Podcasts Archives - Public Interest Advocacy Centre https://www.piac.ca/category/podcasts/ Public Internet Advocacy Centre Wed, 13 Nov 2024 15:54:50 +0000 en-CA hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.1 We Fight for That podcast, Episode 32 – The Big Fix https://www.piac.ca/2024/11/13/we-fight-for-that-podcast-episode-32-the-big-fix/ https://www.piac.ca/2024/11/13/we-fight-for-that-podcast-episode-32-the-big-fix/#respond Wed, 13 Nov 2024 15:54:50 +0000 https://www.piac.ca/?p=3611 EPISODE SUMMARY New PIAC Executive Director and General Counsel, Geoff White, is pleased to take the reins of the podcast and interviews Denis Hearn and Vass Bednar about their urgent, clear and accessible book, “The Big Fix”, which seeks to explain why Canada has a competition problem and how to fix it. EPISODE NOTES Geoff […]

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EPISODE SUMMARY

New PIAC Executive Director and General Counsel, Geoff White, is pleased to take the reins of the podcast and interviews Denis Hearn and Vass Bednar about their urgent, clear and accessible book, “The Big Fix”, which seeks to explain why Canada has a competition problem and how to fix it.

EPISODE NOTES

Geoff White, PIAC’s new Executive Director and General Counsel interviews authors Denise Hearn and Vass Bednar about their eye-opening new book, “The Big Fix”, which reveals the extent of Canada’s inability to get competition in Canada right. Canadians pay too much, have limited market choices, little control of their shopping experience and suffer intrusive surveillance mostly due to the inability of Canadian regulators to halt mergers in areas such as food retailing, telecommunications, financial services and even veterinary services.

Hearn and Bednar outline their potential solutions to address this market power, to provide a democratic and consumer-driven solution to make the market less “fixed” against Canadians. These include not only a more stringent review of mergers but also a ‘whole of government’ approach to competition effects on all parts of the economy. Gosh, they even discuss the prospect of structural separation in telecommunications and promotion of human flourishing as an outcome of markets. This is a refreshing and provocative discussion about putting consumers first – a goal PIAC has pursued for 40 plus years, and will pursue in the future.

Buy the book from Sutherland House: https://sutherlandhousebooks.com/product/the-big-fix/

Listen to the podcast:

https://wefightforthat.simplecast.com/episodes/the-big-fix

Make a donation to PIAC, right now, through Canada Helps: https://www.piac.ca/become-a-donor/

SHOW CONTRIBUTORS
Denise Hearn
Vass Bednar
Geoff White

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]]> https://www.piac.ca/2024/11/13/we-fight-for-that-podcast-episode-32-the-big-fix/feed/ 0 “We Fight for That” Ep. 12 – “SIM-swap Hide and Seek with Randall Baran-Chong” https://www.piac.ca/2021/08/04/we-fight-for-that-ep-12-sim-swap-hide-and-seek-with-randall-baran-chong/ https://www.piac.ca/2021/08/04/we-fight-for-that-ep-12-sim-swap-hide-and-seek-with-randall-baran-chong/#respond Wed, 04 Aug 2021 14:54:32 +0000 https://www.piac.ca/?p=2985 We explore the Canadian wireless industry’s best-kept secret (with CRTC help): their problem with SIM-swap fraud! Link to episode: https://wefightforthat.simplecast.com/episodes/sim-swap-hide-and-seek-with-randall-baran-chong Randall Baran-Chong, Co-Founder of Canadian SIM-swap Victims United (CSSVU) joins PIAC to explain his personal experience with fraudsters switching his cell service to a new SIM-card (twice!) and his advocacy for victims before the CRTC, […]

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]]> We explore the Canadian wireless industry’s best-kept secret (with CRTC help): their problem with SIM-swap fraud!

Link to episode: https://wefightforthat.simplecast.com/episodes/sim-swap-hide-and-seek-with-randall-baran-chong

Randall Baran-Chong, Co-Founder of Canadian SIM-swap Victims United (CSSVU) joins PIAC to explain his personal experience with fraudsters switching his cell service to a new SIM-card (twice!) and his advocacy for victims before the CRTC, the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology (INDU), in the media and with politicians. John Lawford, PIAC Executive Director and General Counsel, outlines PIAC’s ongoing regulatory and other efforts to shed light on the issue, despite regulatory headwinds. Even the politicians know that this is a big deal and one that should be fixed in a transparent way, as INDU’s Report on Phone Fraud makes clear – even supporting PIAC’s call for a public hearing of the CRTC into SIM-swap.

At the end of the episode, PIAC’s Tahira Dawood brings us up to date on airline refunds for COVID-19 cancellations. Looks like some Westjet customers may be out of luck.

SIM-swap links

Canadian SIM-swap Victims United (CSSVU): search Facebook for this group. You will be asked to show you are a victim of fraud.

Randall Baran-Chong’s Brief to INDU Committee:

https://www.ourcommons.ca/Content/Committee/431/INDU/Brief/BR10699964/br-external/Baran-ChongRandall-e.pdf

INDU Committee’s Report on Phone Fraud (see recommendations 12 and 13 re: SIM-swap fraud:

https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/43-2/INDU/report-1/

CRTC’s much redacted inquiry into “Fraudulent Wireless Customer Transfers”:

https://crtc.gc.ca/otf/eng/2020/8665/c12_202000280.htm

Airlines COVID-19 Refunds – UPDATE

WestJet: Refunds due to COVID-19

Air Transat: Refunds of travel credits issued as a result of COVID-19

Sunwing: Refunds for Vacations cancelled due to COVID-19

Porter Airlines: Claim Your COVID-19 Credit Bonus, or Refund

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]]> https://www.piac.ca/2021/08/04/we-fight-for-that-ep-12-sim-swap-hide-and-seek-with-randall-baran-chong/feed/ 0 “We Fight for That” Ep. 11 – “The Internet Affordability Revolution will not be Subsidized with Shelley Robinson” https://www.piac.ca/2021/06/25/we-fight-for-that-ep-11-the-internet-affordability-revolution-will-not-be-subsidized-with-shelley-robinson/ https://www.piac.ca/2021/06/25/we-fight-for-that-ep-11-the-internet-affordability-revolution-will-not-be-subsidized-with-shelley-robinson/#respond Fri, 25 Jun 2021 00:05:36 +0000 https://www.piac.ca/?p=2955 We interview Shelley Robinson, Executive Director of National Capital Freenet, about how the CRTC’s recent reversal of its decision on wholesale internet rates not only challenges smaller ISPs, but virtually guarantees that affordable service will not be extended to lower income Canadians and certainly not at higher speeds.

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]]> We interview Shelley Robinson, Executive Director of National Capital Freenet, about how the CRTC’s recent reversal of its decision on wholesale internet rates not only challenges smaller ISPs, but virtually guarantees that affordable service will not be extended to lower income Canadians and certainly not at higher speeds.

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]]> https://www.piac.ca/2021/06/25/we-fight-for-that-ep-11-the-internet-affordability-revolution-will-not-be-subsidized-with-shelley-robinson/feed/ 0 We Fight For That – Episode 8: Klass Consciousness: CRTC MVNO decision, telecom socialism & Shaw-Rogers deal with Ben Klass https://www.piac.ca/2021/05/01/we-fight-for-that-episode-8/ https://www.piac.ca/2021/05/01/we-fight-for-that-episode-8/#respond Sat, 01 May 2021 03:09:56 +0000 http://piac.staging.craftandcrew.ca/?p=2844 EPISODE NOTES Will the CRTC’s recent decision on mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) provide new wireless competition in Canada? We discuss this in excruciating detail with Ben Klass, PhD Candidate and telecom policy wunderkind. The answer: not likely, sorry.  This likely result leads the conversation to frustrations with Canadian telecom regulation of competition, including wholesale […]

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Will the CRTC’s recent decision on mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) provide new wireless competition in Canada? We discuss this in excruciating detail with Ben Klass, PhD Candidate and telecom policy wunderkind. The answer: not likely, sorry.  This likely result leads the conversation to frustrations with Canadian telecom regulation of competition, including wholesale rates that end up affecting how many competitors consumers have to choose from and how much they charge for cellphone service as well as telecom mergers, such as Rogers buying Shaw, which appear to be a way for industry to avoid regulation.  This leads us to consider how much public interest should be in telecommunications and how to get more for consumers.  Retail rate regulation? Structural separation? Political action?  All are on the table. There may be some hope for consumers needing low-cost wireless services, however, as the MVNO decision requires the Big 3 to offer affordable cellphone plans.  We shall see.
Listen Now

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]]> https://www.piac.ca/2021/05/01/we-fight-for-that-episode-8/feed/ 0 We Fight For That – Episode 7: Rogers-Shaw Merger – Part 2 – Discussion with Konrad von Finckenstein https://www.piac.ca/2021/04/15/we-fight-for-that-episode-7/ https://www.piac.ca/2021/04/15/we-fight-for-that-episode-7/#respond Thu, 15 Apr 2021 03:06:46 +0000 http://piac.staging.craftandcrew.ca/?p=2842 EPISODE NOTES John Lawford, PIAC’s Executive Director and General Counsel welcomes special guest Konrad von Finckenstein, PIAC’s current Chair of the Board, to work through options the Competition Bureau, the CRTC and the Industry Minister could have to modify the deal to preserve at least some competition.  In a spirited conversation, Mr. Lawford attempts to […]

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John Lawford, PIAC’s Executive Director and General Counsel welcomes special guest Konrad von Finckenstein, PIAC’s current Chair of the Board, to work through options the Competition Bureau, the CRTC and the Industry Minister could have to modify the deal to preserve at least some competition.  In a spirited conversation, Mr. Lawford attempts to outline consumer frustration with the process and the deal, while Mr. von Finckenstein calmly discusses the cold, hard calculations in the regulatory, merger and political fields and how they could play out in a frankly challenging merger with no easy way to ensure the same level of competition before and after. He should know: he has been Commissioner of Competition,  Chair of the CRTC,  advisor on mergers to the Industry Minister,  Federal Court of Appeal justice and much more. But that doesn’t stop Mr. Lawford from trying. Both agreed, however, that the CRTC’s upcoming MVNO decision, expected the very next day, would change the context and maybe the entire conversation.
We hope that this lively exchange of views will help consumers understand the complexities of mergers in Canada and that their voice is needed.
Listen Now 

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]]> https://www.piac.ca/2021/04/15/we-fight-for-that-episode-7/feed/ 0 We Fight For That – Episode 6: Rogers-Shaw Merger – Part 1: Anatomy of a Merger https://www.piac.ca/2021/04/15/we-fight-for-that-episode-6/ https://www.piac.ca/2021/04/15/we-fight-for-that-episode-6/#respond Thu, 15 Apr 2021 03:03:13 +0000 http://piac.staging.craftandcrew.ca/?p=2838 EPISODE NOTES John Lawford, PIAC’s Executive Director and General Counsel, explains merger review in Canada in light of the proposed Rogers-Shaw merger. What fun. Competition law basics are described but the real process of applying them to a deal by the Competition Bureau and the parties is covered, along with the roles of the CRTC […]

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]]> EPISODE NOTES
John Lawford, PIAC’s Executive Director and General Counsel, explains merger review in Canada in light of the proposed Rogers-Shaw merger. What fun.
Competition law basics are described but the real process of applying them to a deal by the Competition Bureau and the parties is covered, along with the roles of the CRTC and the Minister of Innovation Science and Industry in the Department of Industry, Science and Economic Development (ISED).
This convoluted process has previously resulted in blocking 0 of 6 previous wireless mergers.  What do you think are the odds of stopping number 7?
Consumers can have an effect and should express their views to all of these government bodies. PIAC will be as well, but the only real voice belongs to the consumers who buy and use wireless, Internet and other services of these large telecommunications companies.  Have your say!
Listen now

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]]> https://www.piac.ca/2021/04/15/we-fight-for-that-episode-6/feed/ 0 We Fight for That – Episode 5: The Epic Battle for Your Privacy with Yuka Sai https://www.piac.ca/2021/03/16/we-fight-for-that-episode-5/ https://www.piac.ca/2021/03/16/we-fight-for-that-episode-5/#respond Tue, 16 Mar 2021 02:46:54 +0000 http://piac.staging.craftandcrew.ca/?p=2835 We discuss Bill C-11, a proposed law to change our federal private sector privacy act that protects consumers private information when they deal with businesses. PIAC’s articling student, Yuka Sai, joins John Lawford to discuss the epic battle between business, with an assist from the federal government, and consumers over privacy. This battle centres on […]

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]]> We discuss Bill C-11, a proposed law to change our federal private sector privacy act that protects consumers private information when they deal with businesses.
PIAC’s articling student, Yuka Sai, joins John Lawford to discuss the epic battle between business, with an assist from the federal government, and consumers over privacy.
This battle centres on Bill C-11 and in particular, the part called the “Consumer Privacy Protection Act”.
This doublespeak title hides the facts that the bill will amend our present Canadian private sector privacy act, the Personal Information and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), to allow collection and use of your personal information for any “business purpose” without your consent. This is a reversal of the law that, what, they thought we would just not notice? Seriously? Also discussed is the issue of anonymization of data, the difference of that concept with pseudonymization, and why Bill C-11 totally fails by mixing up these two concepts under the umbrella of “de-identified” data. Guess what, under Bill C-11, “de-identified” data, whatever that is, can be used indiscriminately by business and can be shared with a third party, provided it is shared with a government-related institution for a “socially beneficial purpose”. What is a socially beneficial purpose? It’s what the government defines it as. Nice.
What’s being done with all of this data that everyone seems to want? It’s going into artificial intelligence (AI). Algorithms will be used on this massive amount of data, so that AI, not humans, can make decisions that affect you as a consumer, like, will you get an insurance policy and how much will your policy cost (if it lets you get one)? Under Bill C-11, a business will tell you if they are making decisions about you based on AI, but only if you ask. What if you object and want a human decision? Too bad. There’s no constitutional right to privacy in Canada, unlike in Europe. Is it time to change that?
So, we stand on the precipice of losing consumer privacy rights in Canada. Do you care? If so, please listen and join us in taking on the fight to defeat Bill C-11. Shame on them.
Lastly, for “told you so”, we discuss the dismissal of the Internet wholesale rate application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. Now the CRTC has to reconsider the rates. Wait for it. Again.
Direct link: https://wefightforthat.simplecast.com/episodes/the-epic-battle-for-your-privacy-with-yuka-sai

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]]> https://www.piac.ca/2021/03/16/we-fight-for-that-episode-5/feed/ 0 “We fight for that” Podcast Episode 4: Broadcasting and Why it Matters to You with Monica Auer https://www.piac.ca/2020/12/24/we-fight-for-that-podcast-episode-4/ https://www.piac.ca/2020/12/24/we-fight-for-that-podcast-episode-4/#respond Thu, 24 Dec 2020 02:41:49 +0000 http://piac.staging.craftandcrew.ca/?p=2833 The CanCon is coming! The CanCon is coming! Or not.  Today we discuss Bill C-10, An Act to amend the Broadcasting Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts, phew! Today’s guest Monica Auer, Executive Director of Canada’s Forum for Research and Policy in Communications (FRPC) strives mightily to explain broadcasting regulation […]

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]]> The CanCon is coming! The CanCon is coming! Or not.  Today we discuss Bill C-10, An Act to amend the Broadcasting Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts, phew!
Today’s guest Monica Auer, Executive Director of Canada’s Forum for Research and Policy in Communications (FRPC) strives mightily to explain broadcasting regulation in Canada and how the federal government wants to change it.  What could go wrong? Turns out a lot, if you hurry to do it, have a very specific goal in mind but ignore the rest, and just rip the heart out of it. Surgery or a roadmap? You decide.
Also, we talk about hard questions to communications service providers about moving people against their will to paper billing  and why the FRPC told the CRTC months ago that CBC’s Tandem service was an abominable snowman.  Told you so.
Find Canada’s Forum for Research and Policy in Communications (FRPC) at: https://www.frpc.ne
Happy holidays!
Direct Link to podcast: https://wefightforthat.simplecast.com/episodes/broadcasting-and-why-it-matters-to-you-with-monica-auer

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]]> https://www.piac.ca/2020/12/24/we-fight-for-that-podcast-episode-4/feed/ 0 We Fight for That – Episode 3: What the heck is wholesale with Matt Stein – now available https://www.piac.ca/2020/11/02/we-fight-for-that-episode-3-what-the-heck-is-wholesale-with-matt-stein-now-available/ https://www.piac.ca/2020/11/02/we-fight-for-that-episode-3-what-the-heck-is-wholesale-with-matt-stein-now-available/#respond Mon, 02 Nov 2020 02:40:10 +0000 http://piac.staging.craftandcrew.ca/?p=2828 In episode 3 of PIAC’s podcast, “We Fight for That”, we explore the world of “wholesale” regulation of Internet service and why it matters to consumers with Matt Stein, CNOC President and Chairman, and Distributel CEO.  Download it here: We Fight for That – Episode 3 – What the heck is wholesale with Matt Stein […]

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In episode 3 of PIAC’s podcast, “We Fight for That”, we explore the world of “wholesale” regulation of Internet service and why it matters to consumers with Matt Stein, CNOC President and Chairman, and Distributel CEO.  Download it here:

We Fight for That – Episode 3 – What the heck is wholesale with Matt Stein

Episode Notes

Wholesale regulation of Internet (and wireless, maybe?) is fundamental to competition in Canadian telecommunications services.  We give a short lecture on the concept and then interview Matt Stein, CNOC President and Chairman, and Distributel CEO, to bring listeners up to date on recent disputes about wholesale rates for Internet service and how this arcane regulatory question affects the price consumers pay for Internet as well as the choice of providers and innovation in the industry. Matt reveals why consumers should have optimism that things are going in the right direction – thanks for the positivity, Matt!  Plus, PIAC takes a victory lap on its COVID Alert Part 1 Application to the CRTC. Told you so.
ISP Summit online:  3 and 4 November 2020.  (Matt Stein keynote address on 4 November 2020, at 13:10 Eastern time)
PIAC’s “Application Regarding “COVID Alert” App, “ABTraceTogether” App and Related Matters”
You may comment to the CRTC on PIAC’s Application until 27 November 2020.
Please note the scope of comments permitted is outlined by the CRTC in this letter.

CONTRIBUTORS

  • John Lawford
  • Matt Stein

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]]> https://www.piac.ca/2020/11/02/we-fight-for-that-episode-3-what-the-heck-is-wholesale-with-matt-stein-now-available/feed/ 0 We Fight For That – Episode 2: Mystery Shopping with Marina Pavlovic – Your Internet Mileage May Vary – Mea culpa COVID appa https://www.piac.ca/2020/10/15/we-fight-for-that-episode-2/ https://www.piac.ca/2020/10/15/we-fight-for-that-episode-2/#respond Thu, 15 Oct 2020 03:15:10 +0000 http://piac.staging.craftandcrew.ca/?p=2846 EPISODE NOTES We interview Marina Pavlovic, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law, Common Law Section at the University of Ottawa and member of its Centre for Law, Technology and Society about the CRTC’s recent “mystery shop” of communications services in Canada. We also talk about another CRTC report claiming Canadians get all the speed […]

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EPISODE NOTES

We interview Marina Pavlovic, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law, Common Law Section at the University of Ottawa and member of its Centre for Law, Technology and Society about the CRTC’s recent “mystery shop” of communications services in Canada. We also talk about another CRTC report claiming Canadians get all the speed they need from Internet services in Canada. And we fall on our own sword (sort of), explaining why we want CRTC to outline some rules for the COVID Alert app – because we want people to trust it cannot be misused, not that it should not be used.  Ah well.
Listen now

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