If we want to enjoy a certain standard of living, we have to be vigilant, always. Imagine for just a moment that you had to call an operator sitting in an Alabama call centre to order telephone or cable service. Or imagine that broadcasting licences were given out on the basis of who you know, instead of through a rigorous public process. You can therefore appreciate the important role the CRTC plays in elaborating, in guiding and in the integrity of the social, political and economic fabric of our society. Telecommunications are becoming the very infrastructure of our economy.
Broadcasting is essential to our social, cultural and political personality.
New media will define the transactional world of the future, and will have a profound influence on our identity, our lifestyle, and on jobs. At the CRTC, we have a responsibility to learn and to understand this new environment. Without denying the inescapable effects of globalization, we must understand that we do have the means to decide, at least to some extent, how we will approach the future, what perspective we will bring to it, and what our fundamental values are. The second period is convergence, the fusion of telecommunications, broadcasting and informatics. The third period, and the puck has just been dropped, is the Internet, with its new technological platforms and content.