Few policy details from new CPC leader

Conservatives elected Saskatchewan MP Andrew Scheer as party and official Opposition leader over the weekend, but those interested in his stance on telecom and media issues won’t have much to chew on. Little is known about Scheer’s policy positions in general, aside from a handful of topics he made public during the party’s leadership campaign, such as a pledge to cut funding from post-secondary institutions that don’t promote free speech, repealing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s carbon pricing regime, and reviewing firearms legislation. He did not respond when The Wire Report reached out to candidates to gauge their stance on the wireless market, net neutrality, roles and mandates of the CRTC and CBC/Radio-Canada and taxation for over-the-top services. There isn’t much of a recent voting or public statement record to fall back on for Scheer, who served as Speaker of the House between 2011 and 2015. However, during the campaign he told a Hamilton, Ont., audience that CBC should cut its news division, according to a Dec. 8 report by Hamilton Community News. “News is one thing I never believed the government should be in,” Scheer was reported as saying, adding that the government has a “glaring” conflict in its operation of the public broadcaster. The 38-year-old Scheer didn’t participate in the May 3 vote on the CBC privatization bill proposed by Trost, where it was defeated 260-6. Conservative party policy, as amended after last June’s policy convention, lays out some guidelines on the issues of Internet connectivity, the CBC, Canadian production industry. The policy document says the government “should create an environment that encourages private sector investment to increase broadband infrastructure, especially in rural and remote areas of Canada.” It also calls for a production industry that is “strengthened to participate in a global marketplace and become a self-sustaining, thriving industry with a skilled workforce.” On foreign ownership, the party said it supports relaxing rules “on Canadian industry in concert with our major trading partners in the telecommunications, broadcast distribution, and airline industry. We believe the gov’t should conduct an immediate review to determine whether to reduce or completely remove these rules.” Policy could be amended when the party holds its next national convention in August 2018.

Few policy details from new CPC leader

Brief | May 29, 2017

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Few policy details from new CPC leader

Brief | May 29, 2017

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