Q&A: CCTS head wants TV, wireless customers to feel less pain

Earlier this year, Josée Bidal Thibault was named CEO of the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS), the independent agency tasked with mediating disputes between individual Canadians and telecom companies. And she’s got her hands full. With complaint volumes on the rise and Canadians increasingly turning to the CCTS, Bidal Thibault spoke with The Wire Report to discuss how her organization is working to help relieve “pain points” for consumers. How has your first few months as CCTS commissioner been? It’s been quite a ride and really, really busy. Complaint volumes are up significantly, so we’re focused on delivering services in a way that is scalable and reliable and efficient. When I think about my areas of focus, it’s important to me that CCTS is an organization that’s adaptable to changing circumstances. We’re ready for what’s going to come next, whatever that might look like. One area of focus has been building and sustaining trust with our stakeholders. I’ve been spending a lot of time with all different types of stakeholders, including consumers, consumer advocacy groups, service providers, and the CRTC. It’s important we continue building those relationships to really understand their experiences. If someone is still wondering what the CCTS does, how would you explain it to them? The CCTS is the independent ombuds for the telecom and TV service industry. What that means is we help customers and service providers resolve complaints. We’re not meant to be the first point of contact. Customers do have to try to resolve things directly with their provider first because that’s in the best interest of everybody. But, in cases where those complaints aren’t resolved, customers can absolutely reach out to CCTS. We offer that independent third-party review of the issue. We’re focused on finding quick solutions that satisfy both parties, and we’re pretty successful at doing that. The majority of complaints get resolved, often within about 20 days. There’s currently a CRTC proceeding about this topic, but do you believe enough Canadians know about the CCTS and its work? I think it’s crucial Canadians know about the CCTS and that they have the right to reach out if they haven’t been able to get something resolved directly with their provider. Again, we’re not intended to be the front line. We shouldn’t be the first thing that comes to customers’ minds, but it is absolutely important they know about us if they can’t get the complaint resolved. Companies are also required to inform them about us on their bills, websites, and during certain points of the complaint process. We acknowledge that research and customer feedback we get show many consumers still do not know about the CCTS. So, to address that gap, we continue to make our own moderate investments in our own awareness initiative, so Canadians understand who we are and how we can help. You’ve referenced how complaint volumes are on the rise. What do you attribute that to? And, are you seeing enough action from the telcos to fix that? There isn’t a doubt that customer frustration is out there. It exists and we’ve seen significant growth in the use of our services by Canadians. In our last annual report, we had 23,000 complaints that were accepted. Now, in the first six months of this year, we’re at over 19,000 complaints. So, there’s an incredible increase in demand for CCTS services, and I think those numbers demonstrate that we’re a reliable option for consumers when they can’t get their problems resolved directly with the provider. But you guys are only busy when Canadians are unhappy. Is that fair? I think it would be much better for everybody if complaint volumes can go down. We want to see those pain points reduced and we want customers to be able to have good experiences in the industry. We also want service providers to handle complaints that come their way without the need for things to be referred to the CCTS. We see what customers are complaining about, we see where the frustration and friction exists, and report on those things. We collect and report data in order to help the broader industry understand what are the issues being complained about because, hopefully, that is being looked at so service providers can make different decisions that might help resolve complaints more quickly. In your most recent report, there was a spike in complaints specifically directed at Rogers Communications Inc. and its subsidiaries, like Fido. Is there any action you can take when one particular service provider is causing issues? Does that change anything? I’m not sure it does and I’m not best-placed to comment on that. That’s an excellent question for the individual service providers because they know their business practices and processes. We can report on the trends we’re seeing and what tips we have for customers and service providers. First and foremost, we encourage them to step up their efforts to communicate more clearly and fully inform customers about the services they’re agreeing to because transparency helps prevent misunderstandings and reduces customer frustration. Other jurisdictions have laws that enforce a strict limit on how long telecom providers have to respond to complaints. Do you think Canada would benefit from similar rules? I really think that’s a question for the CRTC. We’re not the ones that decide the rules. We can inform it through data but, again, what I would say is we hear from customers that they’re often spending a lot of time trying to resolve their disputes before coming to us. I think almost 70 per cent of customers who have used CCTS services tell us they’ve escalated more than two levels. Sometimes, they’ve spent several months trying to resolve their complaint. What needs to change from a policy or regulatory perspective, that’s for the CRTC to decide. We can just report on what we’re seeing in terms of those friction points and what customers are telling us. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. dlegree@thewirereport.ca

Q&A: CCTS head wants TV, wireless customers to feel less pain

Regulatory |
By Davis Legree
|July 31, 2026

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