Globalive has launched a new avenue for people to share their concerns about the Rogers-Shaw merger with members of the federal government.
NoMerger.ca provides a template message opposing the merger and allows Canadians to share it with their Member of Parliament based on the postal code they provide.
“The Rogers-Shaw merger will only reduce competition and increase prices. Tell [Minister François-Philippe Champagne] to follow the advice of the Competition Commissioner and the Standing Committee on Industry and Technology and reject this merger,” the template reads.
Anthony Lacavera is the founder of Globalive and has been one of the many persistent voices against the merger.
Globalive had previously offered to buy Freedom Mobile when Rogers and Shaw agreed to sell it. The company’s $3.75 billion offer was rejected in favour of Vidéotron’s $2.85 billion offer. Lacavera was the founder and CEO of Wind Mobile before the company was sold to Shaw and rebranded to Freedom.
The $26 billion Rogers-Shaw merger needs approval from three parties. The Competition Bureau sought to block it through a hearing with the Competition Tribunal, which backed the telecoms. The bureau will present its case to the Federal Court of Appeal Tuesday.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approved the broadcasts aspect of the merger in March 2022. However, a recent application from TekSavvy asks the CRTC to examine Rogers’ plans to lease its broadband network to Vidéotron at a lower price than wholesale rates, which it alleges violates the Telecommunications Act. The CRTC has yet to respond to the application.
Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne must provide the third avenue of approval.
This isn’t the only time Lacavera has pushed for the Innovation Minister to stop the merger. He launched a similar measure on his personal website last year, asking Minister Champagne and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to end “the fake competition in wireless.”
Lacavera told MobileSyrup the original measure on his personal website was in response to many of the early concerns he heard for Canadians on the merger. But it only targeted Minister Champagne and Prime Minister Trudeau. He was also getting similar requests on how people could contact their MPs directly, resulting in the creation of NoMerger.ca.
While both websites are similar, Lacavera said he wouldn’t get rid of one or the other. “We are checking the form inputs to ensure there are no bots or duplicates.”
The new website launched Tuesday, and 4,000 Canadians have sent emails in the first 24 hours.
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