Liberals must stand up for Canadians and block the Rogers and Shaw merger – NDP
Canada’s Federal Court of Appeal has rejected the Competition Bureau’s request to block the takeover of Shaw by Rogers, a decision that removes one of the final hurdles standing in the way of the $20-billion merger from going ahead.
In May 2022, the Competition Bureau filed court applications with the Competition Tribunal seeking a full block of Rogers’ proposed acquisition of Shaw. This action was taken because of the Bureau’s position that the transaction would likely harm millions of Canadian consumers in Alberta and British Columbia, through higher prices, lower quality service, and lost innovation for wireless services – an essential service that Canadians expect to be affordable and high quality.
The hearing of the application began on November 7, 2022 and ran through December 8, 2022. Closing oral arguments took place on December 13 and 14, respectively.
The Tribunal released an Information Note regarding the matter on December 29, 2022, indicating it intended to dismiss the Bureau’s application. The Bureau filed a notice of appeal with the Federal Court of Appeal regarding the Tribunal’s pending decision on December 30, 2022. The Tribunal’s full decision on the matter was issued on January 1, 2023.
On January 24, 2023, the Federal Court of Appeal heard and ultimately dismissed the appeal.
Matthew Boswell, Commissioner of Competition, expressed his disappointment on the decision. “We stand by the findings of our investigation and the decision to challenge the merger. We brought a strong, responsible case to the Tribunal after conducting a thorough examination of the facts.”
NDP Critic for Innovation, Science and Industry Brian Masse responding to Rogers and Shaw winning the merger case said, “Today’s decision by the Federal Court of Appeal to allow the Rogers and Shaw merger to proceed is bad news for Canadian families who depend on telecom services in their everyday lives. This will mean less competition and higher monthly bills for cellphone and internet services.”
Already, Canadians pay among the highest prices in the world for their telecom services. Meanwhile, other countries like Ireland, France and Australia introduced regulations that protect consumers from greedy telecom companies. These regulations created real competition and more affordable telecom services. There is no reason why Canada shouldn’t move in the same direction,” he said.
The Rogers and Shaw merger will only lead to less competition, a bigger monopoly, massive layoffs and higher prices for people.
“This disappointing decision shows once again the need to modernize competition laws to better protect the interests of Canadians. Throughout this court battle, the Competition Bureau stood up for Canadian consumers with the tools at their disposal. However, now it is up to the Liberals to stand up for Canadians,” he added.
“It is not too late to put a stop to this merger that will only hurt Canadian families whose budgets are already stretched thin.The Liberals must step in and stand up for consumers by blocking this merger now.”
