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Tony Lacavera, chief executive of Wind Mobile, wants to make a couple of things clear.

First, Wind is not about to be gobbled up by one of its larger competitors. The company he helped launch in 2008 is here to stay.

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Second, the federal government’s policy on foreign investment in the telco industry is inconsistent and it’s hurting investors — including his own. By promising to allow foreigners in the door but at the same time maintaining the right to shut out players it doesn’t like, Ottawa has managed to frighten off the thing it needs most.

“You can’t have your cake and eat it too,” Mr. Lacavera said in an interview. “I know from first-hand experience the government created a great deal of difficulties for me in getting foreign investors confident that Wind is in a good place to make an investment.”

That would be an understatement. Since start-up, Wind has swallowed up over $1.5-billion of capital, mostly provided by Orascom, an Egyptian company that was recently acquired by Netherlands-based VimpelCom. VimpelCom has now written down the value of Wind to zero, primarily due to Ottawa’s opaque policy, according to Mr. Lacavera, who insists that whatever the financial statements say, Wind is on track to turn a profit next year.