Jagmeet commits to lowering and capping cell phone and internet prices

The cost of Trudeau’s empty words: Highest cell phone bills in the world

TORONTO — Canadians pay some of the highest fees for cell phone bills in the world. Today, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh highlighted these bills as another example of the costs Canadians are being forced to pay because Justin Trudeau has failed to deliver on his promises.

“Instead of keeping his promise to lower the price of cell phone and internet service, Mr. Trudeau sided with the telecom giants and let them keep charging some of highest fees in the world. This isn’t a theoretical point; there is a very cost being paid by everyday people because of Justin Trudeau’s empty words,” said Jagmeet. “Mr. Trudeau says there’s a limit on how much we should work to make life more affordable. I’m not Justin Trudeau. I don’t work for the billionaires or big corporations. I will fight for people.”

Justin Trudeau broke his promise to lower phone bills in 2019. This time, he’s left it out of his platform entirely.

While standing in front of the headquarters of one of Canada’s largest telecom companies, Jagmeet, noted that Trudeau sided with the big corporations instead of fighting to keep life affordable. He stood back while the CRTC decided against setting a cap on prices, he did nothing to oppose the Rogers-Shaw merger even though it will mean fewer options for Canadians, and he let Telus and other companies take huge government subsidies while they hiked rates and sent Canadian jobs overseas.

“We know it is possible to make cell phone bills cheaper and so does Justin Trudeau. He chose to side with the big telecoms, instead of fighting them. He thinks we should limit how much we fight to help people and make big corporations pay their share. I’m not Justin Trudeau. I will fight with ‘unlimited zeal’ for people,” said Jagmeet. “I will cap bills, I will direct the CRTC to reverse its decision so life can be more affordable for families, and I will make sure that any company that gets government help, needs to keep jobs and success, here in Canada. Better is possible. You just need to vote for it.”