ARCHIVED - Telecom Commission Letter addressed to Dennis Béland (Québecor Média) and Jonathan Blakey (Bell Canada)
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Ottawa, 19 June 2019
Our reference: 8660-V3-201904516
BY EMAIL
Mr. Dennis Béland
Vice-president, Regulatory Affairs
Telecommunications
Québecor Média
612, rue St-Jacques, 15e étage
Montréal, Quebec H3C 4M8
regaffairs@quebecor.com
Mr. Jonathan Blakey
Assistant General Counsel
Bell Canada
160, Elgin Street, 19th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario K2P 2C4
bell.regulatory@bell.ca
Re : Part 1 application filed by Québecor Média inc. on behalf of its subsidiary, Vidéotron Ltd. (collectively, Vidéotron), against Bell Canada on behalf of its subsidiary Bell Mobility Inc. (collectively, Bell), requesting that the Commission order Bell to abstain from suspending wholesale roaming service offered to Vidéotron
Dear Sirs:
On 11 June 2019, the Commission received the above-noted application from Québecor Média inc., on behalf of its subsidiary, Vidéotron Ltd (Vidéotron) in which Vidéotron requested, among other things, a Commission decision ordering Bell Canada on behalf of its subsidiary Bell Mobility Inc. (Bell) to abstain from suspending Vidéotron’s wholesale roaming service.
Vidéotron stated that in the event the Commission could not issue a final decision before 23 June 2019, it requested the Commission render an interim decision by 23 June 2019 ordering Bell to abstain from suspending Vidéotron’s wholesale roaming service until such time as the Commission render a final decision.
By letter dated 17 June 2019, Commission staff considered that, in the circumstances, it was appropriate to process the request for final relief on an expedited basis, but was of the view that it was not necessary to render interim relief before 23 June 2019. Accordingly, Bell and all interested parties were given until 8 July 2019 to file theiranswer or comments to the final relief application and with reply comments filed by 15 July 2019.
Also, in the 17 June 2019 letter, Commission staff requested that Bell maintain the roaming services provided to Vidéotron until the Commission had rendered a decision on the final relief and to confirm with the Commission, within 24 hours of receipt of the letter, that said roaming services offered to Vidéotron would be maintained.
By letter dated 18 June 2019, Bell stated that Commission staff's request of 17 June 2019 was asking Bell to consent to an interim injunction without the matter ever having being brought to the Commission, without the Commission having rendered a decision on it, and without Bell ever having been heard on this important issue. Therefore, Bell requested an opportunity to make submissions to the Commission on Videotron's application for an interim injunction, in accordance with the well-accepted criteria set out in RJR Macdonald Inc. v. Canada (Attorney General), [1994] 1 S.C.R. 311.
Bell added that by way of response to Commission staff's requests, it committed to maintain the roaming services to Videotron and committed not to suspend/terminate their provision until either: (i) the date on which the Commission renders its decision on the interim injunction application, or (ii) 3 September 2019, whichever is earliest.
Finally, in a letter dated 19 June 2019, Vidéotron stated its support of the process set out in the Commission staff letter of 17 June 2019, and asked the Commission to maintain this approach.
In view of all the foregoing, Bell and all interested parties have until 25 June 2019 to file theiranswer or comments on the request for interim relief, with a copy to Vidéotron. Reply comments from Vidéotron may be filed no later than 28 June 2019, with a copy to Bell and all interested parties. Documents are to be received, and not merely sent, by these dates.
The dates set out in the 17 June 2019 letter for the filing of an answer and interventions as well as the reply regarding the request for final relief remain unchanged.
Sincerely,
Original signed by Valerie Plaskacz for
Michel Murray
Director, Dispute Resolution and Regulatory Implementation
Telecommunications Sector
c.c. : Guillaume Castonguay, CRTC, guillaume.castonguay@crtc.gc.ca
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