Canada's NDP

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June 11th, 2019

Liberals and Conservatives Vote Against Making Life More Affordable for Canadians

OTTAWA – On Tuesday, Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government was joined by Andrew Scheer’s Conservatives in siding with huge profits for giant corporations by voting against a plan to bring relief to Canadians on their cell and internet bills. The NDP was calling on the Liberal government to implement measures that would make telecommunications services more affordable in Canada.

“For too long, governments in Ottawa have let telecommunications companies take huge profits by gouging Canadians,” said NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh. “Today, the Liberals had a chance to stand up for everyday people and make sure everyone gets a better deal for their cell and internet services. They chose not to and put these corporations first. Canadians deserve better.”

Canadian telecommunications companies make more revenue, per gigabyte of data, than almost any company, anywhere in the world. Despite their outstanding profits, Bell, Rogers and Telus received almost $50 million in subsidies and more than $700 million in contracts from Trudeau’s Liberals. Meanwhile, Canadian families struggle to pay their bills at the end of the month.

“The NDP will introduce concrete measures to make life more affordable for Canadians,” said NDP Critic for Innovation, Science and Economic Development, Brian Masse (Windsor West). “Instead of standing up for families who can’t afford to pay their bills for essential telecommunications services, the Liberals decided to side with the richest corporations and vote down the NDP’s proposal to make life more affordable for everyone.”

The motion called on the Trudeau government to implement a price cap to ensure Canadians save money on their telecommunications bill. Other measures included abolishing data caps for broadband internet and mandating that companies create unlimited data plans at affordable rates for wireless services. The Liberals and Conservatives showed whose side they were on and rejected the NDP’s plan to make life more affordable for Canadian families.