Minister Clement and MP Blaney Announce Government to Appeal Federal Court Ruling on Globalive

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Feb. 15, 2011) - The Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Industry, and Steven Blaney, Member of Parliament for Lévis-Bellechasse, today issued the following statement regarding the Federal Court ruling on Globalive:

"On Friday, February 4, 2011, the Federal Court overturned the Governor-in-Council's 2009 decision to vary the CRTC's determination regarding Globalive, which allowed the company to launch its Wind Mobile wireless brand in the Canadian marketplace.

"Today, I would like to confirm that the Harper Government will be appealing the Court's ruling. We believe that our decision was the right one for Canadian consumers and we will vigorously defend it. Globalive is a Canadian company and meets the Canadian ownership and control requirements under the Telecommunications Act. Globalive should therefore be able to continue to offer service in the wireless telecommunications market.

"Since 2006, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has issued approximately 2,200 telecommunications decisions. During this period, there have been 13 CRTC decisions that have been formally reviewed by the Governor in Council. Of those, the Government has upheld seven decisions, varied three, and referred three back to the CRTC for reconsideration.

"The policy of our government is to encourage choice and competition in wireless and Internet markets. Ours was the government that set aside spectrum during the 2008 auction to allow new entrants to compete. New entrants mean more competition, lower prices and better quality services for Canadians."