Industry committee  I think a better number to look at is return on capital. If you look at the return on capital, the amount of capital that was invested in companies like ours, the return is pretty low. It would be in the low single digits.

Industry committee  Let me add that when we go to the U.S. market, Canada is a very small country for the U.S. investors. They have a pool of investment to make, and they allocate this pool of investment to various countries. There are various sectors as well. By the time they get to telecom or broa

Industry committee  I think, simply, that we would have preferred a pre-qualification prior to the auction. I think we could have resolved all the issues at that point in time. As to whether the government made the right decision, we don't really have a position on that.

Industry committee  I couldn't give you an exact number, but I don't think--

Industry committee  Our third message is that we are opposed to the rule changes that benefit foreign entrants but harm domestic companies. Such an approach is not good public policy or in the best interests of Canada or Canadians. Therefore, it would be unfair and discriminatory to allow a foreign

Canadian Heritage committee  To finish off, if we have to absorb the costs, it means there's less money for investment. Those would be hard business decisions we'd have to make, because at the end of the day we have to ensure that the company remains profitable. Every year we invest over $700 million in our

Canadian Heritage committee  That is correct.

Industry committee  I think Shaw is of the same view, that the tool is too blunt a tool to really be effective in the telecom sector.

Industry committee  We certainly embraced it, and we still do. The issue we raised today was that the devil is always in the details and the details for us are interconnection. We're a facilities-based carrier. This policy, this minister, this government are promoting facilities-based competition. W

Industry committee  What we're saying is that there has been an extensive review of the telecom sector. There have been some significant changes brought forward to ensure that the incumbents and various players in the telecom sector can effectively compete and, through this competition, can deliver

Industry committee  The only thing we are asking for is a review of those regulations whereby market forces can best ensure that consumers are protected and benefit to the maximum extent possible from competition between various players. Those are the areas in which we are recommending changes. Sp

Industry committee  We were supportive of the order, and we still are supportive of the order. Our only addition would be what we mentioned in our comments today, which is that we would like to see a similar order on the broadcasting side that would allow us to more effectively compete on the teleco

Industry committee  I think it goes without saying that you certainly would like to make sure the minister has the best information possible to make a decision; however, time is money. I think we have to move, and move rapidly, because right now there's uncertainty as to what the regulatory regime w

Industry committee  To give you an example, we are a facility-based carrier. This policy, or the government's direction, is certainly to promote facilities-based competition. But we need to interconnect those facilities to the incumbent's existing network. They really control the local network. I ne

Industry committee  Our position, as we tried to elaborate it today, is that our big concern with winback—and Mr. Engelhart mentioned some timelines—is that these restrictions will be removed even before we enter certain markets. At a minimum, these rules should apply until we enter that market; the