Mr. Bibic,
The threat of U.S.-imposed tariffs on Canadian goods is cause for great concern, as you will no doubt agree. Unjustified tariffs, of the magnitude the U.S. President is proposing, will upend the North American economy – hurting workers, businesses, and consumers on both sides of the border. The waging of “economic warfare” on Canada, emboldened by a stated desire (whether serious or not) to annex Canada, presents an existential crisis for this country. Canadians, across all civil society, are standing up to the threat, as they must. As the country collectively copes with this economic crisis and open threat to our sovereignty the work of Canadians in telecommunications, media and journalism has never been so important.
Bell Canada, and its 20,000 Unifor-represented employees working in telecommunications and media divisions, are not immune from this threat or the consequences of a trade war. The real possibility of an economic downturn caused by tariffs will hurt the entire Canadian economy, as well as raise concerns for firms – like Bell – with investments in significant U.S. assets (e.g. Ziply). Further, U.S. officials have, for many years, issued complaints over Canadian telecommunications and media policies and regulations, deeming them (albeit incorrectly) non-tariff barriers. This includes Canada’s existing foreign ownership rules (meant to preserve domestic ownership over strategic telecommunications resources) and the digital services tax (meant to rebalance tax treatment of large, multinational digital service providers), among others.
The U.S. has also raised complaints with Canadian-content rules, and Canadian television market protections –which, along with French language and Quebec content, are vital to keeping Canadian control of our national broadcast and telecommunications landscape.  We anticipate these, and other important policies and regulations, will be unfairly targeted by proposed “reciprocity” measures announced by the U.S. President just days ago.
Mr. Bibic, these U.S. tariffs and U.S. trade actions pose real danger to Canada, its communications industry, and the workers who build, service and maintain it. As such I am requesting a meeting with you, and all relevant Bell Canada officials, to provide our union a comprehensive assessment of this threat across company operations that affect our members.
Further, and as a part of this dialogue, I would ask that you share with us Bell Canada’s plans to mitigate the economic threat and protect jobs in Canada, as well any contingency plans to cope with tariff threats. I would also like to know what possibilities Bell Canada sees to potentially grow its business, including through rural and remote broadband infrastructure expansion.
It is important that our union understand these plans and have an opportunity to raise questions, so that we can ensure Unifor members are supported in this time of crisis.
I appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to speaking with you as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Lana Payne
National President