This week, OpenMedia.ca presented at a high-level regulatory hearing by the CRTC - not normally an occasion for public excitement. But this hearing is unique: It's only happening because hundreds of thousands of Canadians called for it. Moving politics is difficult, but the almost half-a-million people who signed our Stop the Meter petition (at StopTheMeter.ca) against metering Internet access have done it. They've shown that citizens will organize to push for greater democracy, even in something as stale as a regulatory proceeding.

Stop the Meter opposed the imposition of usage-based billing, or a metered Internet, which would make Internet access more expensive at a time when we already pay some of the world's highest fees and enjoy almost no competition or choice. The outcry by Canadians forced politicians from all the major parties to speak out as well, and sent the CRTC back to the drawing board to rework its outdated pricing rules. It demonstrated that citizens acting together can definitely influence politics through more than just elections.

The hearings this week are historic not just because of the way they came about, but because of the 100,000 Canadians who have sent in submissions - again, an unprecedented level of citizen engagement for any issue. Canadians are not just vocal, they are extremely well-informed. If the CRTC would only take a look at the discussions on Open-Media.ca's Facebook page (at www. facebook.com/openmedia), they'd probably make more enlightened decisions.

Acting on behalf of Canadians - since, as a citizen-centred organization, we all believe that the public interest is primary, and what defines our self-interest - OpenMedia. ca and our partners at the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic put forward a fact-based submission. Canadians have been clear and the evidence is there to back them up.

The outcome of this hearing must be based on facts, because we know that the big telecom giants cannot be trusted. They are now saying they can make a profit by charging 19 cents per gigabyte for indie ISPs, while still claiming they must charge Canadians upwards of $5 per gigabyte. The numbers don't add up.

We can no longer allow decisions to be clouded by industry misrepresentations. We are not facing a "bandwidth crisis" - that is, a shortage of high-speed Internet that means we need to curtail use. If Big Telecom is having trouble keeping up with demand, the best way to deal with it is network investment (increasing supply). Since 2001, investment in network infrastructure in Canada as a percentage of revenue has hovered between 16 and 20 per cent and consistently lagged behind the OECD average. Reasonable levels of network investment are enough to address current growth rates. Functional marketplaces meet demand by increasing supply, not by squashing demand and seeing who can gouge Canadians most.

These are the facts, and it's important we get them straight.

It's not OK for Big Telecom to invest less of its revenue than its global peers and then claim it needs to gouge Canadians to make up for this underinvestment. This is irresponsible, and frankly, immoral.

We've heard from disabled Canadians who rely on the Internet for independence; from graphic designers and filmmakers who are being priced out of their craft (at a time when the web has the potential to enable typically marginalized voices to be heard); from businesses that are unable to invest in digital services because of the precarious nature of broadband pricing. Canadians are witnessing the opportunity that the Internet can provide, both personally and on a national scale, and the way in which this opportunity is being choked off by the stranglehold of a few companies.

A unique situation has developed: one in which all of Canada, ordinary people, businesses, civil society, and the facts are on one side, and a few big telecom giants and their rhetoric are on the other. The anti-democratic potential of this situation is quite clear - but the CRTC now has a chance to demonstrate that it listens to Canadians.

Reilly Yeo is the managing director at OpenMedia.ca. Steve Anderson is founder and executive director of OpenMedia.ca.