This bill was last introduced in the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session, which ended in August 2015.
This bill was previously introduced in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session.
Bruce Hyer NDP
Introduced as a private member’s bill. (These don’t often become law.)
Outside the Order of Precedence (a private member's bill that hasn't yet won the draw that determines which private member's bills can be debated), as of Nov. 3, 2011
(This bill did not become law.)
This is from the published bill. The Library of Parliament often publishes better independent summaries.
This enactment provides that a telecommunications service provider is obligated to
(a) inform a consumer who intends to purchase a cellular telephone from the provider whether the network access of the telephone is restricted by a lock;
(b) remove free of charge, after the service contract has expired, any network lock that has been applied to a cellular telephone purchased at a discounted price by a consumer as a condition of entering into a service contract with the provider; and
(c) remove free of charge any network lock that has been applied to a cellular telephone purchased by a consumer from the provider if the consumer does not enter into a service contract of at least six months in duration with the provider or if the consumer pays the total cost of the telephone handset before taking possession of it.
All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from the Library of Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.
TelecommunicationsPetitionsRoutine Proceedings
November 28th, 2012 / 3:20 p.m.
Independent
Bruce Hyer Independent Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
Mr. Speaker, I also have the pleasure of presenting a petition on behalf of residents from across Ontario in support of my cellphone freedom act, Bill C-343, which would take an important step in providing greater consumer choice in the marketplace.
The petitioners are asking parliamentarians to support Bill C-343 so Canadian consumers are no longer chained by anti-competitive network locks on their cellphones.
TelecommunicationsPetitionsRoutine Proceedings
November 19th, 2012 / 3:15 p.m.
Independent
Bruce Hyer Independent 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.
TelecommunicationsPetitionsRoutine Proceedings
November 2nd, 2012 / 12:10 p.m.
Independent
Bruce Hyer Independent 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.
Telecommunications IndustryPetitionsRoutine Proceedings
February 17th, 2012 / 12:15 p.m.
NDP
Bruce Hyer NDP 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 NDP 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)