Ms. Libby Davies (Vancouver East, NDP): – Mr. Speaker, when it comes to sticking up for consumers, the Conservatives cannot be trusted. We saw it on ATM fees, on cellphone charges and on credit card rates.
Now we learn that at CRTC hearings, for two years the government failed to take action to protect consumers from cable company overcharge. We are talking about more than $1.2 billion owed to Canadians.
Would the government tell us why ordinary Canadians are overpaying for cable services and why the government has done diddly-squat to stop it?
[…] the Canadian television fund was not meant to be a hidden tax to consumers. We all remember last year’s fiasco when Shaw and Vidéotron refused to live up to their obligations. In fact, they were forced to reverse themselves, despite the lack of leadership from the heritage minister.
Cable companies must live up to their obligations and they cannot do so by ripping off Canadians.
Why is the government letting cable companies pass the buck to consumers? Why is the government refusing to take action to protect Canadians from these cable company fee grabs? Why is the government not taking action?