Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'm pleased to be joining the committee today, in the place of my colleague, Bernard Généreux, who was unable to attend.
It came as no great surprise to learn recently, through the Journal de Québec, that Rogers was announcing rate increases for cellular packages as early as next week, on January 17. I then remembered all the work done last spring. I was among those who had concerns about certain players in the field. A merger leads to competitiveness issues. When fewer companies provide services to Canadians, rates inevitably rise.
The government promised us with great fanfare, at a press conference held by Minister Champagne, that Canadians wouldn't see rate increases. I would like to quote the minister's own noteworthy and convincing words regarding the decision to allow the merger of Rogers and Shaw:
If Canadians do not begin to see a clear and meaningful reduction in prices within a reasonable amount of time as a result of this decision, I will have no choice but to use further legislative and regulatory powers to drive down prices. And I must emphasize that we aren't ruling anything out.
The Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry made a strong statement on behalf of the government. He promised that there wouldn't be any price increases as a result of the merger. The minister undoubtedly held discussions with the companies in this industry—Rogers, Shaw and Québecor—to establish that, for the merger to gain acceptance, there wouldn't be any price increases. Today, we can see that this is totally untrue. A mere eight or nine months after the merger, rate hikes have already been announced for Canadians.
As you know, these are challenging times for Canadians. All costs are skyrocketing, and families with more modest incomes are feeling the pinch. These days, almost everyone has a cellphone, so this issue is really significant. The rate increase affects the wallets of over 80% of Canadians.
I'll join my Conservative colleagues in supporting the motion. I think that it's worth bringing back the key industry players and the minister so that he can explain how he'll respond to the industry's decision to raise rates. He promised all Canadians that the merger was a good thing and that it would even lower costs. We're still waiting for that to happen. We're far from seeing a decrease. Instead, an increase in costs has just been announced.
I don't want to go on and on about this matter. I'll support the motion. I hope that the whole committee will agree to move forward. I think that Canadians have been shortchanged. They deserve to have their questions answered and to know how the government will ensure that rates are reduced.