I come from Bell myself. There are a number of assumptions in what you said, but it is certain that CEP has been opposed to raising the restrictions on foreign policy for more than 35 years. Here we're talking about Videotron, Bell and Telus, but Bell and Videotron are the ones I know best as regards the modernization of their networks and high-speed Internet access in particular. Those companies still target the major centres.
You're asking whether competition would be more beneficial for Canadians. That might perhaps be the case in the major centres like Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. Subscribers would be better served. However, in the areas adjacent to those major centres or out a little further, in the rural areas, people have been fighting for years for universality and access at the same price. It costs a great deal more to serve rural areas because it is extremely costly to install networks in those regions.
I believe that none of the stakeholders here have any trouble with Canadian competition as it currently stands. As you mentioned, the government has decided to reverse the CRTC's decision, which we think is appropriate. That's what scares us. Globalive's entry in the cellular market leaves the door wide open. As noted in the media:...the government has just allowed foreign ownership in Canada beyond what is provided for by the act. Every foreign company that can find a front can now enter the country by replicating the model.
Here we're talking about the Globalive model. That company is a small communications player, but if the foreign ownership restriction were raised and companies like AT&T, Verizon, Deutsche Telekom and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone decided to come to Canada, they could buy Bell, Telus and Videotron in one fell swoop. Who would the Canadian clientele then be served by? What would happen to jobs in the sector in Canada? Of course, direct customer service would remain here. Technicians and their trucks couldn't be sent to India or Japan. However, all administrative jobs would be transferred elsewhere.
Here's the best example I can give you. As I told the chairman earlier, we represent the employees of Teleglobe, which was bought up by Tata Communications, an Indian company. Eighty per cent of the jobs of the members we represent were transferred to India. It is clear that, if we allow foreign companies to invest in this market, that will not only constitute a threat to everything we've mentioned in our presentation, but it will also ensure that jobs are transferred elsewhere. That's what troubles us.