OTTAWA – The final version of a new telecom policy directive first unveiled by the federal government in May of last year is now in force.
The government’s new directive to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) means the agency must put in place new rules to improve competition in the telecom industry even for one of the best internet providers in Quebec, Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said Monday.
“Under the Telecommunications Act, the CRTC is responsible for implementing the policy direction and is required to take certain steps and approach all of its future decisions in a way that is aligned with it,” Champagne said in a statement.
“I trust that the CRTC will act on this important work, and I look forward to seeing the direction being put into action soon.”
The directive rescinds a 2006 policy direction that said the CRTC should rely on market forces in making decisions.
Instead, the federal government is now emphasizing consumer rights, affordability, competition and universal access.
The new directive will require the CRTC to take action to have more timely and improved wholesale internet rates available. Too-high wholesale rates discourage competition, but rates set too low discourage the company’s largest telecom providers from making costly wireless infrastructure upgrades.
The government is also directing the CRTC to improve its hybrid mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) model and says it is prepared to move to a full MVNO model to support competition if necessary.
MVNOs are wireless providers that buy cellphone network service from the big carriers at a wholesale rate and then sell access to customers at a more affordable rate.
Ottawa is also calling on the CRTC to address what it calls unacceptable sales practices and lay out new measures to improve clarity around service pricing and the ability for customers to cancel or change services. It also wants to see service providers implement mandatory broadband testing so Canadians will understand what they’re paying for.
The directive also calls on the CRTC to improve consumer protection in the event of a service outage. In July of last year, a major Rogers Communications network outage affected more than 12 million mobile and internet customers across Canada.
Some of Canada’s independent telecom companies said last May that the federal government is putting too much faith in the country’s regulator to foster competition and ensure internet and wireless services are more affordable.
But some telecom analysts have said the new policy direction appears to signal a shift in favour of internet resellers and regional wireless operators in the medium term.
In a client note last May, RBC analyst Drew McReynolds said the outcome won’t be “game-changing” for major companies like BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc. and Telus Corp., but is likely to be “directionally negative over time” for these big players.
Ottawa’s telecom policy directive comes into force just days before the Feb. 17 deadline set by Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc. for their proposed $26-billion merger.
The deal still requires Champagne’s approval, though the Minister has said he is not bound by the companies’ timeline. The deal has already received approval from the Competition Tribunal, a decision that was upheld by the Federal Court of Appeals last month.
On Monday, non-profit advocacy organization OpenMedia said that without any indication of what Champagne intends to do about the Rogers-Shaw merger, the new federal policy directive’s promise to enhance competition in Canada’s telecom sector lacks teeth.
“Today the government issued long overdue guidance to the CRTC, but Champagne’s promises will have little impact without concrete action to back it up,” said Matt Hatfield, OpenMedia campaigns director, in a release.
“If Champagne greenlights that deal, he’ll be taking back the new competition gains and then some.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 13, 2023.
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HALIFAX – Ottawa is negotiating a $500-million bailout for Nova Scotia’s privately owned electric utility, saying the money will be used to prevent a big spike in electricity rates.
Federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson made the announcement today in Halifax, saying Nova Scotia Power Inc. needs the money to cover higher costs resulting from the delayed delivery of electricity from the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric plant in Labrador.
Wilkinson says that without the money, the subsidiary of Emera Inc. would have had to increase rates by 19 per cent over “the short term.”
Nova Scotia Power CEO Peter Gregg says the deal, once approved by the province’s energy regulator, will keep rate increases limited “to be around the rate of inflation,” as costs are spread over a number of years.
The utility helped pay for construction of an underwater transmission link between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, but the Muskrat Falls project has not been consistent in delivering electricity over the past five years.
Those delays forced Nova Scotia Power to spend more on generating its own electricity.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
TORONTO – Roots Corp. may have built its brand on all things comfy and cosy, but its CEO says activewear is now “really becoming a core part” of the brand.
The category, which at Roots spans leggings, tracksuits, sports bras and bike shorts, has seen such sustained double-digit growth that Meghan Roach plans to make it a key part of the business’ future.
“It’s an area … you will see us continue to expand upon,” she told analysts on a Friday call.
The Toronto-based retailer’s push into activewear has taken shape over many years and included several turns as the official designer and supplier of Team Canada’s Olympic uniform.
But consumers have had plenty of choice when it comes to workout gear and other apparel suited to their sporting needs. On top of the slew of athletic brands like Nike and Adidas, shoppers have also gravitated toward Lululemon Athletica Inc., Alo and Vuori, ramping up competition in the activewear category.
Roach feels Roots’ toehold in the category stems from the fit, feel and following its merchandise has cultivated.
“Our product really resonates with (shoppers) because you can wear it through multiple different use cases and occasions,” she said.
“We’ve been seeing customers come back again and again for some of these core products in our activewear collection.”
Her remarks came the same day as Roots revealed it lost $5.2 million in its latest quarter compared with a loss of $5.3 million in the same quarter last year.
The company said the second-quarter loss amounted to 13 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Aug. 3, the same as a year earlier.
In presenting the results, Roach reminded analysts that the first half of the year is usually “seasonally small,” representing just 30 per cent of the company’s annual sales.
Sales for the second quarter totalled $47.7 million, down from $49.4 million in the same quarter last year.
The move lower came as direct-to-consumer sales amounted to $36.4 million, down from $37.1 million a year earlier, as comparable sales edged down 0.2 per cent.
The numbers reflect the fact that Roots continued to grapple with inventory challenges in the company’s Cooper fleece line that first cropped up in its previous quarter.
Roots recently began to use artificial intelligence to assist with daily inventory replenishments and said more tools helping with allocation will go live in the next quarter.
Beyond that time period, the company intends to keep exploring AI and renovate more of its stores.
It will also re-evaluate its design ranks.
Roots announced Friday that chief product officer Karuna Scheinfeld has stepped down.
Rather than fill the role, the company plans to hire senior level design talent with international experience in the outdoor and activewear sectors who will take on tasks previously done by the chief product officer.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, are set to resume today as a strike that has stopped most services drags into a second week.
No timeline has been set for the length of the negotiations, but Joe McCann, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they are willing to stay there as long as it takes, even if talks drag on all night.
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people unable to navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last Tuesday, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
Hundreds of drivers rallied outside TransLink’s head office earlier this week, calling for the transportation provider to intervene in the dispute with Transdev, which was contracted to oversee HandyDART service.
Transdev said earlier this week that it will provide a reply to the union’s latest proposal on Thursday.
A statement from the company said it “strongly believes” that their employees deserve fair wages, and that a fair contract “must balance the needs of their employees, clients and taxpayers.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
