Just to be clear, I didn’t write that piece to bash Canada, just this particular policy.
I am Canadian and live in Guelph Ontario but lived half my life in the US, so I’ve seen a lot of both sides.
Yes, Davidtwotree, you're absolutely right. The iPhone lockout is only the latest symptom of a disease. My purpose is pointing out the disease not promoting the iPhone.
I’ve heard the argument that the CRTC isn’t directly responsible for the price fixing. However, it lets it happen. I won’t claim to be an expert on CRTC policy or even the wireless network business, far from it. I’m just a fan of technology connecting some dots.
The CRTC is roughly Canada’s equivalent of the FCC. As our regulatory body for any radio communications the CRTC should prevent this from happening by promoting balanced access to wireless bands. From what I understand the FCC oversees the use of radio frequencies to ensure its balanced use.
But, the stated mission of the CRTC is to protect Canadian Culture - a ridiculous, outdated notion! It does so by enforcing Canadian content laws on radio and blocking competition in business.
If Canadian culture is so flimsy that our children's unmitigated access to MTV is somehow capable of destroying it - I say good riddance!
But we know Canadians are a complex people with distinct cultures from coast to coast. Like the US, there is not one prevailing culture. The notion that a government program can protect something as ubiquitous as culture is like trying to perform surgery with a bomb.
But who are we fooling? The CRTC’s Canadian culture clause only exists to protect more big government.
Way off topic rant about Canadian socialism
I don’t believe Canada is any more socialist than the US. There are just different priorities.
In Canada we don't provide a welfare safety net for sports franchises or corporations that want public funding for their private business. At least not on the American scale.
A publicly funded free arena and tax exempt status are huge perks to doing business in US markets. That’s why Phoenix Arizona was far more attractive for the Jets than Winnipeg Manitoba.
I fully understand the argument for taxation going toward private enterprise to stimulate a greater economic good. It’s Keynesian economic theory – let’s call it what it is, it’s a form of socialism practiced at great length in the US.