Canada's telecommunications companies are on the hot seat in Ottawa, defending themselves in a hearing that’s looking into misleading and aggressive sales tactics on the part of the country’s cable and internet providers.
Four companies — Videotron, SaskTel, Cogeco and Telus — appeared before the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) on Thursday. The broadcast regulator is holding five days of hearings, investigating the sales practices of Canada's telecommunications firms and looking at whether new rules are needed to protect consumers from being duped into taking services they don’t want or need.
The CRTC is deciding whether a new code of conduct is required for cable and internet companies that outline clear rules for how they should deal with the public.
On Thursday, Telus representatives said the company would support a new code if it was national in scope and made it easier for consumers to file complaints. But their overarching message was that there is no shortage of rules in place to protect the public.
"We actually believe self-regulation is okay. We believe we would self-regulate responsibly and reliably," said Tony Geheren, Chief Customer Officer at Telus. "But in the instances where a provider is not doing that, then we believe the powers already exist to take them to task. It's just not being enforced. So, will a new code do anything different? That would be our concern."
The message that problems with aggressive or misleading marketing stems from a lack of enforcement and not a lack of regulations was echoed in unison by all of the telecommunications companies that appeared before the CRTC this week.
In its presentation to the commission, Saskatchewan's SaskTel said the CRTC should target companies that are violating existing rules rather than cracking down on the entire industry with new rules. The words “self-regulation” were repeated multiple times by all the cable and internet companies appearing before the CRTC in recent days.
