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Over the past two weeks, rumours have been swirling that Canadian Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly is being pressured to impose a new tax on Canadians’ Internet access — an Internet Service Provider tax or ISP tax — a levy one prominent critic described as “a digital tax on everything.”

This controversial proposal would add a new fee onto the monthly bills of Canada’s Internet subscribers. Canadians already pay some of the highest prices in the industrialized world for middle-of-the-road service, causing huge gaps in adoption of broadband Internet services. Indeed, recent reports have demonstrated that nearly one in five households have no residential Internet connection, and one in three no mobile phone.

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How did we get here? Back in April, Canadian Heritage announced a sweeping review of how Canadian content is funded in the digital era. While the consultation was met with much fanfare, the ideas that have been put on the table by some of Canada’s large publishers and broadcast lobbyists come with a steep price tag that will be shouldered by everyday Canadians.