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Could it be we finally have too much competition in Canadian residential telecom services, and that all this competition is actually harming Canadian consumers? That would seem to be the conclusion drawn in a recent study, “The State of Competition in Canada’s Telecommunications Industry,” by the Montreal Economic Institute.

It’s an odd conclusion for the MEI, which purports to extol the virtues of free markets. And yet, it seems to be arguing, among other things, that eliminating independent Internet service providers (ISPs) like VMedia, which offer more choice and better prices for Internet and TV services, will help consumers. This despite the fact that our monthly bills from the incumbent players for Internet and TV far outstrip the rate of inflation, even as their profits continue to grow.

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The MEI’s release of its annual study happened while the federal cabinet was, at the time, considering a petition by Bell asking the government to reverse a recent CRTC decision that gave ISPs access to Bell’s new fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) facilities. Thankfully, Bell’s appeal was denied, with Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Navdeep Bains citing the importance of striking the right balance for “competitive choice.” Since the MEI report was nevertheless given so much undeserved prominence by the mainstream media, some context, not to mention some incontrovertible facts, are in order.