Liberal government’s ‘free ride’ on industry file to end: Rempel Garner

Conservative industry critic Michelle Rempel Garner is calling on both the Liberal government and her own party to develop a big-picture vision when it comes to telecom issues. “Having a more cohesive vision about where we’re going and what the most effective responses are to some of these challenges is better than just reacting to the rote lobbying concerns,” she said in a phone interview. “I think we have let the industry, and we shouldn’t diminish the industry’s concerns, but we have solely let industry and their demands, I think, move Parliament’s activities and the government’s activities in this regard.” Following the release of the broadcasting and telecommunications legislative review panel’s recommendations on how to modernize the telecom and broadcasting acts on Jan. 29, Rempel Garner held a press conference to outline her views on what the priorities should be. That included a call to “disrupt” the status quo by, for instance, changing the legal framework around data to view it as a property right, and to re-examine how spectrum auctions are structured. Successive governments, she said in the interview, have viewed spectrum auctions in terms of the revenues they generate. “I don’t think in Parliament or in broad political discourse we’ve had an engaged public conversation on what the actual public policy goal of spectrum auctions should be in a long time and that’s where I want to start,” she said. The idea of holding spectrum auctions with goals other than maximizing revenue is something the Liberals also promised during the fall election and in Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains’ mandate letter, which directs him to “award spectrum access based on commitments towards consumer choice, affordability and broad access.” During the interview, Rempel Garner didn’t answer directly when asked about some of the key telecom-related issues of the day. On whether to mandate MVNO access, she said she is “open” to the idea but would want the industry committee to study the issue as part of the wider review of setting goals and targets. “In a 10 year period of time, where do we want to be as a country in terms of access and in terms of affordability and what is the best way for us to get there and what is the role of government in that regard,” she said. “And mandated MVNOs are obviously part of that conversation but I don’t think it’s the only part. And I think where we have gotten into trouble as a country is looking at these decisions sort of in isolation without that broader vision.” Asked whether she is in favour of banning Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. equipment from Canada’s 5G networks -- Conservative public safety critic Pierre Paul-Hus called for a ban Thursday -- Rempel Garner responded that she has a “lot of concerns about Huawei’s ties to the Chinese government.” Now that the legislative review panel’s report is out, leaving the government to move on with updating the telecom act, Rempel Garner said the process of analyzing those aspirational targets should be part of that process. “If you drill down from there, the review should be saying how do we got to those points, is the current state capable of getting to those aspirational targets, and if the answer is no, making structural changes and defining what the role of government is in that space in order to meet those targets,” she said. “That’s where I hope to sort of be provocative in my role in opposition.” If the government then opts for “just ramming legislation through” she plans to “hold them accountable for a squandered opportunity.” Rempel Garner also said her own party needs to have some of those same discussions as part of its ongoing leadership race. Rempel Garnerherself has not ruled out running for the job of Conservative leader. “I think that my party needs to set some aspirational goals on this, and I’d like to see our leadership race talk about this in a cohesive way,” she said. Rempel Garner asked to be put on this file, which she said the Liberals weren’t properly held to account for in the last Parliament, when Maxime Bernier -- who left to start his own party -- was the critic. By the time Dan Albas took over, an election was already on the horizon, Repel noted. “I think we kind of gave the government a free ride on this last time.” — With reporting by by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca and editing by Adam Langenberg at alangenberg@thewirereport.ca

Liberal government’s ‘free ride’ on industry file to end: Rempel Garner

News | February 14, 2020

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Liberal government’s ‘free ride’ on industry file to end: Rempel Garner

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