PIAC Media Releases |
![]() |
Tell us your story!
Please contact us with your stories and questions.
|
New PIAC Report: Unraveling Webs of Uncertainty: What an Internet Code could mean for Canadian Consumers
OTTAWA –Canadians continue to face several issues with their home Internet access services and recent regulatory efforts to address them still fall short, a new Report released today by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) outlines. Prominent consumer internet service issues include billing; home Internet speed, often claimed to be either slow, or subject to throttling and poor quality of service (often a mismatch between the advertised Internet speed and what is actually delivered); lack of contract clarity; and challenges in installing and cancelling Internet access services.
The Report also reviewed how a potential “Internet Code” could be effective in addressing several of the above consumer issues regarding retail Internet access. While the Report was being drafted, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) released its “Internet Code” decision. The Report analyzes the CRTC’s Internet Code and finds that it does not adequately address several consumer issues, including speed claims and in one case, installation fees, actually permits additional unwarranted charges to be added to bills by Internet Service Providers (ISPs).
“The CRTC missed a golden opportunity to fix Internet service by rushing out the Internet Code with minimal safeguards for consumers,” said John Lawford, Executive Director and General Counsel at PIAC.
PIAC’s Report reviewed international practices and policies that revealed several consumer protection regulations that could have been useful and applied in Canada; in particular, those addressing broadband speed claims and billing issues. “These international protections should be considered in detail to better understand their relevance for Canada’s specific framework,” noted Tahira Dawood, Policy and Research Analyst at PIAC.
The Report’s recommendations are divided in two stages for ease of implementation. For the first stage, it suggests:
For the second stage:
The Report’s drafting was mostly completed by July 2019 with the addendum to the report written after the CRTC’s decision on the Internet Code came out.
To view the full report in English, click here.
To access the condensed report in English, click here and to view the report in French, click here.
To view the addendum to the report in English, click here.
To view the addendum to the report in French, click here.
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) has received funding from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s Contributions Program for Non-profit Consumer and Voluntary Organizations. The views expressed in this report are not necessarily those of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada or of the Government of Canada.
For more information please contact:
John Lawford
Executive Director and General Counsel
Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC)
Tel: 613-562-4002 x 25
jlawford@piac.ca
Tahira Dawood
Policy and Research Analyst
Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC)
Tel: 613-562-4002 x 23