Industry Committee on Feb. 26th, 2024

[Francesco Sorbara, Liberal, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

It's that last mile, as we call it.

[Scott Hutton]

Often it's much longer than a mile. That's the challenge in our country, but it's essentially that last mile that we're certainly looking at expanding. We've already expanded to fibre-based services. We've adjusted the rates downwards. We held a hearing a couple of weeks ago on that very subject matter, so clearly we're working hard on that front.

There are a couple of other elements on the consumer front to make sure Canadians are getting what they pay for through measurement of the broadband services, making it easier and even more accessible for Canadians to work towards choosing among competitors and benefiting from the competitive approach, everything from making it easier to switch to information—

[Francesco Sorbara, Liberal, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Thank you for that. I would love to elaborate at a different point in time, but I think my time is over. I'll pass the floor back to you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Joël Lightbound]

Thank you very much.

Go ahead, Mr. Garon.

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Hutton, I'll continue in the same vein. Earlier, you said that the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, the CRTC, had a lot of work to do.

In recent weeks, Bell has laid off 4,800 employees, mostly in the broadcasting sector. One of the reasons cited is the slowness in producing the regulations for Bill C‑11.

Can you tell us if the CRTC has the resources to do all the work we're asking of it?

[Scott Hutton]

We had additional resources to implement Bill C‑11 and Bill C‑18, on news content. It's been an enormous amount of work. Our new president and we are prioritizing these major files, and we're putting all our efforts behind implementing these bills.

If we're talking about Bill C‑11, I think it was enacted in April. Within a few weeks, we made sure we had launched four proceedings based on which—

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

Is Bill C‑11 moving forward as fast as you would like?

[Scott Hutton]

That's the case so far, yes.

We held a hearing at the end of the year on the major dossiers, but we've already issued three specific decisions, and we'll soon be issuing a fourth.

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

If you'll allow me, I'm going to talk about something that's very important to Quebeckers. We're talking about Canadian content and local content. You'll understand how sensitive Quebeckers are about all of this.

I'd like you to give us the timeline for the next deliverables. What can we expect? The announcement of almost 5,000 layoffs hit very hard, and I'd like to take advantage of your presence here to ask you what is coming.

[Scott Hutton]

The major projects planned so far mainly concern issues for which we made specific decisions that are already in force. These issues include fees and registration. That way, we have a clear picture of the players doing business in the country.

Our hearing at the end of 2023 focused on two things. These things were setting up the type of initial contribution, to make sure that new players make fair contributions to the markets, since, like you, we're concerned about the state of the—

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

What does the time frame look like?

[Scott Hutton]

We're working on it.

There will be an initial decision, which will provide two things. First, it will add grist to the mill in the form of contributions. Second, we'll be outlining the types of contribution that new players must make to our industry. We'll then work with all the players to ensure that the contributions are fair, and that everyone—

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

When will these decisions be made?

[Scott Hutton]

Some will be made soon, in the coming months. That's the next step. We're currently working on the definition of “Canadian content.” We're also meeting with all the industry players to get a clear picture of this component and to make sure that the money will be invested in the right place, and that the grist will be added to the right mill.

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Hutton.

[The Chair, Liberal, Joël Lightbound]

Thank you both.

Mr. Masse, you now have the floor.

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

With regard to the CRTC and community involvement, I just wonder if there's been an attempt to have more public education about the CRTC and intervening and providing submissions. I know that the civil society groups are very astute at this, but I'm not sure that ordinary citizens are equally engaged, because they don't really fully comprehend the CRTC. I'm wondering if there's been public education or outreach done to encourage regular residents to be able to make submissions to the CRTC.

[Scott Hutton]

We have certainly taken note and heed of the fact that the CRTC, being in part a tribunal and holding hearings, having a number of written proceedings.... As you mentioned, civil society groups have been participating through the years. We've also been working on funding for those particular groups. We've also started to change our ways with respect to how we consult with Canadians, to actually go out and reach various groups that haven't been contributing to our hearings. We're working on launching an indigenous relations group to ensure that, for example, we do engage with decision-makers in indigenous populations throughout the country.

We're planning the same things with other groups. We have changed the way we're holding hearings. For example, I just mentioned our study of the definition of “Canadian content”. We're actually going out to five different regions of the country, inviting a number of different groups who haven't been to the CRTC before, and we're actively working with them in workshops and work groups to be able to gather their opinions and at the end of the day to work those into our public hearings and into our public decisions to make sure that we are actually serving them.

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Would this include multicultural groups and organizations? I think those are some of the things we're missing, from what I've seen.

Does that include multiple languages and so forth? Will the CRTC will be publishing its material or encouraging outreach in those facets?

[Scott Hutton]

Most definitely. We are reaching out to those groups, whether they're indigenous groups, diverse groups or new immigrant groups representing multilingual communities, to see how they can contribute to our system. Essentially, we are reaching out on all different fronts.

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Joël Lightbound]

Thank you, Mr. Masse.

Mr. Généreux, you have the floor.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I want to thank all the witnesses for joining us.

I'll speak specifically to the CRTC officials.

I'll start by referring to a letter that the mayor of Saint‑Modeste, Louis‑Marie Bastille, received from Bell Canada on February 1, 2024, concerning future investments in fibre optic telecommunications in Saint‑Modeste. In this letter, Bell Canada informed the mayor of a change in its plan to roll out a high‑speed fibre optic Internet network in Saint‑Modeste. According to Bell Canada, a recent decision by the federal regulator, the Canadian Radio‑television and Telecommunications Commission, unfortunately requires the company to significantly cut back on the expansion of its network and thereby leave many people, neighbours and businesses in the area out in the cold. The decision, number 2023‑358, was made on November 6, 2023. I'll set aside the other points raised in the letter.

Mr. Hutton, how do I respond to the mayor of Saint‑Modeste with regard to this letter from Bell Canada? I gather that you revisited the idea of expanding the connection through the networks of major companies, which decided that they didn't agree with this decision. That's why Bell Canada decided to cut back on its investments. What do I tell the mayor of Saint‑Modeste?

[Scott Hutton]

The CRTC remains at the forefront of ensuring that all Canadians can receive and access affordable and high‑quality telephone services. We have our broadband systems and plans. We're working on continuing to roll out various services.

Our public hearings a few weeks ago focused on access to fibre optic services and the access system. We want to make sure that we strike the right balance by offering good prices for all Canadians. High‑quality service and investments remain important to us. That's our job. That was indeed the focus of our hearing a few weeks ago, and it's the focus of our discussions today.

You can tell the mayor that the CRTC completely understands the issue. We must strike the right balance to create an environment that offers good prices and affordable services that everyone can subscribe to. These services must also be accessible, and there must be investment. That's the issue at hand.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

I've been a member of Parliament for nine and a half years. I started in 2009 and 2010. Since then, almost 14 years ago, there have been incredible investments in Canada. I think that we can say that we've made giant strides in customer service across the country.

The analysts at the Library of Parliament prepared a document for today's meeting showing that 67.4% of rural communities are connected. After all the money invested and the wars between the major industry players and the CRTC, which have led to turmoil and seen you dragged into court by just about everyone, the public is largely held hostage to some extent.

I'm thinking of my constituency, which has quite a varied landscape with many monadnocks and mountains in particular. In the higher parts of the constituency, such as Saint‑Onésime‑d'Ixworth, Saint‑Damase and Saint‑Pamphile, I constantly receive complaints about the service. The fibre optic network hasn't been rolled out everywhere. In some cases, Telus has rolled out its service across the board. However, in many other towns and communities, this isn't the case yet.

Despite all the investments made by the federal government over the past 15 years, why aren't our rural areas fully connected yet?