An Act to amend the Telecommunications Act (transparent and accurate broadband services information)

How it changed on the way

27% of the text as introduced was changed or removed by the time it became law (447 words introduced, 486 passed). A committee amended it.

moderate changeintent mostly kept

The bill kept its core requirement that carriers publish clear broadband service details. It added a new clause on compliance monitoring and enforcement and updated the royal reference from Her to His Majesty.

• Replaced reference to Her Majesty with His Majesty.

  Before: “Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:”

  After: “His Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:”

• Added requirement for measures on compliance monitoring and enforcement.

  After: “and (g) the measures that are to be taken, including in respect of compliance monitoring and enforcement, to ensure that the fixed broadband services provided by Canadian carriers reflect the information made available under subsection (2).”

How precisely it is written

vagueChallenging the law: ModerateDisputing a charge: Easy

The bill defines fixed broadband service but leaves nearly all details of what carriers must publish, how metrics are calculated, which carriers are covered, and how compliance is enforced to future CRTC decisions after public hearings. This creates broad discretion and subjective standards rather than clear, objective rules.

Open to argument

• “any other information required by the Commission that is in the public’s interest”

  Uses an undefined and subjective public-interest test that the Commission alone decides.

• “the form and manner in which the information referred to in subsection (2) is to be provided to the public to ensure that it is easily available, accessible and simple to understand”

  Relies on vague qualitative standards instead of objective criteria.

• “the types of Canadian carriers, if any, that should be excluded, in whole or in part, from the application of subsection (2)”

  Grants open-ended discretion to decide who is covered after the fact.

Clear-cut

• “fixed broadband service means any high-speed data transmission service provided to a fixed location using cable, fibre optics, wireless access, satellite or any similar transmission system”

  Supplies a concrete list of technologies and a fixed-location test.

Discretion. Almost every substantive requirement is left to the Commission to determine after public hearings, including metrics, methodologies, peak periods, exclusions, and enforcement measures.

Challenging the law itself. The broad delegation and undefined terms such as 'public’s interest' could support a vagueness or overbreadth argument under section 7 of the Charter.

Disputing a charge under it. Because the Commission has not yet set the metrics, methodologies or form of disclosure, a carrier could readily dispute whether any particular publication meets the yet-to-be-defined standard.

Read by a language model from the royal assent text; every quoted phrase appears in the bill. A reading of the drafting, not legal advice.