PIAC Comments on “Order Issuing a Direction to the CRTC on a Renewed Approach to Telecommunications

The government has developed this new policy “with a view to building on the strengths and addressing the challenges faced in Canada’s telecommunications sector.” While the new policy does somewhat build upon the previous 2006 and 2019 policy directions, PIAC’s view is that the improvements are too few and the policy direction overall too permissive to adequately address the telecommunications mar. [...] The significant impacts of the government’s refusal to overturn the decision was largely obfuscated by the policy direction announcement, which PIAC views as a smokescreen against consumers who are calling on the government to actively rein in a CRTC that is failing them. [...] The Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement specified that “[i]f the response to the petitions were issued on its own, it would misrepresent the Government’s broad policy, and risk sending the wrong message to stakeholders.”15 PIAC submits that, despite the government’s efforts, the “wrong” message was sent anyway. [...] PIAC submits that the Minister, in recognition that the Commission is already failing to fulfill most of the existing policy directions, must redraft the proposed policy direction in a more prescriptive manner, including explicit directions to implement a true MVNO framework, adhere to explicit timeframes for the release of decisions and tariffs, as well as for reviewing aspects of the regulatory. [...] Consumers should be able to depend on the Commission to act in their interests, and where the regulator fails, the government must commit to reversing decisions that fail to implement the government’s policy direction.