Industry Minister Tony Clement is seeking public feedback on plans to relax foreign ownership restrictions on Canadian telecommunications carriers.

Industry Canada released a consultation paper earlier today outlining current rules and proposing a number of courses of action. The paper asks Canadians to consider three options — increasing the foreign ownership limit from 46.7% to 49%, eliminating the limit for carriers with a market share of under 10%, or eliminating the limit altogether.

“Our goal is to encourage investment, innovation and competition in the telecommunications sector for the benefit of both businesses and consumers,” Clement said. “We look forward to receiving Canadians` views on this important issue.”

Canadians are invited to participate in the consultation by visiting http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/ic1.nsf/eng/05643.html.