NDP: Liberals let telecom giants run roughshod over Canadians

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh made the following statement in response to Telus announcing they’re cutting 6,000 jobs:

“The loss of these jobs is devastating for the workers and their families. There is never a good time to lose your job, but this news is especially difficult considering the cost of living is so high and people are struggling to pay their mortgages, rent and grocery bills.

6,000 jobs is a staggering number of layoffs from a profitable company like Telus. And while these workers lose their jobs, Telus CEO, Darren Entwistle, was paid $17.49 million in 2022.

Instead of cracking down on huge telecom giants charging Canadians pay some of the highest internet and cell phones bills in the G7, the Liberals are taking every chance they get to give these companies a free ride.

They didn’t intervene to stop the Rogers Shaw merger and now there’s even less competition for Canadian consumers and opportunities for workers. When the merger was proposed, New Democrats opposed it because we were worried costs would go up and jobs would be lost. Clearly, we’re seeing huge layoffs and it’s not just at Telus.

Instead of making the right choice for Canadians, Liberals chose to stand with huge telecom companies. Former minister, Navdeep Bains, even took a gravy job with Rogers shortly after the deal went through. How can Canadians trust that Liberals have their backs when they're benefiting from decisions that make hardworking people pay more and get less?

People deserve better than a government who supports their ultra-rich, well-connected friends. New Democrats are going to fight for these telecom workers and we’re going to hold these massive telecom companies accountable for the choices they make.

Their decisions impact our family budgets and they hurt our communities when they make deep cuts."