The Standing Committee on Industry and Technology is set to reconvene this week to scrutinize Rogers’ plan to increase cell phone prices, which iPhone in Canada first reported before the news percolated across the country.
This move comes in the wake of Rogers’ announcement to raise prices starting January 17, a decision that contradicts earlier promises of lower rates following its takeover of Shaw. We also told you that Rogers Ignite bundles and Shaw home phone, TV and Internet is also increasing in price as well.
Rick Perkins, Member of Parliament, highlighted the issue on X, stating, “Trudeau’s Industry Minister said that Rogers’ takeover of Shaw will lead to lower prices. The opposite is happening. He must answer for the merger he approved.”
Perkins, along with four other MPs, signed a letter to Joel Lightbound, MP and Chair of the Standing Committee on Industry and Technology, expressing deep concern over the rising costs for Canadians.
The letter, dated January 8, 2024, emphasizes the increasing financial burden on Canadians, citing 40-year inflation highs, high housing costs, and soaring grocery prices. “Cell phone bills are again on the rise in Canada,” the MPs wrote, noting that Bell and Telus have not commented on potential price increases.
The MPs criticized the Liberal government’s approval of the Rogers-Shaw merger, which they believe has reduced competition in Canada’s telecommunications sector.
“The looming price hike by Rogers appears to be the first material impact of Canada’s cell phone market becoming less competitive,” the letter stated. It also accused the CEO of Rogers and the Liberal Minister of Industry of misleading Canadians by promising lower prices post-merger.
The letter calls for an urgent study on the increasing costs of cell phone packages, citing contradictions to the testimony of wireless CEOs and statements made by the Liberal Minister of Industry. “Canada’s telecommunications sector needs more competition, not less,” the MPs asserted.
“Pursuant to Standing Order 106(4), the committee must convene at the earliest opportunity to discuss an urgent study on the increasing costs of cell phone packages in direct contradiction to the testimony of wireless CEOs before this committee January 27, 2023, and statements made by the Liberal Minister of Industry,” said the letter.
It’s worth noting that the Industry Committee had advised the government to reject the Rogers-Shaw merger, but the recommendation was ignored. Peter Nowak points out, “the feds – the same government whose former Industry minister now works for Rogers – ignored the committee.”
Former Industry Minister Navdeep Bains was hired by Rogers as their Chief Corporate Affairs Officer in April 2023. He stepped down from the federal Liberal Party suddenly in January 2021, claiming he wanted to spend more time with family, but we guess two years was more than enough.
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Videotron has added some interesting competition on the low end of the cellular market… imagine if Videotron had bought Shaw outright instead of Rogers…
That’d have been a much fairer merger eh?
There have been some phenomenal deals at the low end. $34 for 50GB 5G would have been unthinkable even a year ago! But it’s gross what they have been doing in other ways. The bloated and unnecessary activation fees are criminal at this point.
The problem is that these “deals” come around once a year while they should be the norm, at least.
The entire world is using more and more data, but Canadians pay through the nose for it. Even during the Harper years, a report they commissioned showed that Canadians were throttling their own usage because of punitive, predatory pricing of the big3, costing the economy billions back then.
Canadians end up being forced to act like a bunch of geriatric seniors that have to convince themselves that they don’t need to use so much data. They’re fooling themselves.
The “normal” price is $34 for 20GB 5G which is leaps and bounds better than what the prices were only a year ago.
Yes, if you buy a phone outright, if you go with a smaller provider, which is still giving money to the big 3 because we have so little competition.
Financing a phone doesn’t give you that option. Let’s not talk about the $60 activation fee that used to just be $30 or less a year ago. The $10 watch or tablet plans that are now $20 for no reason.
This government claims to bring prices down, yet we see price increases, and we have what should be a year long option a few days out of the year.
Get these clowns out of office. Maybe the CRTC needs to be dismantled because they clearly aren’t doing a thing since they’re in robelis’s pockets.
And yet 34$ should ever you UNLIMITED data with no throttling. See how you lack the correct perspective? Better than before doesn’t mean it’s good
The CRTC and Fed MPs always spew the same “we need more competition” yet merger after merger gets approved in Canada.
At least the federal MPs now playing stupid like this oligopoly price fixing was unexpected do so naturally?
With this many shocked Pikachus in parliament, we should be able to easily meet our renewable energy goals!
I don’t know what you think you mean by “shocked pikachu” but it doesn’t mean what you think it does.
Taxes just went up, again, grocers are still over charging, unpaid self checkouts are rampant, tipping is out of control, but a 3.00 price increase enrages voters and politicians. collectively, Canadians are ridiculous
No, not 3.00$. THE WHOLE THING. The 3.00$ is just the straw that broke the camels back. You clearly know that but you’re blaming the last thing as if everything else doesn’t matter. It all matters. It’s all the reason why people are upset about MORE in trades, not THE increase.