CRTC will not reverse jurisdiction decision in Ontario prison long-distance rates case

The CRTC will not reverse a decision in which it found that rates charged for long-distance phone services at prisons in Ontario are not subject to its approval. In December, after requests for review from the province and BCE Inc., the CRTC found that the rates for long-distance calling in Ontario correctional facilities were forborne from regulation in a 1997 decision, “and have not been subject to commission approval since that time.” At issue, according to Bell and Ontario, was that the CRTC was not specific enough about the role forbearance plays in its regulatory toolkit, potentially leaving a gap that could allow various levels of courts to jump in on market business where they should not. The commission at the same time found it would not have the ability to adjust rates retroactively to provide relief to the plaintiffs in a proposed class action lawsuit before the Ontario courts. The suit alleges that Bell Canada overcharged on long-distance rates in penitentiaries in Ontario. In a decision released Friday, Sept. 26, the CRTC upheld its December decision. “At the core of Bell Canada’s and Ontario’s arguments in the present review and vary applications is the proposition that the commission was required to definitively state that its jurisdiction to set just and reasonable rates is exclusive, and that a decision to forbear from regulating those rates is an exercise of this exclusive jurisdiction,” the CRTC wrote in its latest decision, “thus precluding the courts from applying laws of general application to rates charged by a telecommunications company. However, the commission did not consider this as a central issue it needed to address .” During the period Bell held the contract for the telephone systems for people detained in Ontario correctional facilities between 2013 and 2021, the rates Bell charged for collect calls violated provincial consumer protection legislation and were “unconscionable,” the suit alleges. As part of the suit, Bell and the province questioned whether the courts even have jurisdiction in this situation, saying the matter should be left up to the regulator. The Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS) said that the issue was beyond its scope. The Wire Report has reached out to Bell and the province requesting comment on the CRTC’s most recent decision. news@thewirereport.ca With files from The Wire Report’s archives.

CRTC will not reverse jurisdiction decision in Ontario prison long-distance rates case

Regulatory |
By Wire Report Staff
|September 26, 2025

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CRTC will not reverse jurisdiction decision in Ontario prison long-distance rates case

Regulatory | By Wire Report Staff |September 26, 2025

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