R ogers, Shaw and Quebecor announced on Friday (Feb. 17) that they had once again pushed the deadline for their proposed deals as they continue to await approval from Ottawa.

A joint press release from the three companies stated that the outside closing date for the proposed merger of Rogers and Shaw, as well the related sale of Freedom Mobile to Quebecor’s Videotron, had been extended to March 31.

The new deadline extends the outside closing date past the two-year mark of when the deal was first announced in March 2021.

The companies had previously extended the deadline to Feb. 17 in order to allow for Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Philippe Champagne to make a decision regarding the transfer of Freedom Mobile’s mobile spectrum licenses to Videotron. That final approval is necessary to allow the sale of Shaw’s Freedom brand to Videotron, a proposed remedy to anti-competitive concerns about Rogers and Shaw coming together.

Champagne is the final regulatory hurdle Rogers and Shaw need to clear in order for their merger to go through, after intense scrutiny from several regulatory bodies and government committees. There has also been pressure from opposition members of Parliament and competitors like TekSavvy and Globalive, based on claims that the deal would further raise wireless and internet prices for Canadians.

The CRTC is also still in the process of reviewing agreements between Rogers and Videotron that could potentially give the latter unfair advantage in the wireless market post-merger.

Champagne reiterated last week that he is not beholden to any date for making his decision.

“I am not bound by any date that the parties could decide between themselves. What interests me is the interests of Canadians,” said Champagne. “I will be relentless in making sure that whatever is the decision, that that decision is in the best interest of Canadians and will lower prices.”

Since then, new direction from Champagne to the CRTC has come into force. The policy direction instructs the CRTC to prioritize competition in the wireless and internet sectors, improve the reliability of services, improve consumer rights and speed up infrastructure development.

CRTC chairperson and CEO Vicky Eatrides issued a statement on Monday (Feb. 20) that the direction “complements and enhances the CRTC’s efforts to foster competition,” and that it includes “proceeding with the implementation of our new approach to mobile wireless competition and reviewing our approach to Internet competition.”

While critics of the Rogers-Shaw deal have claimed that it will lead to higher prices for Canadians, the companies have rejected this assessment, as well as emphasized that the combination would allow both companies to invest more into innovation and new infrastructure than they would as separate entities.

This story originally appeared in Media in Canada

With files from Playback