TELUS: “We don’t think the CRTC had any choice”

It was back in April that TELUS asked the CRTC to look into the foreign ownership of Globalive. It was Michael Hennessy, TELUS senior vice-president of Regulatory and Government Affairs for Telus who said “In Telus’s view, a more fulsome and transparent review is required in order to ensure that all similarly situated carriers are being treated equally and fairly”.

The CRTC held hearings last month and today found that Globalive did not meet the requirements of becoming one of Canada’s newest wireless operator.

In a press release, TELUS stated they are “pleased the CRTC made the correct decision that Globalive is not compliant with the Telecommunications Act in respect of foreign ownership restrictions. We commend the CRTC for holding an open and transparent public process to deal with this critical decision.”

Michael Hennessy said “We don’t think the CRTC had any choice or latitude under the laws of Canada to make any other decision. It is important to note that this decision does not prevent Globalive or any other new wireless company from competing in Canada or accessing capital, as several are successfully doing. It merely means they must abide by Canada’s laws.”

“TELUS will again recommend to the government that in order to avoid similar situations arising in the future, all bidders in future spectrum auctions should be pre-qualified as legitimate Canadian owned and controlled entities,” Hennessy said.