Industry committee  I can't speak to whether that number itself is enough. We have heard from independent ISPs that immediate relief was really critical, so we are happy that immediate relief did come. I will wait to see what the CRTC does with its review. OpenMedia will, no doubt, bring forward the opinions of our close to 300,000 community members and those of Canadians who have a stake in this issue.

Industry committee  First, we know that ISED is looking at reforming the Competition Act. There are a number of things they could do to lessen the force that monopoly powers play in our economy, and reducing the clout of monopoly powers in Canada is certainly going to improve things for smaller companies.

Industry committee  We did hear from some other folks in talking about this bill that there are possibilities to strengthen the bill to empower consumers. We would be happy with any sort of further strengthening that would empower consumers and protect consumers from being abused by big telecom in the ways that they are and the ways that we have heard for decades.

Industry committee  No problem. Yes, rural and remote households are absolutely affected the most—or anyone who relies on low-cost Internet services, particularly rural and remote households. For most of us, high-speed Internet underperformance is going to be irritating and will still be a huge problem, but when lower-speed Internet of the kind you would get in a rural community underperforms, it's effectively denying people an essential service.

Industry committee  I'm happy to reiterate that the new CRTC policy direction on its own will not address the broadband-speed advertising issue at hand that we're discussing. As a regulatory framework, the policy direction doesn't go far enough without a corresponding legislative application, which this bill, in particular, will provide.

Industry committee  The CRTC has to use the policy direction as a framework when it makes its decisions on cases that are in front of it. That's why I mentioned in my testimony that putting those cases in front of the CRTC is going to be really key to making sure there is actually an enforceability element to the policy direction as is.

Industry committee  Absolutely.

Industry committee  I'm sorry. Was that a question for me?

Industry committee  For anyone in Canada, the reduction of competition is a huge problem, and we are seeing right now an extinction event for independent Internet service providers. That really goes back to the dysfunction happening right now in the wholesale access system, as you've mentioned. Wholesale high-speed access rates are clearly inflated, and the wholesale fibre-to-the-home access system has not been functionally implemented to date.

Industry committee  Thank you. Good afternoon. My name is Erin Knight. Today I'm calling in from New York City, which is the traditional homeland of the Lenape. Thank you for the chance to speak today on behalf of the OpenMedia community, comprising nearly 300,000 people in Canada. OpenMedia is a non-partisan grassroots organization that works to keep the Internet open, affordable and surveillance-free.

Canadian Heritage committee  Thanks, Matt. Yes, I'd love to talk about how this buyout is going to make connectivity more expensive in Canada. Foundationally, I really need to stress that Canada has a massive affordability problem when it comes to internet and cell phone bills. We've seen study after study that have shown that Canada already pays some of the highest prices in the world for these services, as you mentioned.