AT&T Canada’s backing from other telcos too cozy for Toronto’s liking

The groundswell of support for AT&T Canada Corp in its fight with the City of Toronto has raised the hackles of the municipality and it's asking the CRTC to ignore their interventions. The city claims that other CLECs, telcos and cablecos are attempting to turn a contract dispute between itself and AT&T into a larger public policy issue. "As far as I can tell, these guys are saying nothing more than AT&T has said or could say, so what's the benefit of having six carriers say that as opposed to one?" asks Edward Earle, a member of the Toronto legal team. "Well, I'll tell you what the benefit is. The benefit is to stand up, do a head count and convince the CRTC, based on grounds totally unrelated to this dispute, that there's some serious policy issue here that threatens the industry and the very fabric of our country and has to be dealt with. That's the point. And I just think that's improper." AT&T Canada has filed a Part VII application with the commission, suggesting the conditions of the Ledcor vs Vancouver decision should be applied to an earlier contract the telco has with the city (NL, July 17/01). The company's position has been endorsed by a host of other carriers, including Telus Corp, Bell Canada, GT Group Telecom Services Corp, and Vidéotron Télécom ltée. Earle objects to what he describes as a wave of redundant and undetailed filings. "Participation by these parties is 'piling on' which merely increases the burden on the city in responding to what is, it is submitted, a frivolous and unconscionable application intended to pressure the city into waiving its legal rights under an existing agreement," Earle writes in a letter to the commission. He adds that such interventions, if permitted, would allow the telecom industry to "persecute" municipalities attempting to defend their rights. This would be an abuse of process, which could be better served by utilizing the courts, Earle maintains. As such, he urges the CRTC to disregard any submissions by the other telcos or any others who file. Earle bases his motion on his interpretation of section 60 of the CRTC Telecommunications Rules of Procedure. Those provisions, he suggests, require prior consent from the commission before interested parties may file. No such process was followed in this case. Interestingly enough, Michel Messier, senior analyst for regulatory affairs at Vidéotron, cites the same section when telling the CRTC why his company should be permitted to submit. "The only direction that could apply to an interested party intervening in a proceeding triggered by the filing of a Part VII application is to serve a copy of its letter of intervention to other persons that the commission may direct," he writes. Toronto objects to the three-paragraph submission from the Canadian Cable Tele-vision Association endorsing the AT&T Canada position. The city says the CCTA did not provide it with a copy as required by the Rules of Procedure. The city attorney says later responses by AT&T Canada cite arguments offered by other carriers. He argues against new issues and evidence being entered so late in the process and urges the commission to strike those sections of the CLEC's filing. However, Earle is not alleging any collusion between the carriers. "I have no evidence of that. All I can point out is that I think a lot of the comments are practically cookie cutter, one page submissions," he tells Network Letter. "One carrier sent a letter, the rest of them read it and thought, 'Oh, that's a good idea. I think I'll send a similar letter.'" The lawyer wonders if the united front of telcos is in any way related to Toronto's leadership in the appeal of the Ledcor decision. "These guys are all on one side of the table and we're on the other side. I'm sure they talk. We talk, why wouldn't they?"

AT&T Canada’s backing from other telcos too cozy for Toronto’s liking

News | 07/30/2001 4:00 am EDT

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