Hello, and welcome to the BCE 2023 annual general shareholder meeting. I am Gordon Nixon.
I now call the meeting to order. I wish to acknowledge that we are joining you today from Bell Media Studios, located on the traditional territory of the Kanien'kehá:ka, a place which has long served as a site of meetings and exchange amongst First Nations. Acknowledging this simple gesture to remind us of the importance of the connection to the land where we live, learn, and work, and a moment to honor the contributions and cultures of indigenous peoples.
Today is the fourth consecutive year that we have conducted our annual general meeting virtually. We initially adopted this format due to the unfortunate realities of COVID-19. We are pleased to reaffirm that in step with BCE's leadership in ESG matters and our Bell for Better commitments, we will continue to hold these meetings virtually going forward.
Please view this, as we do, as one more example of how the strength of communications technology and our networks can minimize environmental impacts while enabling even broader and more diverse participation of our shareholders, regardless of where they are located. We have made every effort to afford shareholders the same rights that they would have at a physical meeting. We will shortly go over the procedures of the meeting and how shareholders can vote and ask questions during the meeting.
The business of this meeting will be conducted in English and French. Online, you may choose the language of the meeting by selecting English, French, or original feed at the top of the broadcast screen. If you select original feed, you will hear the original language spoken without any translation. Closed captioning is available on all feeds. It can be turned on at the top right of the broadcast screen. If you are listening by telephone and you wish to change the language, you must hang up and dial back into the meeting using the phone number that corresponds to the language of your choice, and that is indicated on our website.
I will now introduce the members of the BCE team joining me here today. Mirko Bibic is our President and Chief Executive Officer, and Martin Cossette is our Vice President and Corporate Secretary. In accordance with the BCE bylaws, I, as Chair of the Board, will act as the Chair of this meeting, and Martin will act as secretary. Also attending today's meeting via phone are Jacqueline Mercer and Paul Fletcher, representatives of Deloitte, the shareholders' auditors.
Glen LeBlanc, our chief financial officer, is also with us today to answer questions, and members of the Board of Directors and senior management of BCE are also viewing on webcast. Before I begin, I would ask Martin to take us through the procedures of today's meeting.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The vote will be only done through the online portal only, as described in the proxy circular. Only registered shareholders and non-registered shareholders who receive a control number from our transfer agent, TSX Trust Company, may vote online during the meeting. Please note that you don't need to vote at the meeting if you've already vote by proxy and if you do not wish to change your vote. Starting now, you can register your vote on all items of business for today's meeting. To vote, click on the voting icon at the top of your screen. You will see the meeting resolutions displayed on your screen. Please select one of the voting options available. Your vote will automatically be submitted to TSX Trust Company, our transfer agent, who will make a selection. Your votes may be changed up to the time voting is closed.
The poll will remain open until the chair declares voting on all matters closed. Preliminary results will be announced later this morning. Final results will be posted on our website. Shareholders were encouraged to ask questions ahead of the meeting through our website by contacting the corporate secretary office, by contacting the investors relation group, or through our transfer agent, TSX Trust Company. We wish to thank shareholders who submitted questions ahead of the meeting. For those who have wished to have their questions answered during the meeting, we will be doing so at the appropriate time if it wasn't done. Shareholders can submit questions at any time in English or in French until the chair closes the question period at the end of the meeting.
It is recommended that questions be submitted as soon as possible during the meeting so that they can be addressed at the appropriate time. To ask a question in writing online, click on messaging icon at the top of the screen. Submit your question. Enter your full name, whether you are a shareholder or a proxyholder, and your question in the ask question box and then click on Send button. Your question will be read. Questions related to the matters of business will be addressed at the time such matter is being discussed. Other questions will be addressed during the question period after the business of the meeting has been completed. To ask a question via telephone, call the number appearing on the meeting page of bce.ca and on the homepage of Lumi platform, and then press star one.
For the good conduct of the meeting, only questions of general interest to all shareholders will be answered. If your question is related to an individual matter, a BCE representative will contact you after the meeting if you have provided your contact information. To allow us to respond to as many questions as possible, we will limit each shareholder to one question and ask it to be succinct. Written questions on the same topic will be grouped if they are similar, summarized and addressed at the same time. I would like to bring you attention to the notice appearing on screen. Today's remarks will contain forward-looking statements. These are based on several assumptions and are subject to important risk. The notice on screen contains a cautionary statement on this regard and is made on behalf of each speaker whose remarks today will contain forward-looking statements.
Finally, I can confirm that Bertrand Kelly and Isabelle Vachon, employees of TSX Trust Company, have been appointed to act as scrutineers at this meeting. Mr. Chair, I now turn the meeting over to you.
Thank you, everybody, once again, for joining us at our 2023 annual meeting. As we take this opportunity to review our accomplishments over the past year, I want to highlight that the BCE group of companies are very well-positioned to play a critical role in driving sustainable progress forward with our overriding purpose, which is to advance how Canadians connect with each other and with the world. Since our founding in 1880, Bell has been connecting Canadians with greater speed, reach, and reliability to what they want when they want it. In a world of technology, how we define those attributes constantly evolves. The fundamental principle is the same. We continue to invest year after year to build a stronger future.
While I believe Bell is further ahead today than ever in offering a complete package of leading-edge technologies in Canadian consumers and businesses, I also believe that we are only going to get better. The reason is straightforward. The massive investments that we continue to make in our networks are allowing us to deliver high quality, high value services to more and more customers. With these investments, combined with our ESG objectives and Bell for Better initiatives in mental health, environmental, and workplace leadership, we are building a more sustainable and resilient future for all of our stakeholders. The results are impressive. We continue to improve experiences for our customers and make it easier for them to do business with Bell. We are delivering innovative products and services that make life and work easier and more productive, and we are informing and entertaining Canadians through our Bell Media properties.
As we highlight in our 2002 integrated annual report, the first of its kind for a communications company in North America, we continue to deliver strong and meaningful performance across a wide variety of indicators. Our impressive results are possible because investors, including many of whom are with us today, recognize the benefits of our strategy and how we are driving social and economic growth. Based on the strength of our ESG and sustainability initiatives, in 2022, Corporate Knights named Bell the top telecommunications company and the 4th-ranked company overall in Canada on the best 50 corporate citizens list. We also ranked third among telephone companies and 42nd overall in the Corporate Knights Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations for 2023.
As we move closer to our goal of achieving carbon neutral operations starting in 2025 and reducing absolute GHG emissions by 2030, Bell was recently named one of Canada's greenest employers for the 7th consecutive year. We were also named integral Greenhouse Gas Reductions Champion by Clean50, a national sustainability organization. Our deeply held beliefs in progressive workplace benefits, skills, development, and diversity, equity and inclusion, and belonging also continue to be widely acknowledged. In 2023, Mediacorp named Bell one of Canada's top employers for the eigth consecutive year and one of Canada's top employers for young people for the sixth year in a row. We also repeated as one of Canada's top diversity employers, a top family-friendly employer, and a top employer right here in the great city of Montréal.
Each of these recognitions reflects the work that we are doing to strengthen our company for the benefit of all of our stakeholders. I'm also extremely proud of the financial results that we delivered in 2022 and in the first quarter of this year. Despite unanticipated costs related to unprecedented storms as well as the inflationary pressures that we've all experienced in 2022, we maintained healthy cash flow generations and a strong balance sheet. We also continue to accelerate our capital expenditures as planned, reaching a high of CAD 5.1 billion of expenditures in 2022.
Our sound financial performance also enabled us to continue supporting our dividend growth model, and we increased the BCE common share dividend by 5.2%, the 15th consecutive year that we have increased the dividend by a minimum of 5%. Although we cannot predict the severity or duration of an economic turndown, our financial position is strong as we head into 2023. Before moving forward in this meeting, I want to welcome Louis Vachon as our newest member of the BCE Board of Directors. Louis provides exceptional business acumen based on his experience as a successful leader and corporate executive.
Since joining the BCE Board last October, Louis has been actively sharing his knowledge and insights with all of us on the board and is a member of the Management Resources and Compensation Committee, as well as our Risk and Pension Fund Committee. I would also like to take a moment to recognize Glen LeBlanc, EVP and Chief Financial Officer of BCE and Bell Canada. Earlier today, we announced that Glen will retire as our CFO, effective on September 1st. Under Glen's leadership, BCE has attained a solid financial position, a robust balance sheet, solid cash flow, pension solvency, all of which has helped accelerate Bell's capital expenditures, enabled us to expand our fiber optics networks. On behalf of everyone, I personally wanna thank Glen for his exceptional leadership and invaluable contribution that he has made to BCE over many years.
We're also delighted that Curtis Mallett, currently SVP and corporate secretary and treasurer, will be promoted to CFO effective September 1st. With his deep background in financial industry and strategic leadership here at Bell, Curtis is well-positioned to take on the CFO role and will work closely with Glenn to ensure a successful transition. I also want to take a moment to pay homage to Jean de Grandpré, who passed away last summer. As a former Bell and BCE chief executive officer, Jean has had a lasting impact here in the province of Quebec and indeed in all of Canada. A companion of the Order of Canada, a chancellor emeritus of McGill University, Jean was instrumental in the creation of BCE in 1983. He was at the forefront of a remarkable transition period for...
In Bell's history from the introduction of fiber optics technology to the launch of wireless services in Canada. Today, we are delivering networks and technology services that are amongst the best in the world, prioritizing the needs of our customers and communities that we serve and building on the tremendous efforts of teams from across the BCE group of companies. I conclude by thanking all of our stakeholders, including all of you, our shareholders, for your ongoing support as we continue on this exciting journey each and every day. This meeting will proceed as follows: After confirming the establishment of quorum, we will proceed with the receipt of our 2022 consolidated financial statements and auditor's report. We will then vote on the election of directors, the appointment of our auditors, and an advisory resolution on executive compensation.
To facilitate the proceedings, I have asked Martin to move the three motions. We will also review a shareholder proposal which was subsequently withdrawn and therefore will not be subject to a vote. Our President and Chief Executive Officer, Mirko Bibic, will then address the meeting, following which we will announce the results of our votes. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we will conclude the meeting with a question-and-answer session. Starting with agenda item number 1, the scrutineers have provided me with their report on attendance, which will be filed with our records of this meeting. The attendance report, together with the proxies, which I hold, confirm that shareholders representing at least 25% of the outstanding shares of BCE are entitled to vote and attendance at this meeting.
I therefore declare that the meeting is properly constituted for the transaction of such business as may properly be brought before it. Moving to item 2. The BCE financial report for the year 2022 contains the consolidated financial statements with the auditor's report thereon. A copy of the 2022 annual financial report will be filed with the records of this meeting. Attending today is Glen LeBlanc, our chief financial officer I introduced earlier, as well as representative of Deloitte, our auditors, who are available on the phone to answer any questions that you may have on our financial statements. Martin, are there any questions relating to this item of business?
There are no questions on this item of business, Mr. Chair.
I remind you that the poll for all items submitted to a vote at this meeting are open. Shareholders may vote online by clicking the Vote button at the top of the screen. The next item of business on the agenda is the election of directors. There are 14 Directors to be elected and 14 eligible candidates who have been nominated. The Director nominees at today's meeting are Mirko Bibic, David Denison, Robert Dexter, Katherine Lee, Monique Leroux, Sheila Murray, Lou Pagnutti, Calin Rovinescu, Karen Sheriff, Robert Simmonds, Jennifer Tory, Louis Vachon, Cornell Wright, along with myself, Gordon Nixon. These are your board nominees. We will now turn to questions related to this item of business. I remind you that if you wish to ask a question online, click Ask a Question at the top of the screen and submit your question.
If you wish to ask a question by phone, press star one. Martin, are there any questions related to this item of business?
No, Mr. Chair, there are no questions on this item of business.
Thank you, Martin. Could we please proceed with the motion?
Mr. Chair, I move that each of the 14 previously named to be elected, a director of BCE until the earlier or the end of the next annual shareholder meeting and the date they ceased to hold office until that time.
Thank you, Martin.
Of auditors. I remind you that the polls remain open. Martin, are there any questions related to this item of business?
No, Mr. Chair, there are no questions on this item of business.
Thank you, Martin. Please move that motion.
I propose that Deloitte is appointed auditor until the next annual assembly of shareholders.
Thank you, Martin. The next item on the agenda is the advisory vote on BCE's approach to executive compensation. Martin, are there any questions related specifically to this item of business?
No, Mr. Chair. No questions related to this item of business.
Thank you, Martin. Please move this motion.
I propose that the consultative, motion on remuneration will be approved.
Merci, Martin. Please note that the polls will close shortly. I declare that the voting on all matters are closed. The results will be announced before the question and comment period. One shareholder proposal submitted by MÉDAC was withdrawn after discussion with our management team. As a result, no proposal is being submitted to a vote today. However, we did agree to allow Willy Gagnon from MÉDAC to make brief remarks regarding the withdrawn proposal, the text of which can be found on page 80 of the management proxy circular, together with the board's comments. Operator, would you please open the line and allow for Monsieur Gagnon to join the meeting?
Hello, Mr. President. I am Willy Gagnon, and I am for MÉDAC. Every year we submit some proposals from shareholders. We only have one this year. It's not going to be under vote today because you have already accepted our request, which is to accept the use of a language in a very good manner and this has been accepted this year in a very good manner. We just hope that this will be clarified, the master of languages by administrators at a certain level so that they can do all of their functions at the Board. So there's a table about this. It's not all of the companies that have done it so well as you did. We are going to use your example to be presented to other companies because you have done it so well.
We've had discussions with you, and I would have liked a comment to be shared. If there's no assembly because there's no assembly in person this year, we think that it's not acceptable. We know that COVID is over. There are no other sanitary measures. Other companies are doing assemblies in person. Of course, we recognize that virtual assemblies are possible, but they should never be substituted to assemblies in person as much as possible. The requirement to have assemblies in person have been existing for hundreds of years, so we don't think that we should revoke them. It's always better to have assemblies in person. You can network, you can shake hands, you can discuss with management and so on and so forth.
Many of these things are not possible in virtual assemblies. We wish that you welcome back to these assemblies in person. Of course, people can also attend virtually. Sorry, I'm done. Thank you so much for giving me the floor. I think that this is something which is important. Thank you so much. Thank you for having me. Thank you so much.
Merci, Monsieur Gagnon, we do appreciate.
Thank you, Mr. Gagnon.
your ongoing input into the into the operations of the organization. You work hard every year to make us better and we do appreciate that. With respect to the annual meeting virtually, we are a telecommunications company, and we do review it each year and we will continue to do it, and we certainly acknowledge your perspective. We do feel that that a virtual meeting provides for makes it a lot easier for many shareholders to actually participate in the meetings of the business. We are, as I say, a telecommunications company and provide the same opportunities that we do. You do lose the personal contact, which is clearly a negative, but there are certainly positives as well.
We appreciate your comments, and we'll continue to review it. With that, I would now ask Mirko Bibic, our President and Chief Executive Officer, to address the meeting. Mirko?
Merci, Gordon. Thank you, Gordon. I'm very happy to talk about how the way Bell continues to create values for our clients, our employees, our communities, and for you shareholders. I am at Bell Media in Montreal. This is where I grew up, and this is where Bell has been founded 143 years ago. Our company was born from the need of people to keep contact with them, and this is our raison d'être, shaping the way Canadians communicate amongst themselves and the rest of the world. Our networks provide the technology services which are among the best in the world. Our passion for the world makes sure that millions of Canadians can share information, can work, and can also access to all kinds of Programs. Our results speak for themselves.
Our performance is a direct result of the content execution of our strategy. That strategy was launched in 2020. It's based on six strategic imperatives: building the best network, accelerating the growth thanks to novel services, offering the best content, and promoting the client experience, managing with agility according to an efficient structure, and also investing in our team, supporting its commitment, and creating a sustainable future. All of this guides our decisions, and this way we can generate growth across all our business. In 2020, Bell has accelerated the investments in our networks. In the past three years, Bell has invested CAD 14 billion in CapEx, more than any other communication company in Canada over a similar timeframe.
Because of these investments, over 2.6 million additional homes and businesses in Canada are now able to access our broadband network, quite simply, one of the best networks in North America. In 2022 alone, we've invested CAD 5.1 billion in CapEx and expanded our fiber footprint to 850,000 homes and businesses. The benefits of fiber are being recognized by our customers. In 2022, we saw our highest annual retail internet activation in 16 years. We continue. We are not stopping. This year, we plan to reach additional 650,000 new locations with fiber. With the right public policy support, we continue to work with governments and our partners to ensure that more rural and remote communities can benefit from our networks, including Indigenous and northern communities.
At last year's AGM, we announced the introduction of Bell Gigabit Fiber 3.0, offering symmetrical download and upload speeds of 3 GB per second. This year, we expect to offer speeds of 3 Gb or higher in 5 million locations, and up to 4 million of these locations will have access to 8 Gb per second. To support these speeds, and to better connect multiple devices in a single location, our Gigabit Fiber services will come with new Giga Hub with Wi-Fi 6E, the latest and fastest Wi-Fi technology available. On the wireless side, Bell's 5G network covered 82% of the Canadian population at the end of 2022, a remarkable achievement considering that 5G network did not even exist three years ago.
We launched technology 5G+ in 2022, and by year end, it's been already available to 38% of the population, with a goal to reach 46% this coming year.
Canadians count on us to keep them connected. We design and operate our networks with a focus on resiliency, on capacity, and on security. Our team is constantly improving the way our networks are built, monitored, and maintained. These efforts have allowed us to maintain network reliability above 99.99%. No one, of course, is immune to severe weather events. When those moments of crisis hit like Hurricane Fiona did in the fall of 2022, the hard work of our Bell team members make all the difference. Here's a video that demonstrate Bell's commitment to our customers in the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona.
Fiona was one of my first storms, like, a catastrophe, basically is what it was down here.
It's the most destruction I've ever seen from any storm.
It was mind-boggling. Poles snapped, cable down. Literally the entire infrastructure was damaged.
Just watching houses get washed away, it was unreal. You look around and say, "Geez, like there was a house there, you know, and there was a family there. There was Christmases and birthdays, and the house is gone.
Well, we all knew it was coming, so we prepared for the worst. We had extra supplies. All of our vans were fueled up. We were just ready to go.
We planned for this ahead of time by making sure our, the fuel tanks were all topped off of the generators and that the portable generators were ready to be deployed.
The storm was on a Saturday, and we were out, first thing Sunday morning. Just a monumental task ahead of us.
It's very difficult to get to the affected areas between power poles down and trees down and power lines blocking roads.
Some of the roads were washed away underneath, and the town engineers are having to assess the situations, so they didn't want nobody in there to cause harm to yourself. It was just a waiting game for a few days, 'cause they didn't know what the situation was.
It's not easy work. It's hard, it's physical, it's mentally tough.
Everybody has to work together. We had a good group of guys working. I thought it went very well.
Lots of overtime. Not that we couldn't go home, we didn't want to go home. We wanted to get out and help. The steps to restore service, first you have to wait for tree trimming, then we need to wait for power to be restored. Once power's restored, then we can do our work. There is a bit of a timetable there where we have to wait for other providers to do what they do before we can come in.
It's gratifying once we have service restored and everybody's life gets back to normal.
The gratitude has been like I've never seen. I've been thanked before, but I've never seen people come to tears because we got their phone and internet working before.
The people coming, bringing us coffee and tea and donuts and sandwiches and it was. It was kind of a great sense of community actually.
For the people that did that, I'd like to say thank you for sure.
This video really demonstrates the spirit of the Bell team as it lives up to our imperative to champion customer experience. Our customer-first approach on investment and enhanced service and digital tools are clearly making a difference, and I am incredibly proud of the gains we've made. In the most recent report from CCTS, the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services, Bell's share of complaints decreased, reducing its overall share to less than 15%, while complaints as a whole increased by 12% year-over-year. Since the 2017-18 mid-year report, we've seen an impressive decrease of complaints of 55%.
We will continue to focus on serving customers in their terms, whether we're improving our award-winning app or improving internal tools and training to better support whole home service experience from our agents as part of our focus reach customers where they are. To reach customers where they are, sorry. Earlier this year, we entered into an agreement with Staples Canada that will see service sold to consumers and small and medium-sized businesses through more than 300 Staples locations. In addition, Staples Professional sales teams will sell our products and solutions directly to their business customers. We've also been working with Air Canada to provide entertainment and connectivity options to passengers.
I'm pleased to announce that this year we have signed a strategic agreement with Air Canada, which includes free in-flight messaging for Aeroplan members and the distribution of SIM cards onboard to enable passengers arriving in Canada to activate a wireless SIM with an exclusive offer before even they land. Just earlier today, we've announced that we intend to acquire FX INNOVATION, a Montreal-based company that provides enterprise with cloud and workflow automation solutions. FX INNOVATION has a deep expertise in the world's leading cloud ecosystems and applications, including Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and ServiceNow. This acquisition is the latest building block to position ourselves as a tech service leader for our enterprise customers, some of the largest companies in Canada. Businesses are driving growth in our communities.
In spring 2022, we launched the first public multi-access edge computing solution or MEC with AWS Wavelength at the edge of our 5G network, building on our strategic partnership agreement with Amazon Web Services. In short, we're enabling businesses here in Canada to innovate and grow by harnessing the power of our 5G network and through our partnerships with global tech leaders. Our customers also rely on us to stay entertained and informed. Our leading media assets offer local, national, and international content in both English and in French from the latest HBO hits like The Last of Us, Crave originals like Canada's Drag Race or tailor-made content for Quebec audiences like Survivor Québec. Here's a video that shows the creativity and energy of our team that delivers some of the most compelling content in Canada.
You're gonna love this. Let's go. The Chiefs have won Super Bowl LVII. Welcome to Survivor Québec. This time, it's not love that's in the price, it's me. I really can't wait to learn more about the agricultural world.
I want to work.
Thank you for joining L'Amour est dans le pré . Much love. Canada has scored a goal. Canada has tied the game. This kid is out of this world. Max Verstappen, first place. This is the best era of Canadian tennis that we have ever seen. I wasn't trying to scare you. Here they are, the Rebel Alliance. Four contestants from four generations will face off. You're gonna die. We begin with dramatic new details. Take the Bank of Canada at its word. It is going to keep raising rates. Here are the stories that we're following this morning. etalk is so much more. Salut. Welcome to the debate. We're friends here. Oh my God. Why do you look like a long-haul trucker? We hit the road again with the same mission: to promote love on the farms. Well, you're wrong. Is your hair, so there we go.
You have a greater purpose than any of us could have ever imagined. End game.
Today, our digital platforms deliver top-rated programming to Canadians where they want it, when they want it. This includes content from CTV, Noovo, and our specialty channels, including popular sports programming from RDS and TSN, as well as content on Crave, our leading Canadian streaming service that continues to grow, having reached 3.1 million subscribers in 2022. We also believe our passion and values will make a positive difference in the communities we serve through our ESG and Bell for Better initiatives. This year, on Bell Let's Talk Day, we announced an additional CAD 10 million in funding, our largest single year commitment ever. We also put the spotlight on community-based and national organizations that are making a difference every day in mental health access and support.
With our commitment to support a better world and a more sustainable future, Bell is proud to be a leader in the transition to a low carbon economy, including our own objective to be carbon neutral starting in 2025. By making our industry leading services available to more consumers and businesses, we're helping them and we're helping ourselves to reduce carbon footprints. Across Bell, our teams deliver with a commitment, a dedication, and a knowledge that is a key driver to our success. We're giving team members more opportunities to grow and to succeed. Our professional development and diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging initiatives aim to create a more accessible and a more flexible work environment. Today, Bell is redefining what connectivity means for Canadians. Our network and are the backbone...
Networks are the backbones that drive Canada's prosperity, and we are working with all stakeholders for a more inclusive Canada, where our economic future should not depend on one's postal code. For Bell and for our customers and the communities we serve, there are many opportunities ahead as we execute against our strategic framework. On behalf of all team members, a huge thank you for your continued support as we continue to live up to our purpose to advance how Canadians connect with each other and the world. Gordon, thank you. Over to you.
Thank you, Mirko, for that very comprehensive report. I will now ask Martin to provide the preliminary results of the scrutineer's tabulation of today's votes.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Scrutineers confirm the following preliminary vote results. Everybody has received at least 95% of votes in favor. About 97% are in favor of nominations for Deloitte as auditor. The consultative resolution for the remuneration of higher management has been approved by 92% of the votes. The final scrutineers report will be available right after this assembly.
Thank you, Martin. We will now take questions and comments from our shareholders. Martin, can you just remind us of the procedures to ask a question?
In order to ask a question, please click on the messaging icon at the top of your screen and submit your question in writing. Enter your full name, whether you are a shareholder or a proxy holder, enter your question, then, in ask your question box and then click on Send button. To ask a question by phone, call the number appearing on the meeting page of bce.ca and on the homepage of Lumi platform then press star 1. Note that any BCE shareholders may ask questions. Please note that only BCE shareholders may ask questions. For the good conduct of this meeting, only questions of general interest to all shareholders will be answered. To allow us to respond to as many questions as possible, we will limit every shareholder to one question and ask it to be succinct.
Written questions on the same topic or otherwise related will be grouped, summarized, and addressed at the same time. If your question is related to an individual matter, a BCE representative will contact you after the meeting if you have provided your contact information.
Thank you, Martin. Have we received any questions to date?
Yes, we have a question from a shareholder that reads as follow: Why would the executive compensation follow an average of 11% raise while employees have less than 5%?
I will take that one. Thank you very much to our shareholders for the question. You are absolutely right in that our NEO total compensation this year is up approximately 11%. It's primarily due to a couple of reasons. Firstly, an increase in target compensation for our CEO, Mirko, as well as our CFO, and one of our named executives, Blaik Kirby, took on new responsibilities this year, and it partially reflects an increase in his responsibilities. I would also note that our compensation policy is really focused on attracting and retaining the best leadership talent. Frankly, we think we've been very successful at this. Our compensation committee, led by David Denison, has worked really hard.
Our objective is to target our salaries, our base salaries and compensation around the 50% centile, percentile of our comparator group, or 50%-60%. That's pretty much where we come in. I would also note that 84% of the executive compensation is not cash, but it's at-risk compensation, so it's directly related to the performance of the company going forward. It's well aligned with shareholders. I would also note, just because I think it sort of reflects on how well we have done on this. If you look at one of the proxy agencies, Glass Lewis, they do provide a ranking of say on pay results from the various companies.
We are very well ranked at a B, and a couple of our major competitors are well down the list at a D and an F. I think it's reflective of, you know, very consistent, steady, and fair compensation that is provided to our executive group. As I say, some of the changes that were made is really a reflection of that increase. In the case of our CEO, part of it is just progression as well. As Mirko becomes a more tenured CEO, his compensation has gone up, and he, as I said, clearly fits into the range, which is our policy objective in terms of our comparator group.
All right. Thank you. The next question that came in online from a shareholder reads as follow: How is BCE preparing for the pending CRTC decision on wholesale telecom access to incumbent fiber networks?
I'll take that one. Thank you. Thank you for the question. In wholesale access, in other words, granting access to competitors to the networks of those who have built the networks, has been an issue that has been debated in Canadian public policy in the Canadian public policy arena for years and years. There's a hearing or a proceeding that just began, which I think is what the question refers to, which is the extent to which access should be granted to fiber networks of those infrastructure companies like ourselves who have built fiber. The proceeding just began, so we will obviously, as a first step to prepare ourselves, we will participate rather vigorously in that proceeding.
I believe there's gonna be a hearing later this year. What we will be doing besides just obviously participating is the key point we will be making at the hearing is that the result of that or the ultimate CRTC decision top of mind in the CRTC's deliberation should be not to create any disincentives to the further deployment or the further investments in fiber networks. Just to put it in context, and we, you know, the chair referred to this in his opening remarks and I did as well in my remarks, the fact that over the last three years, we have invested in fiber networks more than we ever have before, in fact, CAD 14 billion over the last three years.
Our objective is to cover 9 million locations in the territories where we operate with fiber by the end of 2025. We're not there yet, we wanna be at 9 million. Just to put it in context for everyone, there are over 12.5 million locations where we operate. Even when we get to the end of 2025, at 9 million, if that remains the case, there will be over 3 million locations that don't have access to fiber. Those are the things, those are the locations in particular that are a particularly at significant risk if the regulatory rules create disincentives to investment, and that would be a shame.
That's why I said in my remarks just a few minutes ago that, you know, your future, you know, your future potential for social inclusion and economic inclusion in this country ought not to depend on your postal code. In other words, we want to cover every single one of those 12.5 million locations with fiber. It will take time, but it will take much, much longer if the regulatory rules are draconian and then reduce the incentives to invest in the return on investment.
Okay. Thank you for that. Our next question from a shareholder goes as follows: I live in Toronto and can't use my Bell cellphone when I'm on the subway. It's inconvenient, and I'm wondering, what is Bell doing to change this?
Thank you. Thank you as well for that question. That's certainly a topic that's been that's been top of mind in recent weeks. If we go back on this one, actually, this is in the city of Montreal, right here in the city of Montreal, in the city of Ottawa, in Vancouver, and in fact, in the Eglinton Crosstown LRT in Toronto itself. In all of those locations, what the wireless carriers have done is they've adopted the joint build consortium model. Really what that means is any wireless carrier who operates in that particular area is welcome to join with the others. Together, we build the wireless networks in those public transit systems to allow all commuters to have access.
That's the model that we've adopted everywhere. In fact, that's the model we proposed in the TTC in the city of Toronto, 10 years or so ago. Unfortunately, the TTC at the time decided not to follow the model that's worked very well in other cities and decided to follow a gatekeeper model, which frankly has been quite the failure. Which is why right now, it's difficult for commuters in Toronto to get access to wireless service in the subway. We're proposing that model again now, for the TTC in Toronto. I'm actually quite, frankly, quite surprised that given the failure of the past 10 years that the TTC chose to follow the same model again recently.
There's a chance to recover and fix this, and we'll be talking to our competitors, and the one competitor who signed a deal with the TTC and the current owner of the wireless network in Toronto to actually fix this wrong and adopt a joint build model and get at providing all commuters in Toronto and all Torontonians with the very best wireless access in the subway. Thank you.
Mirko. The next question is in French, and it's coming from Monsieur Gagnon, who we heard before.
We suggest that the total donations of BCE be given to charity organizations over the amount of the compensation of the higher management of the five top members of the higher management. That would be a reasonable amount. Right now, we are far from that amount. Is that the case?
Thank you for asking. I don't have the figures at the top of the mind right now. I don't have the figures in front of me, but yes, we will be going back to you. We are quite proud of the amounts we are donating to these charity organizations. Yes, those organizations that offer mental health support, for instance. And yes, this is very important for BCE, and we also have our platform, which offers information about this. We are working in governance.
We have donations on several levels, such as, governance, and so on and so forth. We will be getting back to you with the figures. Thank you.
What does the Rogers-Shaw merger mean for Bell and for the telecom industry generally?
Thank you, Martin. That is another very good question and very topical. If you think back, now again, I'm gonna link back to what the chair said in his remarks and what I said in my remarks and in response to the previous question on the CRTC wholesale hearing. I mean, all these things link together. You know, over the past several years, we have been investing aggressively in fiber. I won't repeat that. We all know that. Also, if you think back just two, three years ago, we went from 0% 5G in Canada and at Bell Mobility to, at the end of this year, 85% coverage of 5G and 5G+, which is pretty impressive.
The reason I go back to that, our investments in fiber and our investments in wireless 5G, is that's exactly what we have been doing to prepare ourselves for the competitive environment that we have today and as it evolves in the future. The chair and I also referenced our significant progress in championing customer experience. We're gonna continue to put a very sharp focus on that, because together with the very best networks, the best brands and the best customer experience, we're going to be well positioned to be competitive against all those who are in our industry. Let's not forget, we've been competing against these players for years and years and years, quite successfully. That's...
To the first part of your question around how is what does that merger mean for Bell? As far as what it means for the industry generally, I think we need to take a step back and appreciate that both in internet and in wireless, we're quite in a privileged position in this country to have four major, well-capitalized, very competitive players in pretty much every region of the country on both wireline infrastructure and wireless. On wireless in particular, having four national and near national players is a rare thing. There are not many countries in the world that have four strong wireless players nationally. The U.S. does not. It has three. Germany does not. It has three. Finland has three. Australia, very similar in many respects to Canada, has three players. We have four.
Let's also not forget that, you know, in Canada, if you take the G7, actually, if you take the G7 and pull Canada out, there are over 200 people living in every square kilometer. In Canada, we have 4 people per sq km, and that just tells you population density is very small here, yet we cover, as an industry, over 99% of the Canadian population with the very best in LTE Advanced wireless service and will be at 85% in 5G and 5G+. We have world-leading networks, the fastest speeds, despite one of the population densities that is amongst the lowest in the world and four major players, all of which means we spend in Canada per subscriber more in CapEx or investments than pretty much any other country as an industry.
Keeping on the question, it's such an important question. Look at pricing. You know, as inflation goes up and in the past kind of year, 4% generally, wireless pricing has remained stable in the last few months. It's not like inflation decides to give the Canadian wireless industry a pass because we have a very low population density. You know, we're subject to it as well in terms of our input costs and our build cost. I think on the whole, let's go back to the main principle in the question. Having four well-capitalized significant players means that public policy has done its job, competition is doing its job, and we're delivering significant value to consumers. Thank you very much for that important question.
We don't have any more questions, Mr. Chair, so back to you.
Okay. What a great question to end the meeting with. I hope there were a lot of politicians listening. I doubt there were, but it's a good way to end the meeting. With there being no further questions, I would now declare the question and comment session to be closed. I would just conclude by once again thanking everybody for their participation in our annual meeting, and more particularly for the confidence and support that you've provided to BCE and to the Bell team. Thank you very much.