Canadian cities subsidizing telcos by $107 million annually, complain municipalities

TORONTO – Property tax payers in Canadian cities are subsidizing the telecommunications industry by more than $107 million a year, according to a new report released today by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM). Local governments have no way to recover road management and repair costs from telecommunications companies that tear up and occupy roadways to expand, upgrade and operate their networks, states the report Highway Robbery: How Federal Telecom Rules Cost Taxpayers and Damage Public Roads. The FCM is calling on Ottawa to amend the Telecommunications Act to rectify the situation. “In Canada’s larger cities the current regime has...