Thank you.
With respect to the first part of your question regarding the deregulation of telecommunications in the major urban centres, that process is now being managed by the CRTC.
In the forbearance ruling, as a government, we set some objective and simple criteria for the CRTC to apply. And the CRTC will be applying those criteria when a traditional phone company, such as Bell or Telus, comes forward with an application to deregulate services in a given urban centre. The criteria are that there must be competition and that the quality of service has to be maintained.
The CRTC has three months to carry out it analysis—or possibly four; I will be providing additional clarification in that regard subsequently. Following that analysis, deregulation is automatic, if the criteria are met. So, I expect people living in major urban centres, such as Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver or Halifax, to benefit from deregulation—in other words, from better offers and better prices—and that deregulation will be truly effective.
I cannot tell you when all of Canada will be deregulated, but we do expect the impact of this new policy to be felt within months. Consumers will then benefit from better products and better prices, something which is healthy for the economy as a whole.
As regards the expert panel on competition that we intend to create, I want to thank you for the names that you have suggested. I have noted them, because we are now at the point where we need to find competent individuals to be part of that expert panel. We are looking for people who are independent. As I mentioned a little earlier, their mandate will, to some extent, reflect the model used for the expert panel on telecommunications, and it will be very transparent.
I expect that expert panel to be able to put questions directly to Canadians and hear their answers, hold public hearings and, finally, carry out its work. They will be supported by the experts they have selected. This is important work that we are asking of the panel and it will not be limited only to the Competition Act; it's important to state that. There may be other statutes, other policies or other government orders that inhibit competition here in Canada, and it will be the job of that expert panel to make that known to us.
With respect to copyright, I am currently working in close cooperation with Bev Oda . We are preparing legislation to ensure that Canada can meet its international obligation to protect against infringement of copyright. Indeed, I believe it was announced this morning that the Minister of Justice will soon be tabling a bill regarding film piracy.
In some areas of the country, people now go to see movies, record them and make them available over the Internet or sell them. When we table a bill this week or next, we will be attempting to ensure that this kind of action becomes a criminal offence under the Criminal Code. We are very serious about wanting to combat forgery. In addition, there will likely be other measures brought forward through that bill on copyright which I am currently working on with Ms. Oda.
Thank you for that question, which gave me an opportunity to provide you with an update.