QUESTION PERIOD — Canadian Heritage
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
December 17, 2024
I’m asking this question on behalf of Senator Deacon of Nova Scotia, who unexpectedly can’t be here in the chamber with us.
Senator Gold, a year ago, the CRTC issued an order forcing Bell, TELUS and SaskTel to allow smaller competitors to buy access to fibre-optic cable nationwide. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, or CRTC, decision, which was supported by the Competition Bureau, would have improved competition in internet services markets across Canada, but especially in Ontario and Quebec where Bell, Rogers, Vidéotron and Cogeco dominate.
It appears that Bell petitioned the government over this matter in the spring. Unfortunately, the cabinet has just blocked the CRTC’s pro-competitive decision. Consequently, dominant incumbents will not have to provide small competitors in the market with the opportunity to buy access to their infrastructure. This undermines competition, contradicts the CRTC decision — reached after 17 months of public hearings — and flies in the face of the government’s commitment to bring lower telecom prices to Canadians.
Senator Gold, what was the cabinet’s rationale?
Thank you for your question, Senator Quinn, and to Senator Deacon, who I am sure is interested in my answer as well.
My understanding is that it is based upon the Governor-in-Council order. The government has concerns about future and ongoing investments in broadband infrastructure and services in Ontario and Quebec, including in rural, remote and Indigenous communities, and these concerns are that these investments could — if they are unprofitable — lead to a decline in quality and consumer choice in the retail internet services market.
Therefore, the government has referred the CRTC’s decision back to the CRTC to reconsider, no later than 90 days after the day on which the order is made, whether Bell Canada, Rogers Communications Inc. and TELUS Communications Inc. and their affiliates should be prohibited from using integrated fibre-to-the-premises, or FTTP, services in Ontario and Quebec, further to tariffs approved by the commission.
Senator Gold, last year, Minister Champagne overruled the Competition Bureau and approved Rogers sale of Shaw’s wireless service to Vidéotron for a billion-dollar discount, a discount that Rogers’ board would only have approved if they were confident it would deliver increased revenues through higher fees to consumers. Again, an expert decision was overridden politically. Why is the government so explicitly ruling in favour of the big telecom firms?
Thank you, Senator Quinn. This was not a question of overruling. It was a question of the government exhuming its responsibilities to protect consumers by asking the CRTC to reconsider its decision.
