- Safe Harbour Notice
- Responsibility
- Report Profile
- CEO Message
- Vision & Strategy
- Governance
- Economy
- Environment
- People
- Recognition
Certain statements made in this Corporate Responsibility Annual Report are forward-looking statements and are subject to important risks, uncertainties and assumptions. A statement we make is forward-looking when it uses what we know and expect today to make a statement about the future. Forward-looking statements may include words such as anticipate, assumption, believe, could, expect, goal, guidance, intend, may, objective, outlook, plan, seek, should, strive, target and will.
The results or events predicted in these statements may differ materially from actual results or events if known or unknown risks affect our business, or if our estimates or assumptions turn out to be inaccurate. As a result, we cannot guarantee that any forward-looking statement will materialize and, accordingly, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. All such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the "safe harbour" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and of any applicable Canadian securities legislation, including the Securities Act of Ontario. Certain of the risk factors which could cause results or events to differ materially from current expectations are discussed in the next paragraph. Except as otherwise indicated by us, forward-looking statements made in this Corporate Responsibility Annual Report do not reflect the potential impact of any non-recurring or other special items or of any dispositions, monetizations, mergers, acquisitions, other business combinations or other transactions that may be announced or that may occur after May 2, 2005.
The forward-looking statements contained in this Corporate Responsibility Annual Report represent the expectations of BCE Inc. and its subsidiaries (collectively "BCE") as of May 2, 2005 and, accordingly, are subject to change after such date. However, BCE disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Other factors that could cause results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things:
- our ability to implement our strategies and plans in order to produce the expected benefits and growth prospects;
- general economic and market conditions and the level of consumer confidence and spending, and the demand for, and prices of, our products and services;
- the intensity of competitive activity from both traditional and new players, domestic or foreign, including cross-platform competition, which is increasing following the introduction of new technologies such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) which have reduced barriers to entry that existed in the industry, and its impact on our ability to retain existing, and attract new, customers and on pricing strategies and financial results;
- our ability to transform our cost structure, improve productivity and contain capital intensity while maintaining quality of services;
- our ability to anticipate, and respond to, changes in technology, industry standards and client needs and migrate to and deploy new technologies, including VoIP, and offer new products and services rapidly and achieve market acceptance thereof;
- the availability and cost of capital required to implement our business plan and fund capital and other expenditures;
- our ability to find suitable companies to acquire or to partner with, to integrate the operations of acquired companies and to complete dispositions;
- the impact of pending or future litigation and of adverse changes in laws or regulations, including tax laws, or in how they are interpreted, or of adverse regulatory initiatives or proceedings, including decisions by the CRTC affecting our ability to compete effectively;
- the risk of litigation should BCE Inc. or Bell Canada stop funding a subsidiary or change the nature of its investment, or dispose of all or part of its interest, in a subsidiary;
- the risk of increased pension fund contributions;
- our ability to effectively manage labour relations, negotiate satisfactory labour agreements, including new agreements replacing expired labour agreements, while avoiding work stoppages, and maintain service to customers and minimize disruptions during strikes and other work stoppages;
- events affecting the functionality of our networks or of the networks of other telecommunications carriers on which we rely to provide our services;
- our ability to improve and upgrade, on a timely basis, our various IT systems and software on which many aspects of our businesses depend;
- our ability to complete the proposed creation of the Bell Aliant Regional Communications Income Fund and the proposed recapitalization and public offering of a minority stake in Telesat;
- stock market volatility;
- the risk that licenses on which we rely to provide services might be revoked or not renewed when they expire
- our ability to retain major customers;
- health concerns about radio frequency emissions; and
- launch and in-orbit risks and the ability to obtain appropriate insurance coverage at favourable rates, concerning Telesat's satellites, certain of which are used by Bell ExpressVu to provide services.
For additional information with respect to certain of these and other factors, please refer to BCE Inc.'s MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2005 dated March 1, 2006 set out at pages 42 to 56 of the Bell Canada Enterprises 2005 Annual Report filed by BCE Inc. with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, under Form 40-F (available on EDGAR at www.sec.gov), and with the Canadian securities commissions (available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com), as subsequently updated by BCE Inc. in quarterly MD&As.
