Telecom - Secretary General Letter addressed to John Lawford (Public Interest Advocacy Centre)

Ottawa, 28 August 2024

Our reference: 1011-NOC2022-0147

BY EMAIL

John Lawford
Public Interest Advocacy Centre
285 McLeod Street, Suite 200
Ottawa, ON  K1A 0N2
piac@piac.ca

Subject: Telecommunications in the Far North, Phase II, Telecom Notice of Consultation 2022-147 – Disclosure of information designated as confidential

Dear John Lawford:

Thank you for your letter dated 3 July 2024 on behalf of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC). We are writing to inform you of the Commission’s decision on your request for disclosure.

The Commission recognizes the importance of the issues you have raised in your letter and the unique role PIAC plays in advocating for Canadian consumers. In your letter, you requested disclosure of all documents submitted by Bell Canada and Northwestel Inc. (Northwestel) in response to a request for information (RFI) regarding the proposed acquisition of Northwestel by Sixty North Unity. This included information designated as confidential. In the alternative, you asked that Bell Canada and Northwestel refile their RFI response with the headings and names of the documents revealed.

As you know, following your request for disclosure, Bell Canada and Northwestel refiled their RFI response, and disclosed document names and brief descriptions that were previously confidential.

The Commission considers that the information that remains confidential is competitively sensitive. Disclosure of this information could affect ongoing negotiations or allow competitors to anticipate Northwestel’s business strategies. As such, the Commission determines that no further disclosure is required by Bell Canada and Northwestel in this case.

If you have any questions regarding the ongoing proceeding, please do not hesitate to contact Douglas Heath, Director General, Telecommunications Policy, at Douglas.Heath@crtc.gc.ca.

Sincerely,

Marc Morin
Secretary General

c.c.: Distribution List

Attachment (1): Distribution List

Distribution List:

Bell Canada: bell.regulatory@bell.ca
Northwestel Inc.: regulatoryaffairs@nwtel.ca
SSi Canada: regulatory@ssicanada.com
KatloTech Communications Ltd.: lyle_fabian@katlotech.ca

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