Originally published June 26 2005
Telecommunication companies to challenge Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) marketing decision
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Phone companies in Canada are complaining that the recent CRTC decision to limit marketing to ex-customers infringes their rights to free expression under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Bell Canada, SaskTel and Telus Corp. have launched a legal challenge to a ruling by Canada's telecom watchdog that limits the lengths they can go to in attempting to win back customers who switch to competitors' services.
The phone companies allege that a May 12 ruling by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission violates their rights to free expression under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The phone companies were already appealing the win-back rules directly to the CRTC but now they're hoping the Federal Court of Appeal will deal with the matter on constitutional grounds, industry consultant Lis Angus said Monday.
The CRTC said as part of its new policy on Internet phone service that it would maintain rules that limit the big phone companies' attempts to win back customers who switch to a competitor.
"By imposing these marketing restrictions, the CRTC has pushed well beyond its jurisdiction to the point where it's infringing on our constitutional rights to communicate freely and openly with consumers," Lawson Hunter, executive vice-president of Bell Canada and BCE Inc. (TSX:BCE), said in a release.
"Extending the no-contact rule makes a bad situation for consumers even worse," said Janet Yale, executive vice-president of corporate affairs at Telus (TSX:T).
There is absolutely no justification for applying the winback rule in an increasingly competitive communications market that includes established cable companies and many other players, such as foreign resellers."
The Federal Court of Appeal challenge is part of a broader battle spawned by emerging voice over Internet protocol service, or VoIP, which will enable cable companies and others to compete in the local phone markets.
Bell, Telus, SaskTel and Aliant have said previously they'll appeal the overall VoIP policy to the federal cabinet, arguing it imposes unfair restrictions on them that aren't imposed on cable companies and other VoIP competitors.
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