TORONTO – True competition in Canada’s telecommunications industry will require foreign investments and phasing out the CRTC’s role as telecom regulator, according to former Industry Minister and Conservative party leadership hopeful Maxime Bernier.
Speaking Tuesday at a keynote speech at the Canadian Telecom Summit in Toronto, Bernier had harsh words for the CRTC, both past and present, saying that it is “behind the curve” and accusing it of having a “control freak mindset”.
“As the industry evolves, the CRTC finds new reasons to continue to regulate it, in order to justify its existence. In doing so, it is not protecting consumers, it is only protecting its own power”, he said.
Bernier also urged ISED Minister Navdeep Bains to get rid of “bad policies” such as the mandated sharing of networks, hold spectrum auctions without “preferential rules” like set-asides, and to open the sector fully to foreign investors.
“Almost everyone agrees that more competition is good for consumers. It’s easy to understand that when companies are forced to compete, they tend to offer better services and lower prices”, he said. “The problem is to determine how to foster competition. Interventionist policies that are meant to bring more competition actually do the opposite.”
Bernier pictured in file photo
