Debates of June 10th, 2019

Opposition Motion—Telecommunications

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River. She is an extraordinary member of Parliament. Just a few months ago, all members of Parliament voted her the best local representative in the entire House of Commons. That is because of the good work she does every day on behalf of her constituents.

It is in that light that I would like to ask her a question. We have the Liberals and the Conservatives, who know full well about the massive price gouging that is taking place on Canadian consumers. It is not that they are ignorant of the facts. Total revenue per gigabyte in the big telecom companies is roughly 70 times higher than in other countries. The excess profits, the ripoffs that are taking place, Liberals and Conservatives have indicated today that they want to continue those with impunity. Rather than standing up for their constituents, they are standing up for the big telecom lobbyists, isolated in Ottawa. They do not understand.

We have these windfall massive profits in the most profitable sector in Canada, and in a similar vein, we have seen the same kind of windfall profits in the pharmaceutical sector. It is always the same justification, that we can rip off the public because some of the money will do some good at some point.

I would like to ask the member if her constituents buy the argument that government can give tens of billions of dollars to these big corporate lobbyists and that somehow, eventually, that will benefit Canadians, or does she believe that people in this House should be standing up on behalf of their constituents and putting in a price limit so that we do not see the excessive gouging that we have seen over the last few years?

[Georgina Jolibois, NDP, Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK]

Mr. Speaker, my constituents, like constituents across Canada, pay attention to the work we do here in the House of Commons, and they do not like how the government is spending billions of dollars on corporations, not on everyday Canadians.

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Rural Economic Development]

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and member for Mississauga—Malton. I thank the minister for the work he has done on the Internet access file over the past three and a half years. For the first time in the history of Parliament, we have a minister responsible for rural economic development. It is essential for our government to continue the work we are doing in rural areas.

I am pleased to rise to speak to the NDP motion on the accessibility of broadband Internet services for all Canadians. My riding of Nickel Belt covers 30,000 square kilometres, so I understand the importance of the Internet in rural areas.

Our government also understands the importance of broadband service. All Canadians must participate in today's digital economy. Whether it is our children when they are doing their homework, our friends, family or businesses, it is important to ensure that all Canadians have access to the Internet so we can remain competitive exporters.

The Minister of Rural Economic Development and I travelled across the country. We heard from Canadians living in rural and remote communities. The Internet is the engine of future growth and development in rural regions.

We recognize that rural, remote and northern communities face unique challenges when it comes to connectivity, which is why we launched the connect to innovate program in 2016, to bring high-speed Internet to rural and remote communities all across Canada.

This program received more than 900 applications across the country, requesting $4.4 billion of funding by the time the applications were closed. This oversubscription is a clear indication that the need exists in Canada for future investments in better connectivity. It is also an indication of the popularity of this program across the country.

This is why in budget 2019, we added top-up funding to the program connect to innovate. To date, a total of nearly $560 million in connect to innovate funding has been announced for 175 projects in 11 provinces and territories. They all cover projects in the future looking at all provinces and territories.

Further, this funding has also leveraged the private sector, and this is important. The government's role in the Internet in rural Canada is to ensure that we find ways to leverage private sector funding and funding from the provincial level. The provinces need to get engaged with the private sector, the federal government and municipalities in order to make sure that we get everyone connected.

Together with our partners, we expect that the connect to innovate program will deliver a total of over $1 billion of incremental investments in broadband projects, which is very significant. We have to talk about these investments. These projects will improve Internet connectivity to more than 900 communities and 190 indigenous communities. This is more than triple our original target of 300 communities.

These investments mean that about 1,100 anchor institutions in communities will benefit from new access to high-speed networks. This includes places like libraries, community event centres and band offices. These anchor institutions are key in communities to seek real improvements in connectivity when dealing with education, health and other needs in the community and the private sector. These investments are really important for growth in rural Canada and all across Canada.

Connectivity investments are impressive in the sheer scale of their geographic reach. Nearly 20,000 kilometres of fibre network has already been installed or is in the process of being installed. This is equivalent to the distance from St. John's to Vancouver through Whitehorse, Yellowknife, Labrador City and back to St. John's.

Further, individual Canadians will feel the impact of improvements in the services delivered to their homes. These projects will impact an estimated 380,000 homes. This is a huge investment in homes across the country.

Connect to innovate supports many of these great projects, and I would like to take a moment to highlight a few of them.

The Kativik Regional Government in Nunavik received $62 million in connect to innovate funding for new and improved high-speed access to all of Nunavik's 14 Inuit communities. This project will impact 28 institutions, including schools and health centres.

Tamaani Internet performed a detailed marine survey of fibre routes for Nunavik communities for the first undersea fibre optic cable deployment in Arctic Canada. It is now implementing this project.

Also, in northern Ontario, the connect to innovate program invested $39 million with five first nations communities. It is important to connect these communities. Looking at the importance of future mining development in the region with the Ring of Fire, this provides future economic development for these first nations communities.

As I mentioned, 190 indigenous communities are receiving support through investments made under the connect to innovate program. The indigenous communities themselves will manage these networks to make improvements throughout their communities.

The connect to innovate program has also had a very significant impact on rural Internet service providers. Not only will the connect to innovate investments help big Internet suppliers innovate, but one-third of these investments will go to small local suppliers who live and work in the small communities they serve.

Even with the progress made to date, we recognize that we need to do more work. That is why we have made the commitment to set a national target for 90% of Canadian homes and businesses to have access to high-speed Internet with at least 50/10 megabits per second by 2021, and 95% by 2026. No matter where they live, from coast to coast to coast, all Canadians will be able to access high-speed Internet.

To attain this goal, in budget 2019 we also established a new universal broadband fund of $1.7 billion, which will bring high-speed Internet to under-serviced communities. We are working on the parameters of this new fund, with more information to come over the next few weeks.

As previously mentioned, the new universal broadband fund will include a top-up to the connect to innovate program. It also includes funding to low-earth orbit satellites, next-generation satellites. That is significant and important, because we are looking at remote areas and the challenges we have with connecting Canadians all around.

The success of the connect to innovate program and the universal broadband fund demonstrate that our government has a high-speed Internet plan for people no matter where they live. It is important to look after the needs of rural communities across Canada.

We have a plan for the digital economy and we are working hard to carry it out.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I listened with great interest to my colleague's speech. I am waiting for someone to offer some kind of solution rather than just empty rhetoric. The Liberals have been saying all day long that they have already solved the problem by promising to eventually do something.

People currently pay about $75 a month for a plan that would cost between $20 and $25 in Italy, France, the U.K. or Australia. The Liberals have done absolutely nothing to put an end to the outsized influence that exists in this field. The big telecoms can charge extremely high prices for services that are identical in other countries.

Why have the Liberals done nothing to stop this abusive practice at the expense of consumers? Why do they not want Canadians to pay the same price as people in all other industrialized countries? Why have the Liberals not taken action?

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we have taken action.

Since early 2016, the connect to innovate program has brought Internet service to 900 communities and 190 indigenous communities.

Not only did we take the necessary steps back in 2016, but in 2019 we added another $1.7 billion to the funding. In addition, the Minister of Finance developed an accelerated fund for companies, to which online businesses already have access.

The NDP motion has nothing concrete to propose. We, however, have actually invested in the spectrum. We also have a long-term plan for working with the provinces and the private sector to ensure that all Canadians are connected.

[John Nater, Conservative, Perth—Wellington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. parliamentary secretary mentioned the connect to innovate program. I have to say how disappointing that program is for the people in rural Ontario, particularly those in Perth—Wellington. I know of at least three small, independent Internet service providers that applied for that program in November 2016. Here we are in June 2019, and they still have not been told, one way or the other, whether they have been approved or denied. These small, independent telecoms are the ones leading the way in putting fibre to homes in rural communities, yet the current government has left them dangling for over two and a half years. Why is it that the Liberals like to talk a big game, but when it comes to supporting rural communities and broadband Internet, they deliver nothing to the rural communities in places like Perth—Wellington?

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is to the contrary. In 2012, the Conservative government cut the rural secretariat completely. We are not only adding a minister dedicated to rural development, but, as I indicated earlier, the connect to innovate program had 4.4 billion dollars' worth of proposals and we had a fund of $500 million. Because it was oversubscribed, we were able to get additional funds in budget 2019. Therefore, we are making a difference. We have now added $1.7 billion to the universal broadband fund, looking to the future and the long term. We are working with the private sector and the provinces to ensure that, together, we get all Canadians connected.

[Anne Minh-Thu Quach, NDP, Salaberry—Suroît, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite keeps repeating that there are new investments in budget 2019, but has he really read the budget 2019 announcements? There is no requirement for big companies to serve rural areas, which means that rural areas do not have high-speed Internet access. Sixty-three percent of rural municipalities do not have this service. This is a problem, which is why we moved this motion today to address it.

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, we set aside funding for the frequency band spectrum, and 44% of this amount is for rural areas. That is a large amount. This is the first time that the federal government has made such investments.

The member does not have to believe me. She can talk to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, which supports our plan. The federation advocated for us to continue the investments that we made in 2016 and that we will continue to make. We must continue to work for Canadians to ensure that every Canadian is connected to the Internet.

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, it is pretty exciting to get this opportunity to talk about a subject matter that is very important to Canadians from coast to coast to coast. One of the things our government takes pride in is the fact that we understand the importance of driving down prices for Internet and also driving down prices for cellphone use. Affordability has been a key priority for our government. I want to highlight how we have really addressed this issue over the past four years.

The key part of our strategy is competition. We fundamentally believe that if there is more competition, particularly in the different regions across the country, that will help drive down prices. Where there is more competition, the prices are 33% lower for consumers. That is what has been moving our agenda forward.

I want to highlight three particular areas that I think are really important for the debate on this opposition day motion that the NDP has presented. First of all, I want to talk about how we have better quality networks compared to Australia, India and other jurisdictions highlighted by the members opposite. I also want to talk about the members' concerns around coverage and particularly how we can really focus on broader coverage to really deal with that digital divide, the urban-rural split that we often talk about. Last, I want to highlight the measures we have taken to help reduce prices for Canadians. We have done quite a bit but we have much more to do. I will speak to exactly what that plan looks like.

I want to start off with quality. This is really important because it really speaks to issues that Canadians have raised particularly when it comes to customer sales practices and what they are experiencing. We recognize that there were sales tactics employed by telecommunication companies that were aggressive and not appropriate. That is why I asked the CRTC to investigate and look at these high-pressure sales tactics. It was a proactive measure that we as a government took. We said to the CRTC that this is an issue that is really irritating Canadians. I said that Canadians have written to me about it and I have heard about it from Canadians in town hall conversations that I have had and that we need to really look at this issue.

The CRTC examined the issue and found that there were high-pressure sales tactics and there was evidence of such behaviour. What does this mean? This means there will be a code of conduct that the CRTC will have put in place to really look at how to make sure we deal with these issues going forward.

We heard Canadians. We took action. The CRTC did its work and now it is coming forward with a mandatory code of conduct for the Internet to make sure that consumers are protected. I can tell colleagues right now that this is one example of how we are dealing with the issue of quality.

The other issue I want to talk about which I think is very important is the deployment of spectrum. This too has come up in conversations today and I have heard different members speak to this issue. We have put forward a very clear path when it comes to spectrum, the right spectrum available at the right time to make sure that we get the desired outcomes. We have a very aggressive plan. We have four such auctions, one for every year, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.

We just completed the auction for the 600 megahertz. We have put a process in place for the 3,500 megahertz by 2020. In 2021, we will be coming forward with a millimetre wave auction as well, which is a very valuable spectrum. In the fourth year, we have highlighted 3,800 megahertz. All that important spectrum is for rural and remote communities. It also is very, very important for rolling out 5G.

We all recognize that 5G comes up in the news quite a bit. It has such enormous potential. 5G technology and 5G spectrum in particular are critical for Canada because of the Internet of things, because of smart cities, smart farms and all the data that is generated to create economic benefits for Canadians. Also, 5G is important to make sure that our rural communities continue to get access to the best quality spectrum and the best quality Internet and cell service as well. We are very confident that Canada will continue to play a key leadership role when it comes to the deployment and rolling out of 5G as well. I want to highlight the work we have done around spectrum as well.

I also want to talk about another issue that was mentioned which was around broader coverage. As highlighted by my colleagues, I am very proud of a program which was rolled out just a few years ago.

The connect to innovate program will create all kinds of opportunities for people, especially those in rural communities. It is absolutely essential. That is why we introduced the program. We are investing about $500 million and the private sector is investing $500 million, for a total of $1 billion.

That adds up to a lot of investments all over Canada, especially in rural regions.

This program has yielded enormously positive benefits for Canadians. There are roughly 900 communities under this program that would have access to high-speed Internet, that backbone fibre infrastructure which is so critical. Of those, I want to highlight that there will be roughly 168 indigenous communities that will benefit from this investment as well.

We are very proud of the connect to innovate program. What is really interesting is that it is a public-private partnership. The government stepped up with $500 million, as did the private sector with $500 million. This $1-billion investment will go a long way, but we have more to do. That is why in the most recent budget, which I was surprised members opposite voted against, there were over six billion dollars' worth of investments toward high-speed Internet connectivity for rural and remote communities. Let me highlight some of those areas.

The infrastructure bank will step up in a big way to support these projects. There is the universal broadband investment of $1.7 billion. There is also CRTC funding that starting to be deployed, which I am surprised members opposite want to stop. That money is going to be targeted at rural and remote communities. This complements the accelerated capital cost allowance investment that we highlighted which has now strengthened the business case for many of the telecommunication providers to invest in rural and remote communities.

When all is said and done, when it comes to coverage, this is really positive news, particularly the point raised by my colleague a few moments ago around low Earth orbit satellites. We made significant investments in this technology. For the really remote communities where it is difficult to make the business case for fibre, we are going to have low Earth orbit satellites to deal with the latency issue and the quality as well.

The last point I want to make on the three issues that I highlighted, better quality, broader coverage and lower prices, is our focus on pricing. As I mentioned, this year we rolled out 600 megahertz and we set aside 43% for regional players. That means more competition which means lower prices. I highlighted that at the beginning of remarks. In regions where there is more competition, prices are 33% lower. This is really important to us and we are very proud of that.

Pricing is not only an issue in rural communities; it is also a challenge in urban communities. There is a socio-economic challenge as well when it comes to the digital divide. Many families cannot afford high-speed Internet in urban communities, so we worked with industry, and industry stepped up in a big way. It said it would put forward a $10-a-month plan called connecting families, which provides high-speed Internet access to families under the Canada child benefit program. What is really exciting is that 20,000 families have benefited from this $10-a-month high-speed Internet connectivity plan. This speaks to what we have done around pricing.

It also complements the Wi-Fi MVNO decision we put forward to the CRTC, which ultimately resulted in the CRTC working with new low-cost data plans that benefit consumers, and goes to one of the earlier decisions we made. We said we wanted more competition. When Bell said it was going to add fibre to homes, we supported the decision to allow more Internet service providers access to that fibre, which again means more competition and lower prices.

As I said, we have done a lot, but we have a lot more to do. This speaks to the CRTC policy directive that we proposed. This is a directive that focuses on competition, affordability and consumer interest. This is really about making sure that consumers are at the heart of our decision-making process. This policy directive will put continued pressure on the telecommunications sector to reduce prices. At the same time, we have made incredible investments in our telecommunications sector, some $12 billion. We have some of the best world-class networks. I am confident that we will continue to build incredibly strong networks at more affordable prices.

Our plan is working. As I said, we have some of the best networks. We have improved coverage and prices are starting to go down. We have more to do, but clearly, we have laid the foundations for success and will continue to implement our agenda.

[Pierre-Luc Dusseault, NDP, Sherbrooke, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the minister for his remarks. I have to give him credit for participating in debate in the House, unlike other ministers who cannot be bothered to show up and talk about issues that matter to Canadians.

That said, the minister seemed to be saying that everything is fine and that Canadians have nothing to worry about because they are in good hands and have access to quality, affordable services. Canadians beg to differ. They do not feel they have access to quality services at competitive prices.

Will the minister at least be honest with Canadians and tell them that prices have not gone down over the past few years? I would be surprised if he could do that, unless he can give us the numbers to prove that his plan is working and that prices really have gone down in Canada. I invite him to update Canadians on the cost of telecommunications services and whether they have gone up or down during his term and in recent years.

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Mississauga—Malton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his question.

Unfortunately, I disagree with my colleague. We have been very clear about the fact that prices must continue to decline.

We have this in top-tier bands and in lower-tier bands. We have seen prices decline in certain segments of the market. Clearly, we need to see it across the board.

That is why I have made it very clear to the telecommunications sector that we are going to use all of the policy tools in our tool box to address issues around affordability and pricing. This speaks to some of the points I have highlighted about having a more competitive environment, which will bring down prices.

We have made progress and we have seen progress, but we know more needs to be done. This speaks to the CRTC's policy directive. It is the first time it has been changed since 2006. It gives clear direction to the CRTC to focus on the consumer to drive down prices and look at affordability.

I am confident we are headed in the right direction. We have seen positive developments in certain pricing segments, the top tier and bottom tier, but more needs to be done. We are confident our plan will work.

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Mr. Speaker, last week, the minister announced at the telecom summit that he was going to be clawing back and repurposing a large amount of the 3,500 megahertz band under options one and two. I appreciate that he provided a modified version of option two.

The minister was not clear in question period, so I still have a question for him. How many rural Canadians will have their service cut off or their regional operator stop growing? I would like to hear the government's numbers as to how many Canadians the minister estimates will be affected by this clawback and repurposing scheme, which has never been done before.

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Mississauga—Malton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we have received overwhelmingly positive feedback for the repurposing of the 3,500 megahertz. Clearly people recognize this is a valuable spectrum that is absolutely essential for the deployment of 5G. 5G is critical to urban communities and rural communities alike.

We are confident that the set-aside and the amounts that carry over will be sufficient to provide good-quality service to rural communities. As we deploy the 3,500 megahertz, we will make sure we have a level playing field so that individuals with the spectrum and those auctioning it off, both of whom will participate in the auction, deploy 5G at the same time.

When it comes to repurposing, I can say with confidence that this will continue to benefit rural and remote communities right across the country.

[Cheryl Hardcastle, NDP, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

Mr. Speaker, our NDP opposition day motion exemplifies the progress we expect governments to make on behalf of Canadians. In today's connected world, having access to a phone and high-speed Internet is no longer an option; it is a necessity. Despite being essential, broadband access and wireless service are far from being affordable or reliable in Canada. The Internet is increasingly the world. It permeates nearly every aspect of our personal and business lives.

For small businesses and entrepreneurs, reliable access to broadband Internet can be the difference between success and bankruptcy. For teachers, parents and students, these services impact the quality of our kids' education, and even access to post-secondary studies. For health care providers and social services, reliable connections can help save people's lives. For low-income people seeking jobs, access to the Internet is crucial and can make the difference between obtaining employment or not.

It is not only the economically disadvantaged who have little or no access to the Internet. It is also citizens and businesses in remote and rural areas. Without access to the Internet, a business might miss important opportunities to reach new customers and employees.

Here is an example of some of what rural communities are experiencing right now. Let us look at Dubreuilville, in northern Ontario, in the riding of Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, which brought its concerns to the attention of the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development on several occasions.

The situation in that township is quite dire. Even though people pay high Internet fees, not only is service slow and spotty but the connection is so congested that even those paying for high-speed service are at times receiving no service at all. Additionally, those who are already connected and living in the community who wish to transfer their current service when they move within the community are experiencing the same problems as new residents. Bell advises them that there is no capacity in the system to accommodate them.

Without appropriate connectivity, the promise of the Internet and the digital economy is muted in places where it could be of most use to level the geographic playing field.

Unfortunately, the problems faced by Dubreuilville are not uncommon. There are small communities across Canada hoping for reliable, quality, high-speed service that can support their growth and provide the same opportunities urban centres receive. Without this, the transformative powers of modern technology are largely unavailable, which hinders their ability to attract newcomers and businesses and also impacts their efforts to diversity their economies.

In my riding of Windsor—Tecumseh, people do not realize that there are a lot of people who have no Internet service or who lack high-speed service in the former Sandwich South area of the town of Tecumseh in the city of Windsor. It is shocking to many people that we still have pockets where there is no service for people to access a government website, download a document or an application or apply for a passport. There are a lot of things that create a barrier to democratic services, and it is concerning.

Among OECD countries and other developed economies, Canadians pay some of the highest prices for mobile wireless and broadband subscriptions in the world. Consumers are being forced to pay at least $20 above the average monthly prices in the OECD. Similar countries, such as Australia, are paying two times less than Canada for the same plans. This hurts our economy, and it hurts Canadians.

While Canadians are paying skyrocketing prices, the profits of the big five telecoms in 2017 totalled $7.49 billion, and their profit margins have reached an astonishing 38.3%. High prices and the outsourcing of jobs outside Canada are the main causes of these massive profits.

Canadian telecom companies make more revenue per gigabyte of data than almost any other company in the world. ln 2018, the total revenue per gigabyte in Canada was roughly 70 times higher than it was in India and 23 times higher than it was in Finland. Canadian companies made 35 times what Indian companies made for the same data usage in 2017. As a result, Canada has lower data usage than almost any other country in the world. Furthermore, even though Australia has larger geographical challenges than Canada, it invested more per capita on telecommunications services between the years 2005 and 2015 and offers faster network connection speeds, while all its plans are cheaper than those available in Canada.

While they continue to make billions in profits, quick research shows that Bell, Rogers and Telus also received close to $50 million in subsidies and more than $700 million in contracts from the current Liberals.

For decades, Liberal and Conservative governments have relied on market forces and supposed competition to determine what Canadians pay for their cellphones and Internet bills every month. That is wrong. They have made a few aesthetic changes here and there, but nothing that would significantly help Canadians afford these services. The Liberal government continues to put the profits of these rich telecommunications companies ahead of people's wallets and continues to put private interests ahead of the public interest.

Canadians deserve a government that has the courage to stand up to the telecommunications companies and that will use every tool available to make life more affordable for people. I know from conversations with my constituents that people are sick and tired of having to live in a country where large corporations and financial institutions get to call the shots.

We were brought up to believe that we live in a democracy, yet this belief is increasingly difficult to square with our lived reality. ln the real world, democracy and the will of the people take a back seat to the prerogatives of business and finance. ln the real world, trade agreements negotiated in secret lock in rights for large corporations and investors that make it difficult, if not impossible, for governments to pursue policies to improve the lives of their citizens. That is why, during times such as this, Canadians need to elect a government that prioritizes the needs of real people.

On the issue being discussed today, only the NDP has the courage to stand up to protect the wallets of Canadians and improve the services people rely on. Just to reiterate, through our opposition day motion today, the NDP would introduce a price cap, until the industry becomes competitive, to make sure that all Canadians save money on their bills. For each service and plan, a price cap based on average OECD rates would be put in place. This measure would slash telecommunications bills an average of $10 per month. I know that several members in the House today have been intrigued with how we would do that, so I am glad to get that explanation on the record.

We would also implement measures to ensure that the market becomes competitive. Every company would be required to have a basic plan for wireless and broadband that met the needs of Canadians and was comparable with the lower prices available in other countries in the OECD. Data caps for broadband Internet would be abolished, and companies would be mandated to create unlimited data plans at affordable rates for wireless service, as exists elsewhere in the world.

New Democrats would also put an end to the egregious and outrageous sales and services practices of the telecom companies by making a bill of rights for telecom consumers to protect Canadians. One would think, given all the horror stories regularly published in the media about the big telecoms using compliance methods and high-pressure sales tactics to fleece Canadians, especially our seniors, that the government would have acted by now and that some sort of legislation would have been passed or some penalty levied to discourage these practices. However, as the complaints mount, there has been no action.

On June 3, 2019, the CRTC announced a $750-million fund. It is the goal of that fund to achieve 90% coverage of the universal service objective. It is our goal to make sure that it undertakes that. The problem with this fund is that it is completely inadequate to achieve the goal of 100% of Canadians having access to high-speed broadband. The policy would actually leave 10% of the population with the delayed hope of a promise to receive broadband, with no plan, no deadline and no funding to achieve it.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

It being 6:30 p.m., pursuant to order made earlier today, all questions necessary to dispose of the opposition motion are deemed put and a recorded division deemed requested and deferred until Tuesday, June 11, 2019, at the expiry of the time provided for Oral Questions.

[For Continuation of Proceedings See part B]