PIAC Media Release: Consumer Bill of Rights Needs Enforcement

August 29, 2006
For immediate release
Attention: News/Business Editors
(Ottawa) The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) today released its long-awaited decision on the “Consumer Bill of Rights” regarding local telephone services. The Public Interest Advocacy Centre, which represented a number of consumer groups in matters before the CRTC in the proceeding and led the call for such a document, met the announcement of the Consumer Bill of Rights today with cautious optimism.
The “Consumer Bill of Rights” is a clear and concise statement of existing telecommunications consumer rights, written in plain language. It is intended to help consumers with information regarding their local phone service that is currently either hard to find or difficult to understand. “This document will help ordinary Canadian telephone customers,” said John Lawford, Counsel for PIAC. “It will let them better understand and advocate their position when they have a dispute or other dealings with their local phone provider.”
PIAC sounded two notes of caution, however. First, the Consumer Bill of Rights won’t apply to “competitive local exchange providers” or “CLECs”, such as Rogers, Shaw or Cogeco when they offer phone service in the territory of “incumbent local exchange providers” or “ILECs” such as Bell Canada or TELUS. Second, there is no really effective enforcement mechanism paired with these rights. “To translate these rights into action or compensation, you need an telecommunications ombudsman’s office, which the Telecommunications Policy Review Panel recommended,” concluded Lawford. The Consumer Bill of Rights is available as an appendix to the Commission’s decision.
The ILECs are required by the decision to make the Consumer Bill of Rights available on their websites within a month, and must publish it with the next white pages directory. Consumers will also be able to obtain a copy from any ILEC retail outlet upon request. A reminder of the Consumer Bill of Rights and where to obtain it should be printed on consumer phone bills soon.
 

PIAC Media Release: Minister’s Proposed Directive to CRTC is One-Sided and Beyond his Powers: PIAC

August 16, 2006
For immediate release
Attention: News/Business Editors
Minister’s Proposed Directive to CRTC is One-Sided and Beyond his Powers: PIAC
(Ottawa) The Public Interest Advocacy Centre today filed a response to the federal government’s CRTC policy directive.
“The Government, with the proposed Policy Direction, is not facilitating competition. Instead, it is intervening to protect the interests of the regulated incumbents without ensuring that the interests of other stakeholders are protected,” the filing concludes.
“This directive will hurt ordinary Canadian telephone customers,” says Michael Janigan, PIAC Executive Director and General Counsel. “It will let the big boys bully the CRTC.”
Janigan says many of the Minister’s proposals exceed the authority of the policy directive process used and instead must be addressed by the legislative process.
The seven-page PIAC filing, IN THE MATTER OF a proposed Order under Section 8 of the Telecommunications Act – Policy Direction to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (PIAC Comments on CRTC Policy Direction)is available at:
 
 

IN THE MATTER OF a proposed Order under Section 8 of the Telecommunications Act – Policy Direction to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (PIAC Comments on CRTC Policy Direction)
Download File: piac_comments_telecom_policy_direction.pdf [size: 0.24 mb]

Michael Janigan
(613) 562-4002 ext 26

New Increased Ontario Electricity Rates – A Symptom not a Solution

The Ontario Energy Board (OEB) today released the results of the regulatory review of the rates to be charged by 60 of Ontario’s 90+ electricity local distribution utilities for the delivery portion of the bill, as well as the rates associated with charges for commodity (Regulated Price Plan (RPP)) that will be passed on in the customer electricity bill. The net effect of the rulings will be to see the average homeowner’s bill (1000 kw monthly consumption) increase by a range of 3-15% or approximately $100-$120 per year.
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) was engaged with the representation of the Vulnerable Energy Consumers Coalition in the OEB proceedings that determined these distribution rates, and has been engaged in advocacy on behalf of low-income consumers during the entire course of electricity industry restructuring.
Michael Janigan, Executive director and General Counsel of PIAC stated,
“It is important to note that while it is claimed that we are now getting customers to pay the actual costs of the generating electricity, this is not quite accurate. Electricity is supplied to distribution utilities on the basis of a system of time- ahead bidding by generators administered through the Independent Electricity System Operator. While the actual costs of generation are reflected in these bids, the ultimate price is very much affected by demand”.
PIAC noted that current projections call for a need for approximately 25,000 additional MWs for Ontario needs before the end of the next decade. “We cannot be content to sit back, and let electricity prices go through the roof from escalating demand with the hope that the ability to make super profits will somehow motivate private investment”, said Janigan. “ A study by the Pembina Institute in November 2005 noted that we are investing less than one fifteenth of public monies in conservation than we are in new supply despite the fact that it is much less costly to save 1MW of electricity than it is to generate it without even factoring in the favourable environmental impacts”.
And while efforts are now being expended to ensure that all customers, including low-income customers, can access conservation programs to lower their bills, much more will have to be attempted to overcome barriers to participation. “We have had more sizzle than steak on this front right now”, said Janigan. Janigan noted that while the recent Ontario government announcements providing for as Home Electricity Relief and increases to the Emergency Energy Fund are welcome, they are short term in effect.
Janigan also noted that while the Board had attempted to mitigate rate shock in their approval of utility distribution rates, these utilities were already charging rates that had been greatly increased by the questionable decision of the previous government to allow them to become commercial entities with the ability to charge market based rates. As well, the number of distribution utilities that the Board has to scrutinize guarantees that any review has had to be abbreviated and differs from the usual regulatory standard.
The new rates will take effect on May 1.
 

PIAC Media Release CRTC Local Forbearance Decision

April 6, 2006
For Immediate Release
On Balance, CRTC Will Provide Consumer Protection: PIAC
Consumer groups reacted with cautious optimism to today’s CRTC Decision regarding the framework for deregulation of local exchange services. Right now, local telephone service offered by incumbent providers like Bell, Telus, Aliant, MTS or SaskTel are regulated to protect consumers with respect to matters such as price, quality of service, and terms of such as privacy, disconnection and billing matters. The CRTC Decision sets the terms under which most of those protections and CRTC oversight will be removed.
Michael Janigan, the General Counsel of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre represented Consumer Groups, including the Consumers Association of Canada, the National Anti-Poverty Organization and l’Union des consommateurs in the hearings that gave rise to the Decision.
“We are pleased that the Commission listened to our views on the consumer safeguards that are necessary in markets which have been deemed to be competitive. These safeguards include mandatory stand alone local service subject to a price ceiling, privacy protection, billing and disconnection rights and continued access to disabled services,” Janigan said.
Less favourable to consumers was the Commission test for competition which seems to allow deregulation when a duopoly exists and a refusal to continue service quality standards in all markets.
“This decision considers the very real problems faced by most consumers who may not be able to get the kind of discounts for high end packages which some consumers will be able to negotiate,” said John Lawford, legal counsel for PIAC.
The PIAC legal team presented expert evidence and submissions on behalf of residential consumers at the hearings that took place last fall in Gatineau.
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More information:
Michael Janigan (613) 562-4002 ext 26
John Lawford (613) 562-4002 ext 25

Fighting for consumer rights

 

Travellers' Protection Initiative

New National “Travellers’ Protection Initiative” Demands Government Protection for Airline Passengers

Group says Bill C-44 must be strengthened
TORONTO, June 2, 2005—A new Canada-wide alliance was announced today bringing together like-minded consumer protection and business groups to demand greater federal government protection for Canadian airline passengers. The initiative comes in the wake of the recent failure of discount airline Jetsgo that left thousands of passengers stranded without refunds or other compensation, and as Bill C-44, proposed by the government in April, is headed toward 2nd Reading. The Bill, proposing minor amendments to the Canada Transportation Act, does not go nearly far enough to provide real protection for consumers, according to the group.
The Travellers’ Protection Initiative is comprised of the Travel Industry Council of Ontario (TICO), the Association of Canadian Travel Agencies (ACTA), the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), and Quebec-based Option consommateurs. They are joined by members of the Canadian Association of Airline Passengers (CAAP), including the Consumers Association of Canada (Saskatchewan), Transport 2000, Canadian Federation of Students, Consumers Council of Canada, Air Passenger Safety Group, Manitoba Society of Seniors, Ontario Society of Senior Citizens Organizations, and Rural Dignity of Canada.
The Travellers’ Protection Initiative represents a broad range of consumer and industry groups from across the country, each of which has been individually campaigning for change at the federal level. Speaking with one voice, the group’s objective is to push the government to strengthen the inadequate passenger protections contained in Bill C-44.
“As we gear up for a busy season of summer vacation travel, the painful memory lingers of the Canadian passengers who were left high and dry when Jetsgo stopped flying at the height of March break travel,” said Michael Janigan, Executive Director of PIAC. “As Bill C-44 stands now, there’s nothing to prevent travellers from being victimized again should another airline fail. If this Bill passes as is, Canadians will be as vulnerable in the future as they were when Jetsgo collapsed.”
The government’s proposed amendments to the Canada Transportation Act as itemized in Bill C-44, confirm the elimination of the Airline Complaints Commissioner’s position and call for the airlines to develop their own rules for full price disclosure in advertising. There is no mention of consumer protection for advance ticket sales or financial monitoring safeguards for airlines. The group feels that these amendments don’t go nearly far enough and want the government to re-write the Bill to implement the appropriate measures that will protect Canadians.
“Just when it becomes obvious to everyone that we need much greater consumer protection measures, the government proposes measures that move us further in the opposite direction,” said Mr. Janigan. “They’re eliminating the Airline Complaints Commissioner’s position and their proposal in Bill C-44 gives the airlines the luxury of policing themselves in areas like full price disclosure in airline advertising and best financial management practices. Time and again, we’ve seen that the airlines are simply not responsive. How many times do we suffer a Jetsgo before the government understands its role?”
The group has six key areas of concern:

• Greater financial monitoring and disclosure to the public;
• Protection for advance ticket purchases;
• Full price disclosure in advertising across the board;
• Reinstatement and strengthening of the position of Airline Complaints Commissioner;
• A federal compensation fund for when airlines fail;
• A program within Transport Canada to collect and publish information on airline service performance in order to better inform consumers about their choices and promote fair competition among airlines.

“We can’t stress enough, the importance of creating an atmosphere of rigorous scrutiny, openness and fairness in this industry, with a view always, to the public good,” said Jannick Desforges of Option consommateurs. “We call on Minister Lapierre and Members of Parliament to hear us out on these issues and respond in good faith. The government should not be putting airlines first – it should be putting passengers first.”
“In what other industry does the customer finance the company without any knowledge of the company’s financial health?” asked TICO CEO, Michael Pepper. “That’s precisely what happens with unsecured advance ticket sales. We understand that the government is not in the airline business, but it is in the business of protecting Canadian citizens, and in this area it is failing all of us. It has the obligation to demand that airlines have the financial wherewithal to serve passengers. That’s a very basic requirement.”
According to Marc-André Charlebois, President and CEO of ACTA, “The government has been reluctant to get involved in this area and appears to be operating with the best interests of the airlines, not those of consumers, in mind. This is unacceptable and we know Canadians will not sit quietly while new airlines go into business, completely immune from appropriate consumer safeguards, when there are simple solutions that will have far-reaching impact.”
The Travellers’ Protection Initiative wants its 6-point plan to be enshrined in legislation and plans to take its case to MPs and the Minister of Transport before the Bill goes further.
– 30 –
For more information, please contact:
Catherine Davey
catherinedavey@mailbotz.com
416-599-6262

Membership

The Travel Industry Council of Ontario (TICO) is a not-for-profit corporation wholly-financed by Ontario-registered travel agents and wholesalers. It administers the Travel Industry Act and the Ontario Travel Industry Compensation Fund. The Ontario Travel Industry Compensation Fund is wholly-financed by the industry to protect consumers who do not receive the travel services for which they paid due to the insolvency or bankruptcy of an Ontario-registered travel agent or travel wholesaler, or due to the cessation of an end supplier airline or cruise line. The Fund only covers consumers who have booked through an Ontario-registered travel agent. TICO may be contacted at (905) 624-6241 or 1-888-451-TICO orwww.tico.on.ca , email tico@tico.on.ca
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) is a national non-profit organization working to advance the interests of individuals and groups who are generally unrepresented, or under-represented, in issues of major public concern. PIAC focuses primarily on consumer issues concerning telecommunications, travel, energy, privacy, the information highway, electronic commerce, financial services, broadcasting, and competition law. PIAC undertakes legal and research services on behalf of consumers and seeks to ensure that the public interest is served, and not neglected, by decision- makers in government and the private sector, when decisions are made about consumer issues. PIAC may be contacted at (613) 562-4002 or www.piac.ca , email piac@piac.ca
Option consommateurs is dedicated to defending and promoting the interests of consumers, primarily those with low incomes. To that end, it is active in various industry sectors through its credit counselling, legal, press, and research and advocacy divisions. The association team is made up of about twenty individuals working in a variety of professions such as law, finance, journalism, and research. Option consommateurs directly reaches up to 10,000 consumers annually, and conducts more than 400 media interviews. In addition to sitting on numerous task forces and taking part in various consultations, the association team publishes research reports, memoranda, practical guides and news articles. Option consommateurs may be contacted at (514) 598-7288, 1-888-412-1313 www.option-consommateurs.org
The Association of Canadian Travel Agencies (ACTA) is a national trade association representing the retail travel sector of Canada’s tourism industry. ACTA is an industry-led, non profit, membership-based organization. Its members include retail travel agencies and suppliers such as tour operators, travel wholesalers, airlines, hotels, destination marketing organizations, cruise and rail lines, and automobile rental companies. ACTA represents the interests of Canadian travellers through approximately 3,000 members employing 14,000 travel professionals. ACTA may be contacted at: (613) 237-3657 or www.acta.ca
The Canadian Association of Airline Passengers (CAAP) is a coalition of consumer organizations formed in 1999 to respond to the pending restructuring of the Canadian airline industry, and to advocate policy and regulatory requirements which are fundamental to protect passengers’ rights. PIAC and Option Consommateurs are both founding members of CAAP. Other members of CAAP who have lent their voice to the Travellers’ Protection Initiative include:
Air Passenger Safety Group 1-416-534-4008 Jim Goss: pres@jgoss.com
Consumers Association of Canada Saskatchewan 1-306-242-4909 Annemarie Buchmann-Gerber: office.cacsk@sasktel.net
Canadian Federation of Students 1-613-232-7394
Consumers Council of Canada
The Consumers Council of Canada is an independent non-profit consumer organization whose vision is an efficient, equitable and effective marketplace for consumers. The Council works collaboratively with consumers, business and government in support of consumers’ rights and responsibilities to provide a consumer perspective and to find solutions to marketplace problems. Through consumer representation, research, education and service the Council addresses issues that affect and influence the daily lives of consumers. The Council is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors and has an Advisory Committee to provide marketplace perspective and is funded through its project work, its memberships and donations. The Council operates the Public Interest Network (PIN) a volunteer network of community-involved thought leaders who respond to issues and inform the Council. The Consumers Council of Canada Foundation, a registered charity, supports the research and education efforts of the Council. Contact the Council at 416-961-3487,www.consumerscouncil.com or mail@consumerscouncil.com
Canadian Federation of Students 1-613-232-7394 Angela Regnier: dchair@cfs-fcee.ca
Manitoba Society of Seniors 1-204-985-8540 Byron Williams: bywil@legalaid.mb.ca
Ontario Society of Senior Citizens’ Organizations 1-416-785-8570 Morris Jesion: ocsco@web.net
Rural Dignity of Canada 1-418-645-2715 Cynthia Patterson: ruraldignity@globetrotter.qc.ca
Transport 2000 Canada 1-819-827-0157 Harry Gow: hwgow@uottawa.ca

Media Release: CRTC DECISION ON VoIP GOOD FOR CONSUMERS

Ottawa, May 12, 2005: Today, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) released its decision defining the effect of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) on present telecommunications regulation in Canada. The CRTC focussed clearly on the issue from a consumer perspective, finding that VoIP represents only a new technological delivery method for telephone calls, not an entirely new (and therefore unregulated) service. Local incumbent Canadian telephone companies will have to continue to abide by CRTC rules on pricing and service quality even with their new VoIP services.
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre on behalf of the Consumers’ Association of Canada, the National Anti-Poverty Organization, and l’Union des Consommateurs (the Consumer Groups) argued that the CRTC should require incumbent telephone companies to continue to be regulated as such even though VoIP allows them to route calls differently and integrate voice calls with other Internet services. The Consumer Groups also argued that other “non-incumbent” companies (such as cable companies and VoIP-only providers) seeking to offer local phone service with VoIP technology should be subject to rules similar to those required of competing local exchange carriers. These rules include local number portability, privacy protections, phone directory services and access for the disabled, among other consumer rights. The CRTC largely accepted these requirements for the new VoIP providers.
“We are pleased that the CRTC found that VoIP is basically phone business as usual. Incumbent phone companies with lots of local phone market share will have to abide by fair pricing for local VoIP as dictated by the CRTC until such time as there is real competition in local telephone service, VoIP or no VoIP” said John Lawford, Counsel for PIAC.
Lawford noted that the other regulatory consumer protections built up painstakingly for the traditional telephone system, such as caller-ID blocking and message relay service, will be preserved with VoIP services. “And of course the CRTC already has required 911 service work on a VoIP phone or you can’t offer it in Canada” said Lawford.
Lawford points out that, as noted by the Commission, most VoIP services are sold as replacements for traditional telephone service. “Consumers may not know the limitations of VoIP phones compared to the usual phone or even a cellphone service” he said. “The Commission is simply saying it is more prudent to have industry fix the phone service up to the present standard before leapfrogging it with fancy new services that promise the sky.”
The Consumer Groups note however that the CRTC has issued a Public Notice for comment on whether local phone service regulation should be scaled back or eliminated altogether. “That’s the real battle,” said Lawford, “and we hope that consumers will make their views known to the Commission.”

Wireless Number Portability Promises Should Be Kept

Contact: John Lawford, PIAC
(613) 562-4002×25
jlawford@piac.ca
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) congratulates the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) on its promise to implement wireless number portability in Canada without undue delay. Under the CWTA plan announced yesterday, Canadians would be able to retain their present cell phone numbers when they change carriers who are CWTA members. This plan is to be finalized by September 1, 2005; however, Canadians will have to wait an unspecified time thereafter for cell phone numbers to become truly portable.
This announcement finally meets a long-standing goal of consumers and PIAC. PIAC’s report “Mobile Number Portability” was distributed to wireless service providers, the CRTC and government policy makers some weeks before the 2005 Federal Budget, which called on the CRTC to “move expeditiously to implement wireless number portability”. In its Report, PIAC concludes that: “the benefits to consumers of wireless (mobile) number portability outweigh the costs to the providers.” PIAC’s Report was made possible through a grant from the Office of Consumer Affairs of Industry Canada. The full report is available on PIAC’s website at: http://www.piac.ca/MNP_draft.pdf .
Canadians are clearly in favour of wireless number portability and want it now. PIAC Counsel John Lawford noted that; “Any industry-sponsored plan to address mobile number portability should be subject to regulatory oversight, the CRTC should approve and guide implementation of the plan” to ensure all wireless carriers, not just CWTA members, are subject to it. He also cautioned that until the details of the plan are known, the potential of wireless number portability might not be fully realized. “For example, any such plan should include portability between not only wireless carriers, but also fixed (wireline) numbers and emerging Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) numbers.”
PUBLIC INTEREST ADVOCACY CENTRE
LE CENTRE POUR LA DEFENSE DE L’INTERET PUBLIC
ONE Nicholas Street, Suite 1204, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1N 7B7
Tel: (613) 562-4002. Fax: (613) 562-0007. e-mail: piac@piac.ca . http://www.piac.ca
“We look forward to the removal of this impediment to consumer choice in wireless services in Canada,” said Lawford.. “While we applaud the CWTA for moving forward on this issue, we hope that they will work in tandem with the CRTC and consumers to ensure it becomes reality in the quickest and most complete fashion.”
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) is a non-profit corporation that provides legal services and research to vulnerable consumers and the organizations that represent them. PIAC’s main areas of advocacy are in the areas of telecommunications, broadcasting, financial services, energy, e-commerce and privacy.
 

Common Sense Protection in Light of Jetsgo Collapse

Time for Common Sense Protection in Light of Jetsgo Collapse

According to Michael Janigan, the Executive Director and General Counsel of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, the demise of Jetsgo highlights the gaps in consumer protection that exist in the Canadian airline industry.
“If the failure of an airline is to be treated by the government in the same way as the failure of a corner grocery store, pretty soon consumers will be fleeing airline travel in bigger numbers”, said Janigan. He noted the incomplete protection that is provided for out-of-pocket passengers through credit card charge backs and compensation funds for travel agency purchases made in three provinces only, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec.
“Every airline, licensed in Canada, should be made to participate in a Compensation Fund and abide by the same rules associated with travel advertising and practices that are in place for travel agencies in Ontario and Quebec,” Janigan noted. “If the federal government intends consumers to be protected by competition, it has to ensure that all competitors are part of a system that will not leave passengers in the lurch”.
Janigan urged Jetsgo’s jilted passengers, who paid for their tickets with a credit card, to immediately contact the credit card company to ascertain whether a charge back is possible. Passengers booking through travel agencies in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec were urged to contact the provincial government regulatory agency responsible for compensation.
For Further Information Contact:
Michael Janigan
Executive Director/General Counsel
Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC)
1204-ONE Nicholas Street
Ottawa, ON
K1N 7B7
613-562-4002 ext. 26
mjanigan@piac.ca

Smart Regulation Will Need Public Input To Succeed

This Media Release is available as a PDF [pdf file: 0.03mb]

Smart Regulation Will Need Public Input To Succeed

Smart Regulation, a new strategy for regulation recommended by a federal government appointed committee, will need considerable checks and balances, and in particular mandated public input, in order to achieve its goals. This was the conclusion of The Public Interest Advocacy Centre, (PIAC), an Ottawa-based non-governmental organization that specializes in issues involving the regulation of important public services and utilities. PIAC was a participant in the consultations conducted by the Privy Council appointed committee, the External Advisory Committee on Smart Regulation, that today issued its final report.
Michael Janigan, Executive Director and General Counsel of PIAC noted, “PIAC is heartened that the Committee rejected a strategy of deregulation and rather stressed reform to provide regulation that is accountable for its results”. Nevertheless, Janigan said that the implementation of the recommendations of the Committee will require vigilance to ensure that the appropriate public goals of consumer protection and public health and safety are maintained. “We support the observations and recommendation of the Committee that suggests the involvement of engaged Canadian citizenry on a level playing field with government and the regulated parties will be required.”
PIAC also cautioned that the suggested harmonization with regulatory standards of major international trading partners must never become a “race to the bottom” – in other words, common adoption of the lowest possible standard. “Canada must demonstrate leadership in issues involving health, environmental protection and consumer safeguards and attempt to develop sustainable commerce on a basis that is in keeping with Canadian values”, Janigan added.
PIAC hopes to be able to play a role in any future implementation of the EACSR report.
For more information please contact:
Michael Janigan
Executive Director/General Counsel
Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC)
(613) 562-4002 ext. 26
mjanigan@piac.ca

Canadians Want Increased Consumer Protection For Internet Services – Media Release

Canadians Want Increased Consumer Protection For Internet Services

A new study released today by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) highlights problems with consumer protection for customers of internet services. According to Michael Janigan, PIAC Executive Director and General Counsel, “Canadian internet customers are not being well served by the current hands-off approach to regulation of the Internet”. Janigan also noted “Our survey found that almost two thirds of consumers think that the government should develop and enforce consumer protection rules. In particular, sixty-two percent of customers thought it was very important for the government to develop rules with respect to quality of service.”
PIAC’s study, conducted with the financial assistance of Industry Canada, reviewed the current mechanisms for self regulation and the handling of customer complaints and found them wanting. Currently consumer problems such as spam, service outages and delays, and billing complaints are handled by individual internet service providers (ISPs) in ways which are frequently not transparent or standardized. ISP practices may create an imbalance in service arrangements to the customer’s disadvantage. The PIAC report also warns that the high level of concentration in the high speed Internet market, dominated by two suppliers cable and local telephone companies, bodes ill for future internet consumer welfare.
The report recommends action first by the ISPs themselves to more effectively deal with consumer problems by implementing more effective self regulation through a number of models currently available. Failing such initiative, the report finds public support for appropriate regulatory intervention.
For more information please contact:
Michael Janigan
Executive Director/General Counsel
Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC)
(613) 562-4002 ext. 26
mjanigan@piac.ca
You may download this publication free of charge from our web-site www.piac.ca or if you prefer a hard copy please contact our office at (613) 562-4002 or at piac@piac.ca and we will send you a copy for a charge of $10.00 plus postage which will cover our publication costs.