Quebecor Tells the CRTC It Already Killed Fees Bell, Rogers and Telus Still Charge

Quebecor Media told the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) on August 31 that it fully supports the ban on activation and modification fees, calling those charges barriers to switching cellphone and Internet plans.

The intervention lands on the public-comment deadline in the show-cause case against Bell, Rogers and Telus, who rolled out new device, SIM and shipping charges after the old $80 connection fee died on June 12. Quebecor says Videotron, Freedom Mobile and Fizz have already complied by dropping those fees, or never charging them.

That is the same argument Freedom made in July with its “What The Fees?!” campaign, which called out rivals for swapping banned activation charges for new ones under a different name. “Our customers should know exactly what they’re paying, with nothing added along the way. That’s the standard we hold ourselves to, and we think it’s the one Canadians deserve,” said Jean B. Peladeau, Freedom’s chief marketing officer, in a Freedom newsroom statement.

Bell still bills $40 for device handling on phones bought with a plan, Telus added a $15 SIM or eSIM fee, and Rogers stacked a $40 device setup charge plus $25 shipping, extras CRTC staff have already said do not look like optional add-ons, and the companies still get a written reply next week after they tried to stall the probe and lost.

Quebecor is also leaning on cheaper wireless plans, price-protection promises, and Freedom’s Price Freeze Promise and Roam Beyond in 120-plus destinations, sitting beside a recent Videotron wholesale internet fight the Commission already decided.

The three incumbents still face possible compliance orders and fines of up to $10 million per violation if the Commission finds they broke the switching-fee ban. The file is Telecom Notice of Consultation CRTC 2026-155.