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“As we had previously expressed to the Quebec government, the provisions in the Act would put ISPs and wireless service providers in conflict with Section 36 of the federal Telecommunications Act which governs ALL telecommunications in Canada,” CWTA Vice-President Marc Choma, said in a statement. “As well, we have always maintained, and as has been confirmed by the courts in previous instances, telecommunications is the sole jurisdiction of the federal government and must remain so.”

Quebec Minister of Justice and Attorney General Stéphanie Vallée declined to comment, citing the fact that the motion is before a judicial authority.

While Bill 74 gives Loto-Québec the power to order Internet Service Providers to block its online competitors, it doesn’t specify how they would do this. The CWTA believes the law would require expensive new infrastructure, as most Canadian ISPs don’t have provincial blocking capabilities, and that costs spent on adhering to the law could be passed on to consumers nationally.

Other concerns that have been raised by CWTA, legal experts and activists include that it threatens net neutrality and freedom of expression. Net neutrality is the principle generally understood to hold that Internet companies and governments should be neutral in their approach to online content, and should not favour or block access to websites.