P.S., If you want another flavour of how the sector sees Canada’s digital policies ahead of the #CUSMA / #USMCA review, check out @ccianet.bsky.social's submission to #USTR. It calls out how the Online News Act and Streaming Act threaten cross-border digital trade: ccianet.org/news/2025/11...

11/ TL;DR – The 2026 #CUSMA review offers a chance to fix the broken parts of Canada’s digital policy framework. Get it right, and we can cut costs, unlock choice, and build a digital economy that actually works for Canadians.

10/ Many were pissed about how the #DST was scrapped, and I get that, but progressives should actually feel some relief. The tax wasn't well thought through. It would’ve raised prices and invited retaliation. Rescinding it was the right call so we can focus on the bigger picture.

9/ Over the summer, @mark-carney.bsky.social said he would repeal it. #Budget2025 hasn’t formally rescinded it yet, but a full, legislative repeal is expected in the upcoming Budget Implementation Bill (maybe next week?).

8/ Finally, the Digital Services Tax #DST, a 3% tax on large tech firms’ revenues. It was supposed to target Big Tech but, in practice, would’ve hit consumers and small businesses stretched by high costs of living.

7/ Again, @stevenguilbeault.bsky.social says a repeal isn’t on the table. But if we’re serious about affordability, this should absolutely be part of the trade review. A fair deal means Canadians get more for less, not the other way around.

6/ Next: the Online Streaming Act, a 5% levy (read: tax) on streaming services, now being challenged in court. The outcome is predictable: higher prices for Canadians. Add in heavy-handed regs and we risk deterring new entrants. Less competition. Fewer choices. globalnews.ca/news/1121874...

5/ Minister @stevenguilbeault.bsky.social says his government won’t repeal the law. But the #CUSMA review is a chance to push pro-consumer outcomes. Elsewhere, USTR's #CUSMA consultation submissions have flagged the Online News Act and other Canadian laws as a sticking point.

4/ The results? News outlets lost 85% of their engagement on Facebook and Instagram (meo.ca/work/old-new...). One Indigenous-led outlet said 40% of its total traffic vanished, meaning fewer readers for stories written by and for #Indigenous voices (reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/canadas...)

3/ First is the Online News Act—basically a link tax forcing platforms to pay Canadian outlets when linking to their stories. Meta’s response? It pulled news entirely from Facebook and Instagram. Since August 2023, Canadians have been blocked from sharing or reading news on major platforms.

2/ Trudeau’s digital agenda talked fairness but delivered higher costs and less choice. Behind the nice-sounding slogans are policies that function like hidden taxes—taxes that have left us with fewer options for what we can see and share online.

My thoughts on the right path forward to support Canada's tech sector: progresschamber.org/insights/pat...

Whatever your politics, the #DST was never going to hit Big Tech. It was going to hit Canadians.

Even progressives should feel some relief when its repealed. The costs would’ve landed hardest on people already struggling in an affordability crisis.

The #DST never really made sense and was always going to be passed on to Canadians.

The budget *references* DST repeal a few times and even says CRA will wind down the team working on it – but there's nothing formally repealing it in the Ways and Means Motion.

5/ As I wrote for @progresschamber.org recently, a hybrid approach where we protect what matters while still using global platforms safely and strategically is our best path forward–and we need a regulatory framework that supports that: progresschamber.org/insights/rea...

4/ Canada needs a digital strategy that opens doors for competitors and innovation, not one that further entrenches incumbency.

3/ A real risk here is that, taken too far, digital sovereignty policies could actually deepen the problem by reinforcing the power of our incumbents. If “sovereignty” becomes code for “protect the status quo,” I worry consumers and businesses will be the ones who pay the price.

2/ Companies like Bell have argued that Canada needs domestically controlled data centres to “ensure no one can turn Canada off.” It's a catchy line, but the government’s own white paper on digital sovereignty makes clear that full technological autonomy just isn’t realistic.