On wilful inaction

The CP notes that some progress is being made in the fight against spam e-mail. But it's worth noting who's actually been making positive contributions, and who hasn't considered the issue a priority:

Technology consultant Neil Schwartzman, a member of Industry Canada's spam task force, said he's worried about Bernier's silence on the issue since being appointed minister in February.

"Nothing has moved forward," Schwartzman said in an interview. "He has ignored the (task force) report."...

The task force was created in 2004 to address the growing problem of unwanted junk e-mail. In May 2005, the task force's recommendations were endorsed by then Industry minister David Emerson...

Industry Canada's director general of e-commerce said the department needs time to take the task force's technical recommendations and transform them into legislation.

There's no definite timetable for an anti-spam bill to be brought before the Commons, Richard Simpson said. "It depends on the government's legislative agenda."

But some of the task force's recommendations have resulted in significant progress, Simpson said.

Over the last year, for example, Canada's Internet service providers have implemented some recommendations and have put a lid on the amount of spam emerging from Canadian-based computers.

Canada was once one of the world's top 10 spam producers, but recent efforts by Internet providers have dropped Canada to 16th.

ISPs apparently deserve plenty of credit for living up to their end of the bargain. But there's also a role to be played by government based on the task force's recommendations. And despite the fact that one of their own Cabinet members has actively acknowledged that role in the past, the Cons' legislative agenda so far apparently hasn't even included looking at the recommendations, let alone acting on them.

Of course, it's understandable that the Cons may not want to put an end to one of the few types of communication even more unwanted than their own repetition of talking points. But that doesn't mean that Canadians generally want much to do with either one. So next time your inbox is loaded with spam, remember that the Cons have decided that it isn't worth their time to follow up on readily-available steps to help solve the problem.