said.
Earth to David Alward: People don’t die for lack of high-speed internet.
New Brunswick has the third-highest unemployment rate among Canadian provinces—8.0%. I think the province has higher priorities for political action than using an unelected, unaccountable quasi-judicial body to force the government and private corporations to spend money.
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October 18th, 2008 at 12:29 PM
It would be nice if politicians would research what is required to do this kind of thing. Putting high speed data down a phone line which was really designed for 1200 baud is a minor miracle. C Message Weighting defines what voice frequencies will pass down the wire and DSL is shoved in the out of hearing range. It can be done, but not economically. Broadband over Power Line (BPL) is a technological bust and creates quite a bit of radio interference. Fiber optics would bring all the city services and more to rural areas but the construction costs are beyond sky high.
Next the HRC will be demanding water and sewage services for rural residents. I need hydro and a phone, I like High Speed but I don’t consider it a right.
October 20th, 2008 at 08:26 PM
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