This paper outlines the course of development of radio communication in Canada from the earliest days to the present, looking at some of the factors that influenced its direction as well as at the scientific and technological breakthroughs that made possible and improved and expanded its applications in society. It begins with a lengthy discussion of the history of non-broadcast radio communication in Canada. A brief description of the basic scientific principles upon which radio communication is based follows. An examination of the evolution of radio technology from the earliest mathematical equations and laboratory experiments through the rudimentary systems devised by the first inventors in the field and into the modern era of fully electronic radio technology concludes the paper. Most of the information is taken from government records, both archival and published.

Media Divides offers a comprehensive democratic audit of communications law and policy. Using the concept of communications rights as a framework for analysis in five key domains – media, access, the Internet, privacy, and copyright – leading analysts reveal that Canada’s failure to respond adequately to a host of pressures and developments has left its citizens with unequal access to the nation’s communications system and the freedom of expression it promises. Media Divides not only offers the first up-to-date account of the democratic deficits in Canada’s communications policy, it formulates recommendations – including the establishment of a Canadian right to communicate – for the future.

This book attempts to capture the nature and history of marine radio communications in Canada, based largely on first-person accounts, beginning from Marconi's invention and the establishment of the first commercial marine radio station in North America. The role of marine radio in protecting ships and their crews is noted throughout, including the participation of Canadian radio operators in such disasters as the sinking of the Titanic and the Empress of Ireland. Other topics covered include the establishment of marine radio networks, transatlantic communications, Coast Guard radio, marine traffic services, and radio navigation.