Canadian Industry Minister said on Thursday that Canadians are still paying large amounts for telecommunications services, just one day after Rogers Communications announced that it raised the cost of some of its wireless phone plans.

Rogers also said on Wednesday that it would raise the cost of some of its wireless plans for non-contract customers. Bell is reportedly also working on increasing some prices of current wireless phone plans in February, according to a report by MobileSyrup.

Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said in a statement to CBC News: "Let's be clear, while some progress has been made in lowering prices, Canadians are still paying too much and are seeing little competition."

For this reason, last year he issued a policy direction to the CRTC to ensure that competition, affordability, and consumer rights will be at the heart of CRTC decisions.

While prices for some wireless plans have dropped by more than 22 percent over the past year, the planned price increases for some recently announced monthly plans run counter to the trend we set at a time when Canadians are struggling, Champagne said on Thursday to cover their expenses.

The long-standing deal, initially announced in March 2021, has faced a number of regulatory hurdles as opponents expressed concerns about reduced competition.

At that time, Tony Staffieri, CEO of Rogers, pledged in an interview that prices would decrease for customers.

"Part of our heritage"

For his part, Fass Bednar, executive director of the Master of Public Policy program at McMaster University in Hamilton, said these increases can be seen as a kind of disciplinary intervention.

He told CBC News that telecom companies may want to push customers who chose to have more freedom in their contracts to commit to a plan to avoid price increases.

But he pointed out that there are not many alternatives for customers who are tired of wireless providers raising their prices.