OTTAWA – Back in February 2019, we weren’t sure we’d see sunshine again or see the Raptors win the NBA championship(!!), but Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister Innovation, Science and Economic Development Navdeep Bains decided that one day he would have the sun shine on consumers in the form of more affordable wireless plans, and issued a proposed telecommunications Policy Direction to that effect.
This is a rare occurrence. The last time it had been done was by then Conservative Industry Minister Maxime Bernier, back in 2006.
After the consultation mandated by statute was completed, the policy direction is now in force as of June 16th.
“As long as Canadians pay too steep a price for their cellphone and Internet bills, our government will take extraordinary means to continue driving down the prices of telecommunications services. We are also fostering a climate of investment and innovation for Canada’s telecom service providers to improve the quality of services delivered to Canadians. Today, we are giving clear direction to the CRTC that consumers and innovation must be at the forefront of all future telecom decisions,” said Bains in the press release.
For what it’s worth, here’s what then-Minster Bernier had to say back in ’06 in presenting his policy objective: “By issuing the Policy Direction, we have taken a significant step forward in making Canada’s telecommunications regulatory system more modern, flexible and efficient. We want to ensure that Canada’s telecommunications industry is internationally competitive and successful and is shaped to best support our ever-evolving and rapidly changing telecommunications needs.”
Despite some 73 comments that were filed with ISED, as Cartt.ca reported, the new, official directives are different in only two instances from what had been proposed in March. We’ve italicized the additions (Ed note: the addition of the word “investment” is interesting as some of the carriers had asked for exactly that):
“The Commission should consider how its decisions can promote competition, affordability, consumer interests and innovation, in particular the extent to which they
- encourage all forms of competition and investment,
- foster affordability and lower prices, particularly when telecommunications service providers exercise market power,
- ensure that affordable access to high-quality telecommunications services is available in all regions of Canada, including rural areas,
- enhance and protect the rights of consumers in their relationships with telecommunications service providers, including rights related to accessibility,
- reduce barriers to entry into the market and to competition for telecommunications service providers that are new, regional or smaller than the incumbent national service providers,
- enable innovation in telecommunications services, including new technologies and differentiated service offerings, and
- stimulate investment in research and development and in other intangible assets that support the offer and provision of telecommunications services;”
The preamble was also modified to reflect the existence of the prior order, which is not actually being rescinded, and the government also said there will be additional guidance issued to clarify that when the CRTC finds itself caught between the 2006 and 2019 directives, that the 2019 directive must take precedence.
In full legalese, that preamble now reads: “Whereas the Governor in Council, in 2006, issued to the CRTC an order entitled Order Issuing a Direction to the CRTC on Implementing the Canadian Telecommunications Policy Objectives; Whereas the telecommunications market and its regulation have changed since 2006 and the Governor in Council is of the opinion that additional directions should be issued to the Commission as a result of those changes; Whereas one of the purposes of the additional directions is to guide the Commission on how the 2006 Direction is to be implemented;” reads the Order in Council.
In the consultation some had argued that keeping both policy direction active at the same time made little sense – yet this is now the law.
The 2006 direction was all about market forces and the 2019 one is about consumers. Not irreconcilable but we will see how the Commission interprets it.
Speaking of the Commission, chair Ian Scott had this to say in a statement about his new marching orders.
“As we continue our work to ensure that Canadians have a choice of innovative and affordable telecommunications services, this policy direction will be applied to current and future telecommunications proceedings, including the review of mobile wireless services and other proceedings where final submissions have not yet been made,” reads Scott’s statement.
“We will continue to engage with Canadians in innovative ways to ensure their views and needs are part of the public record of our proceedings that enable us to make decisions in the public interest.”
As for the operators themselves, independent ISP TekSavvy pronounced itself satisfied with the new direction, saying it “hopes the CRTC will quickly fix policies that deny consumer choice and keep prices high, such as by setting fair wholesale rates, removing Internet speed caps on competitors, and finally opening up the wireless sector for competition,” reads its release.
“Now it is up to the CRTC to make decisions so that competition lowers prices and improves service offerings,” added Marc Gaudrault, TekSavvy’s CEO. “TekSavvy is committed to growing in Canada, and we will continue to invest in infrastructure, innovations, and communities.”
Perhaps unsurprisngly, the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association used the announcement to re-re-iterate it’s reminder that investments in facilities-based competition is the best way to serve Canadians and keep prices affordable.
“While we welcome the Policy Direction’s recognition of the importance of investment and ensuring that telecom services are available to all Canadians – including in rural communities – it is Canada’s facilities-based wireless providers that have made the massive investments required to build Canada’s world-class wireless networks,” reads the CWTA statement.
“Only facilities-based providers are capable of making the future investments necessary to bring the latest wireless innovations, such as 5G, to all Canadians.”
