CHATHAM – A TekSavvy request to have CRTC chair Ian Scott investigated for alleged wrongdoing has been referred to the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner (CIEC) by the Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada.
TekSavvy originally asked the federal Integrity Commissioner to investigate Scott in March. The disclosure filed by the independent Internet service provider at the time contained evidence, “which shows Mr. Scott held numerous ex parte meetings with telecom lobbyists during open regulatory proceedings concerning pricing of internet and mobile services,” a TekSavvy press release says.
The Integrity Commissioner has since notified TekSavvy it will refer the service provider’s disclosure to the Office of the CIEC since there is a possible breach of the Conflict of Interest Act involved.
“TekSavvy welcomed the escalation of its complaint against Mr. Scott,” the press release says. “As a result of the referral, the CIEC must prepare a report for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, setting out the facts concerning allegations against his appointee as well as the CIEC’s analysis and conclusions. That report will be made public.”
At the centre of TekSavvy’s allegation against Scott is a meeting at an Ottawa bar he had with Bell executive Mirko Bibic, which was photographed.
“This meeting occurred just one week after the CRTC opened an active file to hear Bell’s application to reverse its 2019 decision to lower wholesale internet rates,” TekSavvy’s press release says.
“Subsequently, the CRTC arbitrarily reversed its own decision, resulting in higher internet prices for millions of Canadians throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. This reversal also effectively transferred hundreds of millions of dollars from smaller competitors to former monopolies such as Bell, while crushing their ability to compete moving forward.”
The press release further points out Bell later bought the Quebec-based independent service provider EBOX, seemingly to suggest a correlation between the CRTC’s decision to reverse its wholesale rates and EBOX’s decision to sell.
Because TekSavvy’s allegation of wrongdoing was referred from the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner, the CIEC must now, according to the Conflict of Interest Act, consider it and provide the Prime Minister with a report, which will be made available to the public. While a report must be made, there will not necessarily be an investigation into the matter (this is up to the Commissioner.)
A spokesperson for the CRTC declined to comment on the matter since it is before the Commissioner, TekSavvy declined to comment beyond the press release issued, and a spokesperson for the Office of the CIEC indicated they cannot comment on individual cases due to strict confidentiality rules.
There is no deadline for making the mandatory report public and neither TekSavvy nor the Office of the CIEC were able to provide Cartt.ca with any indication of a timeline moving forward.
