Canadians must “think big” when it comes to reshaping the nation’s broadcasting and telecommunications laws in the digital age, says the chair of a federal panel looking into the overhaul.

“We must think not about what will serve Canada and Canadians well for the next few years, but for the next full generation at least,” Janet Yale said Monday in a speech at the Canadian Telecom Summit in Mississauga.

“Our horizon cannot be restrained to the next election or the next rollout of new technologies,” she said. “It must be cast further ahead.”

Yale’s panel is tasked with overhauling laws that have not been updated in years and have not accounted for the disruption of the digital age.

The panel, struck by Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains as well as the Heritage Ministry, is expected to make final recommendations next January. An interim report is expected in June.

Bains released a “digital charter” last week looking at the issues of security and privacy as Canada looks at overhauling outdated legislation.

The Trudeau government has also said it will decide before the election whether to allow Chinese equipment maker Huawei to supply equipment for Canada’s new networks despite U.S. opposition.

“Cyber security is not a specific company or country issue, it’s truly a global issue,” Huawei Canada’s chief security officer Olivera Zatezalo told delegates in a separate panel on cyber security at Monday’s conference. “We want to work together on the issue. And we’d like to ensure you all, we have a commitment to comply with Canadian government regulations.”

Yale said after her speech that members of her panel are going to keep their minds “open and independent of the political machinations that may be going on around us.”

“And what I said today was to encourage everybody, when they see our final report, to think not just about whether our recommendations align with their short-term interests, whoever they are,” she said.

“Think about what it’s going to take for Canada to have a successful future that leverages digital technology, on the one hand, (and) addresses our cultural sovereignty and enhances the rights of digital citizens and digital consumers. That’s the goal.”

Yale said the panel has already met with 150 individuals and groups across the country in 11 communities and has received more than 2,000 written submissions.

“Our job is to drill down on the tough questions facing Canada’s communications sector and come up with concrete recommendations to update the legislative framework,” said Yale. “These are issues that matter to people. It doesn’t take a lot to spark their passions.”

The interim report will be more “what we heard” and not “what we think,” warned Yale.

“Over the next couple of months my panel colleagues and I will turn from the task of analyzing input to the even more challenging matter of making up our minds and offering our prescriptions for future legislative change.”

Issues that are being looked at include the rollout of 5G wireless network technology and the efficient introduction of infrastructure, how to better support the creation and production of Canadian content, improving the rights of digital consumers, and ensuring diverse and independent news sources.

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One key issue is whether the panel will recommend a “Netflix tax” requiring the streaming platform to contribute a portion of their revenues to creating Canadian content, as well as collecting federal and provincial sales taxes from consumers.

“Our stories are outstanding and our storytellers remarkable. But how do we ensure that our creators are offered the means for those Canadian stories to be told and to earn a decent return for their creativity and labour,” said Yale. “How do we get those stories seen and heard in a world where the mechanisms of shareability have changed so dramatically?”

with files from The Canadian Press

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