The provincial government continues to stoke public outrage over expensive cellphone bills, appointing a point person on the issue while admitting that Ottawa, not the province, controls action on mobile phone companies.
Premier John Horgan named backbench Maple Ridge-Mission MLA Bob D鈥橢ith as 鈥渢he federal lead on telecommunications鈥� with a mandate to lobby Ottawa鈥檚 minority parliament and remind federal parties to follow through with various election promises to reduce prices on cellphone plans.
鈥淲hat the premier has asked me to do is reach out to our current counterparts in the federal government and say: 鈥榊ou鈥檇 promised to do something about this. I鈥檓 going to hold you to task on that,鈥欌�� said D鈥橢ith. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 action right there.鈥�
sa国际传媒 promised in its February throne speech that 鈥測our government will give consumers the tools they need to get the least expensive possible service and encourage the federal government to deliver more affordable cellphone options for people鈥� while noting that rising bills are making life less affordable for many consumers.
鈥淢inistry staff is going to undertake a legislative review of sa国际传媒 consumer protection laws to see what can be done on a provincial level,鈥� D鈥橢ith said on Tuesday.
When asked why that work wasn鈥檛 started nine months ago, after being promised in the throne speech, D鈥橢ith said the government first wanted to conduct public consultation.
鈥淲e like to listen before we take action,鈥� he said.
Only six per cent of respondents agreed that the cost of their cellphone service is reasonable, and nine per cent agreed they get good value, according to an online survey of 15,549 British Columbians released Tuesday.
About one-third of people surveyed said they found their cellphone bills hard to understand, and two-thirds said they鈥檝e had to dispute an issue with their contract or bill.
鈥淣ow we have over 15,000 people who鈥檝e told us what they鈥檙e feeling 鈥� they鈥檙e feeling gouged, they鈥檙e feeling they want us to act,鈥� said D鈥橢ith.
Experts have consistently said cellphone companies are federally regulated and provinces have little authority to act.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a federal issue, the Parliament of sa国际传媒 is the one with responsibility for telecommunications policy, and I don鈥檛 see any immediate provincial jurisdiction around cellphone rates,鈥� said Cristie Ford, professor, associate dean and regulation scholar at UBC鈥檚 Allard School of Law.聽鈥淚 don鈥檛 see how the provincial government gets jurisdiction into the problem.鈥�
Provincial consumer protection authority would usually only come into play if there鈥檚 evidence telecommunications companies are gouging people, unfairly manipulating markets or fixing prices, said Ford. Cellphone prices are approved by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Committee. 鈥淚t would be hard for sa国际传媒 to suggest that rates that have been accepted by the CRTC were contrary to consumer protection,鈥� said Ford.
