Competition Panel Gets it Wrong? I don’t think so…

Last week the governments Competition Policy Review Panel released its report which recommended, among other things that foreign ownership rules for telecom companies be relaxed to promote competition.

Predictably, Canada’s largest Telecom Union, the Communications Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada disagrees arguing that Canada should retain ownership of its telecom industry something he claims Canadians are “overwhelmingly” in favour of in “poll after poll”.

It’s not hard to trump up poll results showing Canadians are against foreign ownership simply by injecting a little fear into the questions, just like Mr. Coles does in his statements to the media.

“Privacy for individuals and security for the nation are both threatened by placing our critical telecommunications infrastructure into foreign hands.”

That’s right Canada, if you could get your cell phone service from Verizon, terrorists will be knocking at your door.

Fear mongering has worked in the past but it’s starting to wear a little thin.

Ironic then that Canadians are getting a dose of exactly what that lack of foreign ownerhsip looks like with the “release” of the iPhone. I put “release” in quotes because “release” implies some kind of freedom which couldn’t be farther from the truth with the plans available from Rogers.

It’s not a poll, but the citizens over at http://www.ruinediphone.com/ don’t seem to understand why the iPhone plans in Canada are the most expensive in the world.

I guess someone forgot to explain to them that the security of the nation is at stake!

Actually, it’s not the security of the nation that’s at stake, but its economy.

What the Competition panel correctly recognizes is that if Canada doesn’t get more competitive telecommunications soon, Canadian business will simply not be able to compete in the digital age.