01) TIME FOR PUBLIC OWNERSHIP OF TELCOM INDUSTRY

 

Statement by the Central Executive Committee, Communist Party of Canada, October 2013

 

            The decision by the giant U.S.‑based Verizon not to enter the Canadian telecommunications market at this time ended one sharp battle over the immediate future of this major industry. But the issues raised by this episode remain on the table, as seen by the proposal from CEP/Unifor to establish a publicly‑owned crown corporation in the telecommunications sector. The Communist Party of Canada believes that the best way to protect Canadian sovereignty, jobs, and consumer interests would be to put wireless and the entire telecommunications industry under public ownership and democratic control.

 

            Verizon intended either to take part in an upcoming wireless spectrum auction, or to buy one of the smaller telcos operating here, with the aim of becoming a dominant force in Canada's telecommunications sector. That strategy was backed by the Harper Conservatives, using a smokescreen of "more choice for consumers." But Verizon was strongly resisted, by the current three big companies in the Canadian market, by unions representing workers in this sector, and by a majority of Canadians opposed to foreign-owned wireless companies entering the Canadian telecommunications market.

           

The opposition expressed by Rogers, Telus and Bell Aliant is understandable. These domestic corporations rang up $3.3 billion in profits last year, from combined revenues of $26.6 billion, and they mounted a huge public relations campaign to preserve their lucrative monopoly status in Canada.

 

            But there were many other reasons to speak out. Existing "free trade" rules mean that Verizon's expansion would effectively create one integrated North American market, dominated by U.S. capital. The CRTC would lose any meaningful ability to protect Canadian consumers. Allowing Verizon to piggyback on communications technology built by and for Canadians would put thousands out of work, without lowering costs for consumers.

 

            This crisis arose from last year's federal omnibus budget, which allowed foreign?controlled corporations to buy 100 per cent of telco companies holding up to 10 per cent of the Canadian market, and from there to expand without limit.

 

            Since telecom firms increasingly also provide broadcasting services, opening the sector to foreign companies is a step towards foreign ownership in broadcasting, inevitably undermining Canadian cultural content.

 

            This scenario is clearly the goal of the Harper Conservatives. According to a leaked German document, Canada has included telecommunications "liberalization" in the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) currently under negotiation with the European Union. CETA would make it nearly impossible for the people of Canada to own, protect and regulate this vital sector of the economy.

 

            There are also serious national security and privacy concerns related to this debate. Verizon has worked closely with the U.S. National Security Agency to collect personal data on millions of customers, and the company has close ties to the U.S. military. If asked by U.S. authorities for the personal information of Canadian subscribers, Verizon would likely have to comply under the U.S. Patriot Act and Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

 

            For all these reasons, Canadians must remain vigilant against any new proposals by giant U.S. telecom firms to enter the Canadian market, and against the dangerous CETA deal.

 

            Instead, the Communist Party of Canada calls to put this important industry, one of the "commanding heights" of the economy, under full public ownership and democratic control.

 

            Such a strategy is necessary to ensure equal and affordable access to services which all Canadians need. Cable and internet, land lines and cell phones, should be seen as important public utilities rather than a source of huge profits for private shareholders.

 

            Public ownership under democratic control is needed to protect the jobs of many thousands of Canadians who work in this sector, and to direct the profits from this industry towards the urgent economic and social needs of working people.

 

            The increasing domination of TV, radio and internet by U.S.‑based transnationals poses a direct threat to the cultural development, democracy and sovereignty of the peoples of Canada. Our interests cannot be protected by private corporations or even by publicly‑funded entities, such as CBC and TVOntario, which operate at the dictates of right‑wing governments.

 

            Not least, as the recent NSA scandal shows, private corporations will not resist the increasing U.S. pressure to allow access to communications data for purposes of so‑called "national security".

 

            It is also timely to call for public ownership in other key sectors, such as oil and gas, resources, pharmaceuticals, and banking and insurance. Such highly profitable industries could become the material basis for a radical transformation of the economy, focused on jobs, housing, social programs, and environmental sustainability.

 

            Expanded public ownership is not a utopian dream; it is an urgent necessity as the private profit economy known as capitalism attacks to the living standards of working people and threatens the very future of our planet. Placing the telecommunications sector under public ownership and democratic control would help to put people's needs ahead of corporate greed, a good step towards a real People's Alternative for the Canadian economy.

(The above article is from the October 16-31, 2013, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)