Thank you very much for inviting us, Mr. Chair. It is an honour to join this committee meeting.
My name is Pierre Karl Péladeau, and I am the president and chief executive officer of Quebecor. My colleague Jean‑François Lescadres is vice-president, finance, with Videotron.
About two years ago, I appeared before this committee and stated that Quebecor is the driving force of competition that benefits Canadian consumers of telecommunications services. We showed beyond a shadow of a doubt that consumers come out ahead. This has been the case for about 15 years in Quebec as a result of our wireless service. This has been noted by the CRTC, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada and by various market analyses, such as the Wall and Nordicity analyses.
Unlike third-party internet access or TPIA companies, we play an integral role in economic activity by investing billions of dollars in the construction of our landline and wireless networks, while offering very low prices under our different brands, including the most recent addition four years ago of Fizz, a fully digital brand.
We believe there are now a number of conditions that enable us to expand our range of activity and offer telecommunications services in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario.
Videotron’s offer to Rogers of close to $3 billion was the only one that checked all the boxes. It's a successful regional player and disrupter with a strong balance sheet, solid experience and an innovative track record. The truth is that Videotron is the only real contender.
It is therefore not surprising to see “the Big Three” fear the disruptive entry of Videotron into the wireless market outside of Quebec.
The Fox project is a striking of example of Telus's toxic and Machiavellian tactics, which include an increasing number of court cases, sneaky disinformation campaigns and intensive lobbying efforts to fuel opposition, while at the same time seeking to pit western Canada against eastern Canada. The whole purpose is to defeat competition and the desire of governments to give Canadians favourable and innovative rates and business conditions.
The opposition by Bell and Telus to the transaction perfectly illustrates that Videotron is the best way to provide consumers with true and lasting competition.
Quebecor has built a solid expansion plan to gain a strong foothold in the Canadian telecom market. It was even mentioned by the Competition Tribunal in its recent decision that was confirmed yesterday: “Videotron is an experienced market disrupter that has achieved substantial success in Quebec. It has drawn upon that experience to develop very detailed and fully costed plans for its entry into and expansion within the relevant markets in Alberta and British Columbia, as well as in Ontario.”
We said it when Minister Champagne set out the conditions for the sale of Freedom Mobile, and we are stating it again. Videotron is in it for the long haul and is committed to bringing down prices for the benefit of Canadians.
We did it in Quebec, as confirmed by several reports, as we said. We actually have been doing this for at least 15 years, since we launched our first MVNO offering, which took place in 2006 on Rogers' network.
On top of that, Videotron acquired VMedia last year, which will enable it to offer consumers in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario discounted multiservice bundles and innovative products, including mobile and Internet, at even more competitive prices. We will bundle on better terms than anyone else, including what Shaw Mobile is offering today.
Except for Eastlink in certain communities in Atlantic Canada, all the initiatives launched since the auction in 2008 have failed. Globalive, funded by foreign interests and then purchased by Vimpelcom, a company that is partially controlled by an oligarch who is not permitted to enter Canada at this time, ended up with Shaw a few years later.
Mobilicity, controlled by a U.S. private financial company, has for its part been bought by Rogers, while Public Mobile has been bought by Telus. Quebecor and Videotron have been and continue to be the only companies that can stand up to Bell and Telus. Our plan is simple: to continue to be a success in the wireless market, which is something Canadians need.
The CRTC and the government must also continue to create favourable conditions, the most important being the review of roaming rates and the implementation of the MVNO policy, for full-fledged mobile virtual network operators, and the application of sanctions to stop anti-competitive actions.
Every measure must be taken to serve the public interest and the government's clear desire. Under government and regulatory policies that have been updated and brought into line with those decreed 15 years ago by the late Minister Jim Prentice, we will be the long-awaited fourth national industry player. We must ensure that this government desire is fully respected by national license-holders so that Canadians can benefit from healthy and lasting competition.
Thank you for your attention.