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Welcome to the PUBLIC INTEREST ADVOCACY CENTRE / LE CENTRE POUR LA DÉFENSE DE L’INTÉRÊT PUBLIC
PIAC is a non-profit organization that provides legal and research services on behalf of consumer interests, and, in particular, vulnerable consumer interests, concerning the provision of important public services.
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Public Interest News: Net throttling appeal / Recours collectif contre The Brick / The TV war / Credit cards beyond reach / Broadband expensive / Satisfy warrant or lose welfare
Other → Monday, November 09, 2009Campaign for Competitive Broadband: Appeal to Cabinet to reverse net neutrality decision (PIAC 9/Nov/09) “With just 42 days before the federal cabinet must decide on the future of competitive internet service in Canada more than 41 different organizations and companies, including the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, and the Canadian Association of Internet Service Providers, ...
New PIAC Report Studies Importance of Credit Cards to Canadians
Financial → Tuesday, October 27, 2009While credit cards have become a preferred and sometimes essential means of payment, a growing group of citizens cannot get access to a card. A new report by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) studies the consequences of not being able to obtain a credit card and the use of substitutes by such individuals. The report also provides a history of credit cards, an overview of the Canadian ...
CRTC’s Net Neutrality Decision Rubber Stamps ISPs’ Throttling
Telecom → Wednesday, October 21, 2009The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) today approved Canadian Internet Service Providers throttling of Internet connections in a decision that stands in stark contrast to the requirements being contemplated in the United States, which will require that such control does not interfere with customers’ choice of applications or services. “We just went backwards at ...
Consumer groups call on Minister Moore to “put consumers first” in the war over cable fees
Consumers → Friday, October 16, 2009(PIAC 16/Oct 09) Canadian organizations representing consumers of television service called upon Heritage Minister James Moore today to back up his promise to “put consumers first” in the high profile war about cable fees for local broadcasting. The organizations, representing a broad range of consumer and public interests across Canada, maintain that consumer groups must be able to ...
Public Interest News: Watchdog barks / Marketplace manners / L’Accord sur le commerce intérieur / Cellphone cost calculator / Surveillance rules
Other → Thursday, October 15, 2009PIAC barks: Feed the watchdog! (PIAC 15/Oct/09) The Ottawa-based watchdog has been out there hounding the phone companies, snarling at the airlines, snapping at big bro and reading the fine print of interprovincial trade agreements. The dog is hungry! Help feed the Ottawa-based consumer protection group by making a charitable contribution at: www.piac.ca/information Or mail a cheque to: ONE ...
Ontario Energy Board Stakeholder Conference this week to tackle request for big rate increases
Energy → Sunday, September 20, 2009(PIAC 12/09/09)—This week, an Ontario Energy Board panel will study the request of Ontario’s natural gas and electricity distribution companies for higher rates to compensate their public and private ownership with a bigger return on investment. The request comes about as a result of the economic downturn and may mean that energy customers in Ontario could see rate increases to cover ...
Deferral Accounts: Supreme Court decision shows need of legislative reform
Telecom → Friday, September 18, 2009OTTAWA)—The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) today dismissed the appeal launched by consumer and anti-poverty groups of the CRTC decision allocating money, intended for rate discounts on telephone bills, to fund telephone company broadband operations in uneconomic areas. Michael Janigan, executive director and general counsel of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, which backed the appeal of ...
Public Interest News: Supreme Court decision today / Curb those extra fees / Basic telecom / La manière forte / Industry cell calculator / More TV fees / Trade deals: No texts
Other → Friday, September 18, 2009$650 million overcharge: Supreme Court decision expected today (PIAC 18/09/09) Michael Janigan, executive director of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, will be available to comment on the “Deferral Accounts” decision expected to be handed down by the Supreme Court of Canada today. Janigan, acting for Canada Without Poverty (formerly the National Anti-Poverty Organization) and the ...
Curb those extra fees: PIAC report calls for consumer protection legislation
Consumers → Wednesday, September 16, 2009(OTTAWA) An Ottawa-based consumer organization is calling for action by federal and provincial governments to curb the practice of businesses inventing separate extra charges to be paid by customers as part of the bill for services or products provided. In a report issued today, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) described circumstances in a number of industries including ...
The Consumer Perspective of Trade & Commerce Powers: PIAC report
Consumers → Tuesday, August 25, 2009(Ottawa)—Interprovincial trade agreements can impact adversely on consumer protection. They are negotiated in secret. Consumers are not at the table. Most recent agreements give corporations the right to sue governments for damages caused by trade barriers. In theory the right to sue drives down prices which benefit consumers. But consumers also want governments that can provide ...
Public Interest News: Interprovincial trade / Cell complaints / Cell rates / Belus: Probable fusion / TV fees up in September / Copyright Consultation / Merchant Processing Fees / La surtaxe de carburant
Other → Thursday, August 20, 2009Interprovincial trade and the consumer interest: New report (PIAC 20/08/09) Next week PIAC will release “The Consumer Perspective of Trade & Commerce Powers”, a report that examines the use of federal trade and commerce powers to regulate interprovincial trade and the consumer interest in interprovincial trade. In recent years, there have been increasing political efforts to eliminate ...
Public Interest News: Globalive / Net throttling / 10 pillars of consumer protection / Quebec Consumer Protection Act / Ontario Consumer Services ministry
Other → Thursday, July 23, 2009CRTC to fast-track its review of Globalive (PIAC 23/07/09) The CRTC will examine Globalive’s finances Sept. 22-23 with a decision in 30 days, the Canadian Press reported on July 21. In 2008 the company paid the federal government $442 million for wireless spectrum with the idea of launching the beginnings of its cell phone network by the end of the year. In submissions Telus, Shaw, ...