WINNIPEG – The Manitoba government received plenty of feedback from the wireless industry as it prepares to consider changes to The Consumer Protection Act designed to provide better regulation of cell phone contracts in the province.
Wind Mobile urged the Manitoba government to enhance the abilities of consumers to “vote with their feet” by limiting carriers’ ability to charge "punitive and anticompetitive early termination fees”, and by ensuring greater transparency in wireless contracts.
The wireless upstart also lauded Manitoba for “demonstrating leadership in the area of consumer protection”, and encouraged the adoption of similar measures in Ontario and federally.
“Congratulations to the governments of Manitoba and Quebec for taking the lead on consumer protection in the wireless market,” said Wind chairman Anthony Lacavera, in a statement. “As longstanding champions of wireless choice for Canadians, we’re glad to see that the Manitoba Consumer Protection Office is taking strides to protect consumers from unfair wireless practices and is joining Quebec in raising the bar for the rest of Canada.”
Quebec is presently the only Canadian province with legislation on cell phones, however, a private member’s bill was introduced in Ontario last November calling for greater protection for consumers of cell phone services.
The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) said in its submission that the province’s consultation paper “displays an incomplete picture of federal jurisdiction over the telecom sector, and does not provide a compelling rationale for provincial intervention in the commercial relationship between wireless carriers and their customers”.
It maintained its view that “government micro-regulation will only add costs for the industry and consumers, and that consumers are better served by competition than by regulation, and by a self-regulated wireless industry with a strong Code of Conduct”.
That sparked a swift rebuke from one of its members, new wireless service provider Mobilicity.
"We deeply disagree with the CWTA’s disregard for the need for more consumer protection not only in the province of Manitoba, but right across our country," said Mobilicity president and CEO Dave Dobbin, in a statement. "We are exceptionally disappointed with the CWTA’s lack of foresight in continuing to act only in the interests of the Big Three wireless oligopoly. As members of the CWTA, we repeatedly voiced our opposition to its submission to no avail."
While “highly supportive” of Manitoba’s review of consumer protection legislation in the province, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) said that by attempting to take on all wireless consumer issues, the paper “has cast its net too wide”.
“In our view, the prudent course is to mirror Quebec’s main substantive reforms, namely limits on early termination fees and to mandate disclosure”, wrote PIAC counsel John Lawford, in the group’s submission. “PIAC thus recommends a new consultation with a restated set of proposals that have a principled basis for their segregation into categories of provincial, federal and potentially shared jurisdiction.”
The public consultation paper, released last month, said the Manitoba Family Services and Consumer Affairs’ Consumer Protection Office has received numerous complaints about the clarity of cell phone contracts. The province said it plans to introduce new legislation under the Consumer Protection Act this spring.
– Lesley Hunter
