Thank you, Chair.
Welcome, gentlemen, to this panel and to our committee.
The first thing I want to say is to each of the CEOs.
Many of the comments we've heard here within the room on the competitive dynamics within the Canadian wireless or telecommunications market have been met with some skepticism and maybe a few chuckles. I do want to get that on the record.
We can debate about the competitive dynamics and how they've evolved in the Canadian wireless market over the last 20 or 30 years. I was a research analyst for many years. I covered many of your companies. I understand the dynamics well.
My first question will be for Rogers. It's on the announcement of the price hike, whether it's $7, $9, $10 or whichever number you want to have. In an affordability crisis that many Canadians are feeling, would you admit that the timing was not great? If I could use the term “tone deaf”, to customers and the Canadian populace, it was probably not the right thing to announce at this time.
This is for Mr. Staffieri.