Wednesday, June 5, 2024

The Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications has the honour to table its

TENTH REPORT

Your committee, which was authorized to examine the subject matter of those elements contained in Divisions 27 and 37 of Part 4 of Bill C-69, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on April 16, 2024, has, in obedience to the order of reference of Thursday, May 9, 2024, examined the said subject matter and now reports as follows:

Division 27 of Part 4 provides that the subsidiary of VIA Rail Canada Inc. incorporated with the corporate name VIA HFR - VIA TGF Inc. is, as of the date of its incorporation, an agent of His Majesty in right of Canada and may enter into contracts, agreements and other arrangements with His Majesty as though it were not such an agent.

Division 37 of Part 4 amends the Telecommunications Act to, among other things, require telecommunications service providers to provide their subscribers with a self-service mechanism that allows them to cancel their contract for telecommunications services or modify their telecommunications service plan and to inform those subscribers before the expiry of their fixed-term contract, as well as in other specified circumstances, of other service plans that those providers offer.

On May 22, 2024 the committee heard officials from Transport Canada. The committee also heard officials from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) on May 21, 2024 and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) on May 28, 2024.

Transport Canada representatives characterized the proposed High Frequency Rail (HFR) between Toronto and Quebec City as a nation building project. The VIA HRF would be the largest infrastructure project undertaken since the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway. They suggested that the changes proposed in Division 27 of Part 4 are key to providing certainty in the procurement and land acquisition processes for the HFR project.

The committee would have liked more cost-related details about the proposed HFR project, however, Transport Canada officials explained that they need to respect the ongoing competitive request for proposals (RFP) process and not give out numbers that could influence those proposals. Given the ongoing nature of the RFP process, specific details of the HFR route alignment were also unavailable.

To the committee’s disappointment, VIA Rail officials were unable to appear due to a scheduling conflict.

The committee recognizes the importance of the HFR project, but notes that many smaller communities near — but not part of — the HFR corridor, including Cornwall, Ontario, could also use improvements in VIA Rail’s passenger rail services.

ISED officials explained to the committee how the changes proposed in Division 37 of Part 4 would make it easier for consumers to cancel their telecommunications service plans and find a cheaper one.

Officials from the CRTC discussed its ongoing consumer and competition-focused initiatives, while also explaining to the committee that they already have the power to implement the provisions envisioned in this bill, though it does give them additional “policy cover” for that work.

The committee also heard from the consumer groups, OpenMedia and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, at the May 28, 2024 meeting. These groups suggested that while the proposed changes were beneficial to consumers, they would not address the broader challenge of the lack of competition in the Canadian telecommunications sector.

In general, these consumer groups also noted that the pace of the CRTC’s work has slowed down since 2017-2018.

The committee recognizes that the subject matter in Division 27 and Division 37 of Part 4 of Bill C-69 are very complex in nature. Having no clear connection to the government’s budgetary policy, the committee hopes that, in the future, such content would be introduced in separate legislation.

Having heard from witnesses on the subject matter of the parts listed above, your committee supports the proposed changes.

Respectfully submitted,