PIAC has been fighting on behalf of consumers for 50 years. We are incredibly proud of that history and the many victories we have secured for all Canadians. But while this work is important, it is also under-funded, under-resourced and increasingly complicated.
It is in that context that the Board of Directors of PIAC would like to apologize to Mr. Geoff White for any miscommunications arising from comments we made to the CBC for a March 2026 Marketplace special ‘What’s Wrong with your Rights?’ and a related online article.
In that piece, Mr. White, former executive director and general counsel of PIAC, outlined the lack of consumer protections in industries dominated by big companies as well as the stark systemic financial challenges PIAC and other organizations fighting for consumer protections face.
PIAC agrees with these comments and notes that with the coming closure of the federal Office of Consumer Affairs, which funded much of PIAC’s past research, these challenges will be exacerbated.
Mr. White drove home the seriousness of these issues in the episode by relaying that “he left PIAC after going months without paying himself in order to keep the organization afloat amid a lack of funding from the federal government.” He added that he faced “‘a lack of support’” from PIAC’s volunteer board of directors.
When contacted by the CBC to respond to Mr. White’s comments about PIAC, the Board made clear that it believed Mr. White was working in PIAC’s best interest and deferred his compensation in an effort to help navigate the organization through difficult financial times. None of the Board’s comments were meant to suggest otherwise and the Board apologizes if it created that impression.
PIAC also contacted the CBC in an effort to clarify the Board’s comments and have relayed this apology directly to Mr. White.
Mr. White was hired by the Board because of his extensive experience with public interest law and we value his contributions to the organization. We understand and acknowledge that his work at PIAC was significantly affected by the structural funding and cashflow constraints that PIAC and other consumer rights organizations face, and which long pre-date Mr. White’s time at PIAC.
The PIAC Board also apologizes that Mr. White felt insufficiently supported during his time at the organization.The public interest community is small but the issues we’re tackling are massive.
Ultimately, while PIAC is working hard to chart a path to sustainability to ensure our work can continue for another 50 years, there is no doubt that serious policy changes from governments are also needed to ensure that public interest work is properly funded.
PIAC Board of Directors
