Oligopolies like Bell's are hurting Canadians. Nowhere is that more evident than in my province of Manitoba.
In 2017, we were told that Bell buying out MTS would bring in better rates and service. With the Liberals' approval, you spent $3.9 billion to purchase Manitoba Telecom Services, a company that was at one time proudly publicly owned. Not only have our rates gone up, but the quality of the service has gone down, no doubt linked to the fact that you cut over 45% of the Manitoba workforce. This reality is clear in our region.
I have a picture here shared by my constituent, Susann Sinclair, who lives in Dallas. She's forced to use a walkie-talkie to communicate with her 89-year-old veteran father who lives down the road because Bell-MTS's land lines don't work in their community. Why? Because Bell-MTS refuses to do the maintenance required: land lines that belong to Bell-MTS in Canada in 2024.
Perhaps the most egregious example of the way in which Bell-MTS has taken Manitobans for granted is Bloodvein First Nation, which was in communication with Bell-MTS for a number of months, starting in 2020, about setting up and operating a cellphone tower. A year later, when the wildfires of 2021 hit the region, the first nation asked to work with Bell urgently. At this point, they had built a cellphone tower. They had the equipment set up. All they needed from Bell was for it to turn on a switch and get the cellphones working.
As the wildfires raged and multiple communities were evacuating, including theirs, the smoke engulfed Winnipeg and reached southern Ontario. Bell-MTS told Bloodvein that they had to pay $652,000 to turn on a switch and get cell service to a community that was eight miles from a burning wildfire—cell service that could help save lives.
Oligopolies like yours have failed Manitobans, first nations, workers and Canadians across the board. Do you find it acceptable that your company rejected Bloodvein's requests at a time of real crisis? Will you work with them to get them cell service?