Industry committee  It was not with my friends or our friends. I find those remarks somewhat arrogant. It is if you were saying that we were not qualified. I think that that is a bit arrogant. I believe that we have enough knowledge to make comments.

Industry committee  We are a federation. So we are an umbrella organization. We do not have individual members. Our mandate is not to represent members but to advocate for consumer rights.

Industry committee  We represent a number of family economy cooperative associations, or ACEFs, as I mentioned. They also have members—

Industry committee  The reason this power is dangerous is in fact that it can be used to change the law, as you have said, change the Canadian telecommunications policy instead of taking the legislative route. Moreover, it amounts to interference in the decisions of a body that has been created and that is quasi-judicial, independent and impartial, and those decisions are changed.

Industry committee  Yes.

Industry committee  We get some funding from the Department of Industry, and some from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. I cannot give you any more details. I am not the accountant for the organization. I am not fully aware of all of our finances.

Industry committee  No, that is one of the main problems. Neither small businesses nor consumers will be compensated. Ironically, when the minister announced the new policy, Bell and Telus were the first to applaud the granting of this power to the Competition Tribunal. It is rather surprising to see the companies that could be subject to the fine applauding this measure.

Industry committee  My answer is yes and no. Our problem is a basic one, in that we feel that the Competition Tribunal is not the proper body to make those decisions. So to the extent that these pieces of legislation give responsibility for all competition issues to the Competition Tribunal, we will have to oppose them.

Industry committee  For one thing, the panel recommended a set of measures to protect consumers. An ombudsman and a user protection agency were proposed. Going back to the issue of complaints, the panel recommended a joint tribunal and not strictly a competition tribunal. Deregulation is dangerous when there is a company that is in a dominant position, and the panel would never favour that situation, whereas we feel that the minister...

Industry committee  No.

Industry committee  Obviously, they did not consult us. Moreover, I really do not see how Mr. Bernier or Bell can claim that the framework they are proposing will help consumers. We are being told that rates may drop, but the fact is that right now, even though Bell is regulated, it can provide its fixed line telephone services at much less than the current rates.

Industry committee  I would expect the increases to affect the regions in particular. Several regions will be deregulated, and the cross-subsidization issue may well crop up. There may be some very short-term price decreases to deal with competition, but in the medium and long terms, some of the competitors will likely disappear.

Industry committee  Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee. I'm very pleased to appear before this committee to talk to you about our position on deregulating the telecommunications sector. The Union des consommateurs, the consumers' union, is a community organization that brings together family cooperative associations, the Association of Consumers Advocating Quality Construction, as well as individual members.