$10 million not enough of a deterrent, Péladeau says
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – The maximum fine of $10 million for a first offence available to the CRTC to impose on violators of its rules is not enough for Bell Canada, Quebecor president and CEO Pierre-Karl Péladeau said Tuesday.
“I’m sorry to say this, it’s like a drop of water in the ocean,” he said Tuesday evening in an appearance in front of the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, which is studying spending on large projects. “It doesn’t amount to much for a company like them…to delay the competition, it would be a very small sum for them to pay.”
Last week, the CRTC found Bell violated regulations by not giving Quebecor’s telecom arm Videotron express access to its support structures, and ordered the telco behemoth to provide those permits within 35 days.
But in order to deter future violations, the regulator also said it will embark on a subsequent process in which it will determine how much Bell will pay under its administrative monetary penalty framework. Currently, the regulator has the power to impose a penalty of $10 million for a first violation and $15 million for subsequent violations.
Péladeau said Tuesday that isn’t enough. “Perhaps higher penalties would have to be imposed,” he said.
“It is essential that the governments maintain that pressure on Bell regarding access to support infrastructure and should even question the possibility of applying significant sanctions in the event that Bell might refuse to comply with the legislation as is all too often the case.”
Péladeau also pointed to the fact that Bell has service contracts with the federal and Quebec governments, alluding to its size and influence. (Videotron brought a legal action against the federal government for allegedly unfairly awarding Bell a telecom contract for a G7 summit in 2018.)
Access to structures like poles is a crucial component of connectivity for all telecoms, which must be able to put their communications equipment on them to provide service. The large telephone companies Bell and Telus have the advantage of a large network of such poles, including historic agreements on tower sharing with provincial utilities companies, where cable companies like Videotron don’t.
Péladeau said Tuesday Bell’s access interference would make connecting all of Quebec an impossibility. The province recently launched a near-billion-dollar project called Operation High Speed to connect the entire province by the fall of 2022. That was developed following the creation of a “co-ordination table” to, among other things, discuss timely and equitable access to telephone and utility poles for telecoms.
The CEO also reflected on the CRTC’s decision to impose a limited mandatory mobile wholesale model that would allow regional companies like Videotron to lease wireless capacity from the national carriers, saying the facilities-based model is “here to stay” and is the most effective way of achieving a stable fourth operator.
Despite the two decisions in its favour, Péladeau seized the moment to again draw attention to the alleged danger of allowing Rogers to purchase Shaw. Announced in mid-March, the deal would effectively eliminate Shaw as a fourth player in major markets. Péladeau, who previously suggested that Videotron would be an ideal caretaker of Freedom because of capital and experience, doubled-down on the suggestion that the mobile carrier be released from a merged entity.
