@Torontocollin
There is voice and data contract and there is phone subsidy.
If your phone subsidy is for 3 years and you decide to cancel after 2 years than there is no cancelation fee. But you have to pay for the last year of the phone subsidy.
Quote:
Commission considers it appropriate to limit the maximum number of months over which the early cancellation fee must be reduced to 24 months, so that Canadians will be able to cancel a contract at no cost to them after two years or less. The Commission considers that this will minimize the costs of switching WSPs for consumers, benefit consumers, and ultimately result in a more dynamic marketplace.
In all cases, after two years, customers will be able to decide whether or not to continue the relationship with their current WSP or to choose a competitor’s service without any early cancellation fees or other burden.
This new policy applies to customers who have entered into terms of any length, including those longer than the aforementioned two-year period. While it’s not certain yet how carriers will deal with the disparity of allowing contract holders to leave without penalty before their terms have expired, the CRTC has set about enforcing a maximum early cancellation fee that cannot exceed the amount of the phone subsidy itself, and must be payable over a two-year period.
That means that after two years, if the phone balance hasn’t been paid off, customers will need to merely pay off the remaining amount of the device and be able to leave the provider without penalty.
In Quebec there are no contracts at all for the past couple of years. Only phone subsidies that are 2 or 3 years. You can cancel at anytime but you have to pay the remaining phone subsidy so it is better than what the CRTC is implementing now.
In the rest of Canada,Rogers,Telus and until recently Bell were charging early cancelation fees along with the phone subsidies. Now if you stick with them for at least 2 years no cancelation fees. Just pay the last year of the phone subsidy.