Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I am sharing my speaking time today with my colleague Anthony Housefather.
My first question is for Mr. Staffieri.
In December you released a statement saying that this merger will “bring more choice, more affordability and more connectivity to Canadians”, and that “the transactions will likely result in an intensifying of competition”.
This morning we heard from the Competition Bureau, as well as other witnesses, that this merger will have negative impacts for lower-income Canadians. We also heard that when it comes to the telecommunications sector, density matters. We know that rural populations and rural communities are often negatively impacted by that.
Can you describe for us today how greater affordability and connectivity will be achieved for these two populations?