By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – On August 15, 2019, the Commission issued Telecom Order 2019-288 setting final rates for aggregated wholesale high-speed internet access services.
That order set access rates the large incumbent providers (Canada’s big cable and telecom firms), found too rich (capacity rates are 15% to 43% lower than the interim rates and the access rates are 3% to 77% lower) and they did not appreciate the fact that an estimated $328 million was to be paid retroactively to competitive third party internet access providers.
So, the incumbent providers used the three appeal avenues available to them in the Telecommunications Act:
- Appeal to the Federal Court of Appeal (s.64) where a stay of the Order was granted to the large providers and their case was heard last June
- Review and vary to the CRTC (s.62):
- And Petition to the Governor in Council (Cabinet) (s.12).
In the last instance, the Telecom Act states: “Within one year after a decision by the Commission, the Governor in Council may, on petition in writing presented to the Governor in Council within ninety days after the decision, or on the Governor in Council’s own motion, by order, vary or rescind the decision or refer it back to the Commission for reconsideration of all or a portion of it.”
The 15th of August 2020, falls on Saturday and so the Act dictates “Where the time limited for the doing of a thing expires or falls on a holiday, the thing may be done on the day next following that is not a holiday.” As well, a spokesperson for the department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development confirmed to Cartt.ca in an email “considering that August 15, 2020 falls on a weekend, the statutory deadline for the Order is August 17, 2020.”
So, Cartt.ca expects the Cabinet decision on Monday at the latest – likely after the close of markets. Technically, if Cabinet were to not issue a decision, the Order would be deemed to stand, but that would quite surprising, given its importance and the public battles being fought over it.
There has been no indication available on the timing of the Commission R&V application or the Federal Court of Appeal decision.
