Thank you, Chair.
As a government, we've taken a number of steps to increase competition in the wireless sector. We know now that we've actually reduced those costs by over 20%, and we are continuing to take steps to lower costs to Canadian consumers.
As Ms. Quach pointed out, the major investments into the broadband coverage for rural and northern communities are over $300 million, and we are very proud of that. We've invested more than $11 billion in resources since 2006 to support science and technology innovation to help companies open new frontiers for Canadians.
Now, making sure that wireless is as affordable as possible, we expect an auction, along with the other step that was announced in the budget.
With all of this good news, I would fully expect the opposition members to support the budget. How could anybody vote against this?
My question has to do with the competition. This will obviously provide additional competition and additional lowering of prices for Canadians. I was shocked to hear that, formerly, up to 10 times the cost of the service was being charged to the customers. Of course, that would have to be passed on with additional roaming charges.
I just renewed a contract for a phone, which of course is not just a phone now; it's a mini computer that does so many different things. The new contract that I have has free roaming in Canada because they're fully expecting this to be passed. We aren't going to have the roaming charges. The wholesale prices are going to be capped at what the cost is for that service.
That definitely will be passed on to consumers. We're seeing that already in contracts, just like the one I just signed a couple of days ago. Also, there is the 14-day cooling-off period, so you can return the phone if you find it's not what you expected. There are so many good things for Canadian consumers.
How long was the consultation and what were you hearing? Could you elaborate on the consultation phase?