Recent Library of Parliament HillNotes Blog Posts

HillNotes, the blog of the Library of Parliament in Ottawa, recently posted two new articles:

• Issues and Concerns Related to Digital Currencies: "The International Monetary Fund compared the excitement and unprecedented price increases of some digital currencies to historical speculative bubbles such as the tulip mania of the 1600s and the more recent dot-com bubble. In March 2018, the Group of Twenty Communique stated that digital currencies 'raise issues with respect to consumer and investor protection, market integrity, tax evasion, money laundering and terrorist financing,' and 'they could have financial stability implications.' Concerns related to digital currencies centre around their price volatility, links to criminal behaviour, and environmental impacts. However, many argue that digital currencies and their supporting technologies might also be used to reduce poverty."
• Net Neutrality in Canada: "The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC or the Commission) defines net neutrality as the general principle that 'all traffic on the Internet should be given equal treatment by' Internet service providers (ISPs) (...) On 23 May 2018, Parliament unanimously called on the Government of Canada, in its upcoming review of the [Telecommunications] Act, 'to explore opportunities to further enshrine in legislation the principles of neutrality in the provision and carriage of all telecommunications services.' On 28 June 2018, the Government requested the expert panel conducting the review to examine whether current legislation is well-positioned to protect net neutrality in the future. The panel is expected to table its final report in January 2020."