Ottawa, ON – Gérard Deltell, Conservative Shadow Minister for Innovation, Science and Industry, and Michael Kram, Vice-Chair for the Standing Committee on Industry and Technology, issued the following statement on the two emergency committee hearings concerning the July 8th Rogers telecommunication outage:
“On July 8, 2022, Rogers telecommunications experienced a nationwide outage that left over 12 million Canadians unable to access internet and cellular networks. This resulted in a dangerous situation that left many Canadians unable to contact 9-1-1, prevented businesses from accepting debit card transactions, and severely hampered access to key government services.
“This was not the first time a major outage on the Rogers network has occurred. Despite a previous major outage occurring on the Rogers network in 2021, and despite recommendations from experts at the time to prevent such an outage from reoccurring, the Trudeau Liberals did nothing after the 2021 outage to ensure that Canadians were able to access critical services.
“Canadians deserve a government that will take meaningful action to prevent major outages, rather than rap the big telcos over their knuckles after an outage occurs.
“As multiple experts have noted, competition is essential to a healthy telecommunications industry and would spur innovation, help prevent further outages, and ensure Canadians have consistent access to emergency services. We hope that this time around expert advice will not fall on deaf ears.
“Conservatives will continue fighting for more competition in this sector, listen to the advice from experts, and ensure Canadians always have access to these essential services.”
