Lower-priced cellphone plans could finally be coming to Canada
Justin Trudeau has been doing major damage control since the blackface scandal that shook Canada last week, and it's clear he's trying to bring the focus back to policy.
He's made several campaign promises over the last few days, the latest of which vows to bring cheaper cellphone plans to Canada if the Liberals are re-elected come October.
At a campaign stop at a Brampton family’s home yesterday afternoon, Trudeau said he would cut cellphone bills by 25 per cent.
Canadians pay too much for their cellphone bills. And we’re going to change that. A re-elected Liberal government will cut the cost of your wireless services, saving the average family $1,000 a year. https://t.co/fakXhzN8YF
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) September 22, 2019
He said he would work with telecom companies to offer lower prices, and if companies are unable to achieve the price reduction, the Liberals would encourage more competition to lower prices.
Canada is known to pay extremely high prices for cellphone plans, and Whistle Out recently reported that Canadians spend between 15 per cent and 40 per cent more on monthly plans than Americans.
"When I meet with Canadians, there’s one thing that’s near universal — everyone complains that they’re paying too much for cellphone service … and the data backs it up. Right now, Canadian cellphone plans are among the most expensive in the G7," he said.
"Canadians shouldn’t have to choose between having a cellphone and heating their homes."
The plan would save the average four-person Canadian family $976 a year.
During yesterday's campaign stop, Trudeau also promised to make the first $15,000 of income tax free for most Canadians by raising the basic personal amount by almost $2,000 for people earning less than $147,000 a year.
According to Trudeau, this would save the average Canadian $292 a year.
On top of introducing two new campaign promises, Trudeau reinforced past promises yesterday including stricter gun control, paid family leave, a stronger Canada Pension Plan and improved access to before and after school services.
But despite emphasizing policy promises, Trudeau was of course asked about the scandal and the Prime Minister apologized once again for his actions.
"As a country we need to keep working for diversity, working to fight racism and intolerance and as an individual I have to keep having really important conversations about choices made in the past and about how I earn, once again, the trust of Canadians that I hurt."
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