Canadian Internet Forum (CIF) 2013 — In-Depth Report: Minutes Digest & 3-Line Summary

The 3-Line Summary

1. On 28 February 2013 the third-year Canadian Internet Forum (CIF) met at the Ottawa Convention Centre, with federal Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart delivering the keynote and a year-round online consultation kicking off.
2. Digital literacy, cyber-security and internet governance framed the day; an open-internet advocate and a CRTC commissioner shared a panel on telecom regulation, under CIRA's principle that internet decisions must not be made behind closed doors.
3. The CIF expanded into a year-round dialogue, and in September Montreal hosted the first combined CIF and AGM — the year Canada's national IGF evolved from an annual event into a continuous consultation.

Welcome — this is the Japan IGF Support Organization. This in-depth report on Canadian Internet Forum (CIF) 2013 draws on official outputs, session records and on-site reporting. In a hurry? The three lines above and the diagrams carry the gist.

Conference at a Glance (from official records)

(See the source list at the end of this article.)

Discussion Digest — from the Session Records

Key exchanges extracted from session records and transcripts.

1. The Privacy Commissioner's Keynote — Online Privacy on the Front Line

Sessions: Keynote by federal Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart (morning, 28 February)

• Federal Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart opened the day with a keynote on online privacy [1][2]
• The presence of a regulator known worldwide for taking on Facebook signalled privacy's place at the centre of Canada's internet policy agenda that year [1][2]

2. 'Not Behind Closed Doors' — A Principle of Open Internet Governance

Sessions: Host remarks and the forum as a whole

"We believe that decisions about the Internet should not be made behind closed doors without public knowledge or participation. Everyone who attends can have a voice."
— Byron Holland (President and CEO, CIRA) [1][2]

"The Internet by its very nature is always on and always evolving. How we use it and how we govern it to our best advantage is a conversation that must keep pace."
— Byron Holland (President and CEO, CIRA) [1][2]

• 'Canadians are the heaviest Internet users in the world and it is vital that we have a national forum where we can discuss and debate the hot topics that are helping to shape the Canadian Internet landscape' (Holland) [1][2]
• Attendance was free in person and online, with a live national webcast [1][2]

3. OpenMedia Meets the CRTC — The Panel Everyone Watched

Sessions: Panels on policy and governance and on digital literacy

• The pairing of Steve Anderson (OpenMedia.ca), an outspoken critic of government policy and incumbent carriers, with CRTC commissioner Tim Denton — the gatekeeper of telecom regulation — was billed by the host itself as the panel to watch [1][4]
• Karen Mulberry (Internet Society), Matthew Johnson (MediaSmarts), Kerry Augustine (Canadian Cyber Defence Challenge) and journalist Shane Schick also took the stage [1][4]
• Digital literacy, cyber-security and internet governance formed the day's three pillars [1][4]

4. Going Year-Round — and to Montreal in the Fall: The 'Fourth CIF'

Sessions: Year-round online consultation, plus the combined CIF and AGM (16 September, Centre Mont-Royal, Montreal, 9 a.m.–6 p.m.)

• The February event doubled as the kickoff of a year-round consultation via cif.cira.ca, Facebook and Twitter (#ciraif) [2][3]
• On 16 September, Montreal's Centre Mont-Royal hosted the first-ever combined CIF and AGM — counted by CIRA as the fourth CIF — on Canada's place in the global internet and online safety, with Google digital-marketing evangelist Avinash Kaushik keynoting at lunch [2][3]
• Holland addressed online government surveillance, drawing on a landmark Ipsos Reid survey of Canadians conducted that summer — just after the Snowden revelations broke [2][3]

Three-Minute Short Talk — Your Questions Answered

Q. What did the meeting decide?

A. Nothing — it launched a consultation. The Privacy Commissioner's keynote opened a day of panels, which rolled into a year-round dialogue where any Canadian could weigh in via the CIF website and social media.

Q. What was the most contentious moment?

A. Seating OpenMedia's Steve Anderson — a vocal critic of telecom incumbents and government policy — next to CRTC commissioner Tim Denton, the very gatekeeper of telecom regulation. CIRA itself billed it as the panel to watch.

Q. Why should I care?

A. 2013 was the Snowden year: Canada's forum put surveillance and privacy before ordinary citizens, with the regulator in the room. It also went year-round and even took the forum to Montreal — a template for keeping digital policy debates alive between annual events.

What Is Canada IGF? (for first-time readers)

Canada IGF is a National or Regional IGF Initiative (NRI), aligning local internet governance discussion with global IGF principles.

Why It Matters to You

What was discussed here becomes the baseline for national digital policy, platform rules and AI regulation worldwide within a few years. The principles confirmed at the 2013 meeting are the foundation of the "next rules" for the phones, social platforms and AI services you use every day.

Sources & References

1. The Internet and you: It's time for Canadians to speak up (26 February 2013) — CIRA（CNW/newswire.ca プレスリリース） (accessed 2026-07-11)
2. Canadians can have their say through Canadian Internet Forum (28 February 2013) — CIRA（CNW/newswire.ca プレスリリース） (accessed 2026-07-11)
3. Discuss, debate, participate – CIRA's Canadian Internet Forum and AGM only days away (12 September 2013) — CIRA（CNW/newswire.ca プレスリリース） (accessed 2026-07-11)
4. The Canadian Internet Forum (CIF) — Webnames.ca Blog (accessed 2026-07-11)
5. Canada — country report: Internet governance — APC (accessed 2026-07-11)

Quotes are translated or condensed from the records listed above. Bracketed numbers [n] refer to the source list.

Related links

• IGF official (NRI list): https://www.intgovforum.org/en/content/national-and-regional-igf-initiatives
• Japan IGF: https://japanigf.jp/
• Yuki Nakazawa's blog: https://nkzw.jp/category/igf/

Revision History

Rev. 1 — published 22 July 2013, 09:00 (Article published)

Rev. 2 — updated 16 July 2026, 20:09 (Fully revised into the in-depth edition: added the 3-line summary, minutes digest, short talk, source list and diagrams (all quotes verified against the listed sources))

— 中澤祐樹