Even as the minister responsible admitted there aren’t enough competitive options for mobile service in Canada, another federal official said consumers can and should search for other service providers when faced with price increases.
That message — from Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) Canada — came just hours after the Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said Canadians “still pay too much and see too little competition” for cellular services.
“Customers could consider switching service providers,” an ISED Canada representative wrote Thursday, when asked for a response to price increases at Rogers Communications and reported hikes at Bell.
Rogers said earlier this week some of its wireless customers will see increases of less than $7 to $9 per month in the coming weeks. On Friday, it said the average increase will be $5.
Have you noticed your phone bill going up? Email ask@cbc.ca
The idea that Canadians should bear the burden of searching out cheaper prices doesn’t sit well with one competition expert.
“That should not be the consumer’s responsibility,” said Keldon Bester, executive director of the research and advocacy group Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project, who spoke out against Rogers’s recent merger with Shaw Communications.
“As opposed to companies fighting for customers, it’s customers hunting around for the best deal in a not-that-great marketplace.”
Cellphone plans are about to get more expensive for some Canadians
Rogers Communications has confirmed that it will increase the price of some of its cellphone plans — a move that’s not landing well with many customers.
According to Bester, part of the problem is the high cost in time and effort it takes to find savings.
“Of course it’s possible to switch. But what we need to realize is, I think, the people that need these affordable services the most are not the folks who can sort of leisurely be on the phone with Bell for an hour trying to negotiate a better contract,” he said.
Neither Bell nor Telus responded to repeated requests for comment.
Quebecor, owner of the cable and mobile provider Videotron, said on Thursday that a price freeze is in place for customers with its Freedom Mobile, Videotron and Fizz brands.
Quebecor bought Freedom Mobile from Shaw, as part of the Calgary-based telecom’s merger with Rogers. Under that agreement, Videotron was obliged to lower prices, but the lowest price the government can enforce is $68 per month.
Rogers was not subject to similar price controls in its purchase of Shaw. Federal officials say the coming increases are permitted.
“At this time, there is no indication Rogers is contravening their transaction agreement. However, Rogers is subject to binding reporting requirements and significant damages of up to $1 billion for noncompliance,” the ISED Canada representative said in an email.
When that merger finally cleared every hurdle back in April, Rogers’s CEO pledged to lower costs for consumers.
“Prices are going to come down,” said Tony Staffieri.
Rogers pointed out this week that it offfers a no-cost smartphone and $25 per month plan to eligible Canadians; however, the plan is not universally available. To qualify, consumers must be in specific groups, including (but not limited to) receiving provincial income support, disability benefits or the Guaranteed Income Supplement for senior citizens.
In April, the CEO of Rogers Communications pledged prices would go down following its merger with Shaw Communications. This week Rogers said prices for subscribers who are not on contracts could go up by an average of $5 per month. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)
Rogers also noted the price per gigabyte of data has gone down on some of its plans.
Statistics Canada reported on that same trend late last year, but noted that a bigger “data allowance” can actually make cellular prices appear to be falling due to how they are calculated as part of the inflation rate — even if the total dollar amount consumers pay hasn’t gone down
The Canadian Telecommunications Association says the cost of investing in networks remains high for the Canadian telecom companies it represents.
The sector “has been investing billions each year in expanding and enhancing its networks so that subscribers enjoy faster speeds, wider coverage, and larger data allotments,” wrote Eric Smith, the group’s senior vice president.
But studies comparing phone and internet prices around the world continue to detail the expensive prices in Canada.
One such report, produced last February by Wall Communications for ISED Canada, found the country still had among the highest prices anywhere for cellphone and broadband service in 2022.
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
