On June 12 it became illegal to charge Canadians a fee for starting or changing a phone or internet plan. The ink was barely dry before all three national carriers had fees the ban supposedly did not cover — $40 for handing you a phone, $15 for the SIM that makes it work, $25 for the box it ships in. The CRTC's response is a proceeding whose polite name is “show cause” and whose impolite meaning is “explain yourselves.” If you paid one of these fees, keep the bill.
Record closed — TNoC CRTC 2026-155
Interventions closed August 31, 2026 · Carrier replies filed September 10, 2026 · Record closed · Decision pending
Track this proceeding →The Rule, and Its Two Escape Hatches
Telecom Regulatory Policy 2026-43 and section 27.04 of the Telecommunications Act prohibit two kinds of fees: anything charged for activating or modifying a service plan, and anything whose main purpose is to discourage you from changing or cancelling. In force since June 12, 2026. The point was simple — leaving your provider should not cost money, because exit fees are how competition dies quietly.
The ban has two exemptions: reasonable fees for physically installing service at your home, and fees for genuinely optional products and services you expressly chose — the Commission's examples were things like Wi-Fi configuration or extra equipment. Reasonable exemptions. Also worth watching closely, because exemptions are where fees go to hide, the way inconvenient services go to appendices and missing rules go to footnotes.
Then, Within Weeks
Here is the tally, from the Commission's own account of its correspondence with the three companies:
| Carrier | The fee | Their answer when asked |
|---|---|---|
| Bell | $40 device-handling charge when you buy a phone with your wireless service | The device is an optional, separate purchase; the fee recovers real costs. Confirmed June 17 it would keep charging. |
| TELUS | $15 fee for a SIM card or eSIM | A SIM has standalone uses (travel, replacing a damaged card), so this is not an activation fee — and if it were, its purpose is cost recovery. |
| Rogers | $40 device setup charge (in stores and over the phone), $25 shipping for devices ordered online, plus a SIM fee | Setup applies only in assisted channels; the SIM fee is old and only for replacements; shipping is a standard charge in every industry. |
Notice the shape all three defences share: every fee is described as attached to something optional — the phone, the card, the delivery — rather than to the plan. The question the Commission has set for itself is whether “optional” can carry that much weight. If a fee attaches to every practical way of starting service with a phone in your hand, calling the phone optional is a description of the paperwork, not the experience.
One date worth savouring: Commission staff first spotted Bell's charge on May 6 — five weeks before the ban took effect. The fee was waiting at the door when the rule arrived.
What Losing Looks Like
Under section 72.001 of the Act, each violation carries an administrative monetary penalty of up to $10 million per company ($15 million for repeat offences) — and, separately, up to $25,000 personally for officers and directors who authorized or acquiesced in it ($50,000 on repeat). The Commission has also put a mandatory compliance order on the table. The show cause runs in both directions: prove the fees are legal, and if not, explain why the penalties and the order should not follow.
What the notice does not promise is refunds. Whether money flows back to the people who paid these fees is an open question — which is exactly why the practical advice is boring and important: keep the bill. Date, amount, channel. If a remedy ever exists, a paper trail is how you claim it.
The Window Closed August 31
The proceeding was reopened on August 14 with new deadlines: public comments closed August 31, 2026, with carrier replies due September 10. Consumer groups asked for an oral hearing; the Commission kept it written, and reserved the final reply for the three companies — its reasoning being that a show cause proceeding owes the accused a full answer. Fair enough. It also means the public record is what speaks for customers, and the record is built from what got filed. The carriers filed their replies on September 10. Bell's runs 25 pages and argues the fee sits outside the ban entirely, that the process was unfair to the companies, and that no penalty or order should follow even if it loses. It does not address whether customers who already paid would get their money back.
If you were charged one of these fees, that fact is still worth writing down — when it happened, what it was called on the bill, whether anyone told you it was coming. The CRTC record is closed to you now, but the fee on your own bill is not settled by it: a charge you believe breaks the rules is a billing dispute, and if your provider will not resolve it, the CCTS can order a refund. For future proceedings, our plain-language guide walks you through filing.
We'll email you the day the CRTC rules on these fees
Join our email list and we'll send an update when the decision lands, with what it means for the fee on your bill. This joins our general email list, which also covers other CRTC proceedings that affect your bill.
Decision Status
Pending. Comments closed August 31, 2026. Carrier replies were filed September 10, 2026 and the record is now closed. This page will be updated the day the Commission rules. (Status as of September 10, 2026.)
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Bell charge a $40 device-handling fee?
That is literally the question before the CRTC. Since June 12, 2026, fees related to activating or modifying a phone or internet plan are prohibited. Bell says the charge is tied to the optional purchase of a device, not to the plan, and confirmed to Commission staff that it would keep charging it. The Commission has ordered Bell to show cause why the fee does not violate the ban. A decision is pending.
Is TELUS’s $15 SIM card fee legal?
Same proceeding, same open question. TELUS argues a SIM or eSIM has standalone uses — replacing a damaged card, getting one for travel — so the fee is not an activation fee, and that if it were, its main purpose is cost recovery rather than discouraging switching. The CRTC has ordered TELUS to show cause. A decision is pending.
Will I get a refund if the fees are found illegal?
Not guaranteed. The proceeding puts penalties of up to $10 million per company and a mandatory compliance order on the table; it does not promise restitution. Whether money flows back to customers is one of the open questions. If you paid one of these fees, keep the invoice and note the date — if a remedy ever exists, a paper trail is how you use it.
Does the fee ban cover my TV service?
No. The ban lives in the Telecommunications Act and applies to cellphone and internet plans. Television is regulated separately under the Broadcasting Act, and no equivalent fee protection exists there — a gap we write about often.
Can I do anything about these fees right now?
The public comment period closed August 31, 2026, and the carriers filed their final replies on September 10, 2026. The record is closed and a decision follows. You can still document what you paid: date, amount, channel. If you believe a fee you were charged breaks the rules, that is a billing dispute your provider has to answer, and the CCTS can order a refund.
Further Reading
- Telecom Notice of Consultation CRTC 2026-155 — the show cause, including each carrier's correspondence
- TNoC CRTC 2026-155-2 — the reopening, with the current deadlines
- Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2026-43 — the fee ban itself
- The Consumer Protections Action Plan — where the ban came from
Canadians for Broadcast Accountability tracks CRTC proceedings and helps Canadians take part in them. Learn more about what we do or join our email list for updates.