Jagmeet Singh, the leader of the federal NDP party, does not want Rogers’ takeover of Shaw to proceed.
According to the Globe and Mail, Singh sent Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne a letter Sunday stating the transaction will lead to pricier wireless bills and job losses for Canadians.
“I urge you to put regular bill-paying families and small businesses first, this time. Act now in the interests of the millions of Canadians that will ultimately be affected by your decision,” Singh wrote in the letter.
Minister Champagne has yet to approve the transfer of Shaw’s wireless licences to Vidéotron, a crucial aspect of the merger. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approved the broadcast aspects in March. The commission is currently looking into an application from TekSavvy alleging Rogers’ wholesale deal with Vidéotron violated the Telecommunications Act.
The Competition Bureau’s attempts to block the merger saw the Competition Tribunal side with the telecoms. In its analysis, the bureau found the Rogers-Shaw merger will lead to higher cellphone bills.
“That’s despite our telecommunications already being among the most expensive in the world,” Singh wrote.
This isn’t the first time Singh voiced his opinion on the $26-billion merger. Following the Rogers outage in July, Singh shared his opposition. “It’s time to put people over profits – stop the merger,” he tweeted.
Instead of helping you, the Liberals are fixated on protecting the profits of telecom giants
The Rogers outage that impacted millions is a prime example of the dangers of a telecom monopoly
A Rogers – Shaw merger will only increase prices & create an even larger monopoly
— Jagmeet Singh (@theJagmeetSingh) July 13, 2022
Rogers, Shaw, and Québecor have set February 17th as the closing date for Rogers’ takeover of Shaw and Vidéotron’s acquisition of Freedom Mobile.
Image credit: @theJagmeetSingh
Via: Globe and Mail
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