MPs summon CEOs of Rogers, Bell and Telus to appear at committee about phone prices

MPs have voted unanimously to summon the chief executives of Canada’s three largest telecommunications companies to testify at a federal committee as it studies the accessibility and affordability of wireless and broadband services.

A motion put forward Wednesday at the House of Commons’ industry committee meeting by NDP MP Don Davies calls on Tony Staffieri, Mirko Bibic and Darren Entwistle — the CEOs of Rogers Communications Inc., BCE Inc. and Telus Corp., respectively — to appear and answer questions.

The committee had previously invited the trio, along with Quebecor Inc. CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau, to appear before it.

While Péladeau answered that call earlier this month, Wednesday’s meeting heard from other witnesses representing each of the Big 3, whom Davies noted are “not the ones that this committee requested appear.”

Some members of the committee say they are concerned about cellphone and internet prices in Canada, arguing Canadians pay too much for those services.

On Tuesday, CRTC representatives told the committee that although consumer price index data shows Canadian telecommunication service prices have declined 16 per cent in the last year, the regulator doesn’t want bill hikes announced in January for some customers to become a trend.