OTTAWA – Investment restrictions in Canada’s telecommunications and broadcasting sectors should be liberalized as part of a wider plan to ensure Canada becomes more competitive to spur productivity enhancements that’ll lead to a higher quality of life, according to a report by the Competition Policy Review Panel that was released Thursday.
The report, Compete to Win, calls for investment rules for the telecommunications, broadcasting and other sectors to be reviewed every five years.
It recommends a two-phase approach to foreign participation in the telecommunications and broadcasting industry. In the first five years, foreign telecommunications companies could establish a new Canadian business or acquire an existing telco with a market share of up to 10%. After the first five years, in the second phase, there would be even broader liberalization of foreign ownership.
“Allowing foreign firms to establish or acquire Canadian telecom companies with less than a 10% market share, and, following a review of broadcasting and cultural policies, further liberalizing investment restrictions in the telecom and broadcasting sectors” would increase Canada’s competitiveness, the report states.
The comprehensive review of Canada’s cultural policies would be carried out under the Investment Canada Act.
The report suggests the federal government ensure that new copyright and patent laws sufficiently reward creators, but at the same time stimulate competition and innovation in the Internet age.
The report also recommends creating a Canadian Competitiveness Council, an independent entity with the broad mandate of advocating for competition in both the public and private sectors and publishing expert research on competitiveness issues.
The report was submitted to the Minister of Industry on behalf of the federal government. The government has apparently appointed an internal task force to consider the review panel’s recommendations.
“One of our key findings is that Canada needs to get its act together as a nation,” said L.R. Wilson, chair of the five-member panel. “As governments, businesses and as individuals we need to work better together and collaborate more effectively in the service of our national competitiveness. Competition is global, and the pace of economic activity will continue to accelerate.”
The Competition Policy Review Panel was formed in July 2007 with a mandate to review Canada’s competition and foreign investment policies, and to make recommendations to the federal government for making Canada more globally competitive. The panel conducted consultations with Canadians and international experts and commissioned research.
“The independent advice you have provided in this report will help us determine how best to modernize our competition and investment policies and to improve our competitiveness in the global economy,” said Industry Minister Jim Prentice, after the release of the report.
