Canada's copyright and digital policies aren't working. That's what I'm hearing from artists, independent Internet service providers, and consumers.

Our laws are out of date; they were written before file sharing or Facebook, before iPods or BitTorrent. If they ever worked, they don't anymore. They don't support the information commons or encourage creativity in the arts. They don't help people.

Welcome to the final edition of The Wavelength, a bi-weekly roundup of news and analysis focused on media policy. Stay tuned for more reporting on the ongoing impact of media policy from members of The Media Consortium.

Just when it seemed that the wave of media consolidation had reached tsunami proportions, a new court ruling is easing the troubled waters.

When citizens cast their vote this election they should be aware of where their preferred party stands on issues relating to media policy and democratic communations. As I said when I first conducted and election survey on media and cultural issues in 2006, called Where the Parties Stand on Culture - policy decisions in the cultural realm, will ultimately impact on our media's ability to cover and inform citizens with regards all other important issues, be they related to health care, the economy, the environment, or to matters of war and peace.

Four months after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) supposedly settled the issue, the battle over Net neutrality is still raging. If anything, it's just beginning to heat up. On April 8, the Republican-controlled Congress resolved to repeal the FCC's recent legislation surrounding Internet protections, and conservative activists are fighting tooth and nail to push back any apparent gains before they are realized.

Last week, the New York Times debuted a long-awaited paywall, and stats blogger Nate Silver used the launch as an opportunity to explore the value of a news organization based on the amount of original reporting it produces. While Silver's rankings could be a valuable tool for news organizations, Mother Jones' Nick Baumann finds Silver's methodology wanting.

An open letter from OpenMedia.ca:

The CRTC has announced they will reexamine metered billing practices. They are seeking public input right now! This is a huge opportunity to stop Internet metering, and to ensure Canadians have access to an unlimited Internet.

Please take a moment to send the CRTC a message here.

OpenMedia.ca asked Canadians to send Ottawa a message about Internet metering, and wow did you ever respond -- over 420,000 signed the petition!

The CRTC's move to review the imposition of billing practices through a public process is in direct response to our petition -- they even cited the "public outcry".

Two weeks ago, the CRTC pushed Canada’s broadband policy a step backward by major Internet Service Providers (ISPs) like Shaw and Bell to put the Internet on a meter, and charge both individual and wholesale customers (i.e. independent ISPs) based on the ways they use the medium.

There are at least two major problems with this decision: The first is outlined in a post to OpenMedia.ca’s Policy Watch blog, which described the decision as “a blow to consumer choice, to access, and to diversity in telecommunications in Canada”.