Good afternoon, esteemed members of the Standing Committee on Industry and Technology, my fellow witnesses and all members of the public who may be tuning in.
As you heard, my name is Vass Bednar. I'm the executive director of McMaster University's MPP in digital society program. I'm a fellow with the Public Policy Forum and a senior fellow at CIGI. I also write the newsletter “regs to riches”. While I'm neither a lawyer nor an economist, and I'm happy to defer to colleagues with richer expertise on more technical or legal questions, I am one of the voices that help broker a bigger picture in the context of competition for Canadians.
I wonder what I can offer you today regarding the now almost soap-operatic Rogers-Shaw merger that you don't already know. For the average person, this process has become more than muddled. We've seen social media chatter conflate the decision of the tribunal with the ambition of the bureau, but that's not insurmountable. That said, this is the largest merger in Canadian telecom history. It affects millions of Canadians and the essential services they receive.
One reflection I have that I think is worth sharing is with regard to the thousands of Canadians—we heard 7,800—who took time to make their voices heard in this process, albeit maybe somewhat misdirected at the tribunal. I wonder if this occurred because there was no formal mode for the public's view to be properly consulted as a complement to policy procedures. You could argue that the minister has a public duty to engage more fulsomely with Canadians regarding this merger and its dynamics, step by step, especially regarding expectations and accountabilities for when it moves forward. This has not quite been done. As a result, the people's appetite to engage on the question has not had an appropriate outlet.
To whom or to what should the people who wrote in, and who care to follow the ups and downs of this soap-operatic but very important and exciting merger, look for accountability? What mechanisms do they or we have to hold Rogers and Shaw and others to account for the claims they have made, or to hold Quebecor to account to deliver what they have promised or what people expect from a wireless carrier? Even the somewhat gratuitous promises that Videotron has notionally made are unenforceable. We heard that earlier as well. Furthermore, Videotron has made no promises, however weak, on protecting jobs, on rural or indigenous connectivity and on R and D investment. What does that mean for western Canada?
We have this opportunity in Canada, with an energized and engaged public that is legitimately interested in improving competition outcomes in Canada and understanding our history of corporate consolidation, and that is fed up—we know that—with what they pay for wireless and Internet services. Competition is a topic that's been the subject of countless CBC Radio segments, a Marketplace investigation, various opinion editorials from The Globe and Mail's editorial board, a Canadaland radio series and near endless memes.
Yes, people care deeply about the outcome of this proposed merger. If rates later grow or get jacked up, what is their recourse? Perhaps you've received letters asking you the same question.
At this time, I suppose I would encourage all parties to consider complementary policy interventions that can collide with the current consultation on the future of competition policy in Canada. Keep in mind that this is a very technical and abstract question for most people. Even simple interventions can be powerful here, such as labelling flanker brands, as they do in the U.S., to help people understand that context of competition. We need radical incrementalism for competition in Canada and an all-of-government approach, not one narrow window of opportunity in a politically delicate context as a consolation prize.
Some have called for more public competition in telecommunications moving forward. Perhaps we also need to look ahead to the benefits of a publicly owned cloud, or have a conversation about whether we will have or need a strong Canadian competitor in the low-earth orbit satellite space as Telesat teeters on the verge of bankruptcy. Perhaps matters that intersect with competition and telecommunications should also be considered by the CRTC. Why doesn't it have jurisdiction here except over broadcasting? Also, day-to-day competition law could be made more open.
Finally, of course this merger is a historic hinge for Canada to take competition more seriously and to be a better broker of these processes. I'm super glad we're talking about it today, even though it sort of feels like a post-mortem.
So what's next?
Thank you.