Thank you for your question.
I'm not saying that some telephone companies are charging too much. I'm simply saying that we want to enhance competition. Normally, in any deregulated industry, competition leads to better prices and better service for Canadians.
Based on the test that is proposed here, approximately 60 per cent of the major markets here in Canada will be deregulated once it has been applied by the CRTC. For consumers, that means stiffer competition in the telecommunications industry, where the players are very healthy, financially. There are major players in both the cable and traditional telephone market segments and these people are prepared to compete.
When we apply our test to the major urban centres, the result is that there is less economic regulation affecting the major players. Experience has shown that less price regulation leads to much lower prices; in any case, that is what has happened in the past.
Earlier, I used the example of long distance pricing, which went from 30¢ a minute in Canada, before deregulation, to 10¢ a minute. Do I have any assurance that this will occur in a deregulated industry? Well, I don't have a crystal ball, but I can tell you that competition always benefits consumers, and we are undertaking this reform in the interests of consumers.