Bill C-343

Bruce Hyer Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is in regard to my cellphone freedom act, Bill C-343. People from across Ontario ask us to support the cellphone freedom act, which would remove anti-competitive network locks on their cellular phones.

Bruce Hyer Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON

Mr. Speaker, my second petition is on the cell phone freedom act. I am pleased to present a petition on behalf of residents of Montreal, Calgary, Kamloops, Edmonton and Ottawa in support of the cell phone freedom act to provide more customer choice and promote competition in the domestic wireless market.

The petitioners want to support my Bill C-343 so that Canadian consumers are no longer chained by anti-competitive network locks on their cellular phones.

Bruce Hyer Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON

Madam Speaker, today I have the pleasure of presenting a petition on behalf of residents from coast to coast from Halifax, Dartmouth, Cole Harbour, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton and Coquitlam, all in support of my cellphone freedom act and for taking an important step to providing more consumer choice and to promoting competition in the domestic wireless market.

The petitioners ask parliamentarians to support Bill C-343 so that Canadian consumers are no longer chained by anti-competitive network locks on their cellular phones, locks which prevent them from switching carriers, from getting full value when they sell their phones or from using local SIM cards when travelling abroad.

Bruce Hyer Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-343, An Act respecting the locking of cellular telephones.

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure today to introduce a private member's bill, the cellphone freedom bill. The bill takes an important step, providing more consumer choice and promoting competition in the domestic wireless market. It would do that by striking a healthy balance on the issue of mobile phone network locks.

Network locks means that Canadian consumers' cellphones are locked to work only on the network of the carrier from which they buy their phone. The cellphone freedom act would level the playing field for Canadian cellphone customers. It would mandate that consumers buying new cellphones in Canada must be informed of any cell network lock on their phones before sale. It would require phone companies to unlock handsets upon request, without charge, when consumers purchase new phones outright. It says that carriers must unlock handsets upon request, free of charge again, when a consumer comes to the end of his or her service contract, or any time thereafter.

I invite members of all parties to stand up for competition and consumers and support the cellphone freedom bill.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)