Public Interest News: CRTC is not the villain / UBB / Endettement / Premium Text Messages Study / Anti-spam law / Class-action suits / Salubrité des aliments

CRTC is not the villain: Michael Janigan

“Many Canadians view the Canadian Radio Television Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) as a kind of overbearing vice-principal who tells us what we can listen to or watch. For them, the public rebuke the Harper government delivered to the commission on the issue of Internet usage-based billing was immensely satisfying. But it would be a mistake to ascribe the CRTC’s rather timorous approach to ensuring Internet service competition simply to deference to the big industry players. Instead, it is rooted in the complex history of regulation of the telecommunications industry,” Michael Janigan wrote for the Toronto Star on Feb. 22.
“The merit in having an independent, knowledgeable regulator that aligns industry behaviour with public objectives has long been recognized. That was why the CRTC was created in the first place. This cannot be accomplished simply by close control of the regulator’s potentially unpopular missteps by the Prime Minister’s Office. The CRTC has to have a mandate — unfettered by ideological free market cant — together with the currently missing expertise and political support, to produce the fair and competitive telecommunications and broadcasting markets that Canadians desire,” the Toronto Star op-ed said.

PIAC general counsel to address the sad state of Canadian consumer protection: Abandoned in the market

Michael Janigan will speak to the sad state of Canadian consumer protection:
On Wednesday, March 2, 2011 2:30 p.m.
At 518 Southam Hall, Carleton University, Ottawa
Starting in the last quarter of the twentieth century, governments began to rely on markets themselves to set the rules to protect consumers and the public interest, rather than government regulatory authority. At the same time, traditional defenders of the role of government in society began to concentrate on preserving public programs in such areas as health, education and the environment, and less on private sector behaviour in the marketplace. The lecture will examine how this occurred, the current results and potential remedies for indifference to the consumer economic stake.

Usage-based billing: PIAC backs consumers

“Unlimited Internet service died today,” said John Lawford of the Ottawa-based Public Interest Advocacy Centre. “(A) 15 per cent discount ensures only that independents (Internet service providers) will survive the imposition of usage-based billing as businesses. There will be no money left over to actually differentiate their service to the point of unlimited,” Iain Marlow reported for the Globe and Mail on Jan. 21.
The Financial Post’s Jameson Berkow reported on Lawford’s Feb. 8 Parliament Hill testimony: “Bell doesn’t lose any money on wholesale traffic. What Bell does lose is its ability to sell its own too-low services at its own too-high prices [without the UBB regime]” … “Having wholesalers impose UBB on the customers of its third-party clients is price-fixing (this is illegal under Canada’s competition act) Bell refuses to provide any public evidence that it’s network is congested during peak times.” … “UBB creates a market of almost fear, really. What if the next Netflix were to come out of Canada we’ll never know? or if an independent film producer was going to release a film through the Internet but now cannot.”
“John Lawford, counsel for the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, said the concern isn’t just that smaller companies can no longer offer unlimited plans, which reduces competition. “The phone and Internet and cable companies of the world are playing it both ways. They’re saying, ‘Well, there’s these big data hogs that are using too much, we’ve got to punish them to keep the price down.’ On the other hand they’re buying media companies so they have stuff to shove down the wires, which doesn’t count toward your cap,” Lawford said. “That’s anti-competitive,” Kim Guttormson reported for the Calgary Herald on Feb. 2.

Feds should withdraw the 2006 Bernier direction to CRTC

The recent federal government slapdown of the CRTC’s internet usage-based billing (UBB) decision is ironic in that the likely losers (principally Bell Canada and Telus) are reaping the whirlwind from their own aggressive political lobbying and public challenge to the CRTC’s authority of five years ago, an article by Michael Janigan, PIAC general counsel and executive director in the Feb. 14 Hill Times said.
Then Industry Minister Maxime Bernier’s issuance of a policy direction to the CRTC in 2006, mandating, in effect, that regulation should be used only as a last resort, and that all consumer protection rules imposed upon the ILECs (Bell, Telus) had to be exhaustively justified, minimally intrusive and symmetrical. The elevation of the objective of deregulation as a priority was applauded by some as supposedly providing greater freedom of customer choice, the Hill Times article said.
“The fact is that regulating telecommunications in the public interest involves more than simply elevating one priority, such as deregulation or non-intervention, above all the rest. This practice demanded by the current policy direction leads to heroic attempts by the regulator to extract policy solutions, like its UBB decision, that satisfy no one, and eventually to demands from governments and citizens to “just fix it,” Janigan wrote for the Hill Times.

Tell us your story: Premium Text Messages Study

“Have you ever gotten a cell phone bill that charged for premium text messages that you didn’t think you signed up? Have you had problems trying to get these messages or charges stopped? If so, PIAC wants to hear from you! Tell us about the premium text messages you received and how you subscribed to the service (or didn’t). We’d also like to hear about any problems you had making the messages or charges stop.
If you have ever subscribed to or been charged for a mobile premium text message, please email us at premiumtext@piac.ca and tell us about your experience! (Please indicate if we have permission to quote your story.)

Endettement: les Canadiens plus vulnérables

« Ce n’est pas encore la catastrophe, mais la Banque TD espère faire clignoter un «feu jaune» avec son nouvel indice mesurant la vulnérabilité financière des ménages canadiens » Maxime Bergeron a écrit pour La Presse le 10 février.
« Le désarroi financier grandissant de plusieurs familles québécoises est bien palpable sur le terrain. Chez Option consommateurs, qui prodigue des conseils financiers gratuits, la composition de la clientèle a changé radicalement depuis deux ans, souligne Caroline Arel, avocate et responsable du service budgétaire. «Traditionnellement, on rencontrait beaucoup plus des familles à faibles revenus, tandis que, maintenant, il n’est pas rare de rencontrer des ménages avec des revenus familiaux de 100 000$, qui ont une hypothèque, des marges de crédit, des cartes de crédit, des prêts étudiants…» a expliqué Mme Arel » La Presse a rapporté.

Appointments to CRTC: No experience needed

“The minority Conservative government has also come in for its share of criticism, with opposition parties questioning the recent appointment of Athanasios Pentefountas, a lawyer linked to the government, as a CRTC vice-chairman for broadcasting,” Alastair Sharp reported for Reuters on Feb. 17.
Reuters reported: “More than the ties to the Conservatives, we’re at a loss to understand the reason for the appointment of someone with no experience in broadcasting to the vice-chair,” said Michael Janigan, executive director of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre.”

New anti-spam law carries stiff penalties

“The new anti-spam and anti-spyware legislation has such a broad reach, and is so complex, that organizations conducting business online will need to reassess their business practices for sending commercial electronic messages — or face stiff new penalties of up to $1 million for individuals and $10 million for corporations for each violation,” Luis Millan wrote for Lawyers Weekly on Feb. 11.
“We’re supportive of the approach,” said John Lawford, counsel and research analyst with the non-profit PIAC. “I hope that the anti-spam bill will help reduce spam, but also phishing and other fraudulent emails that cost Canadians millions every year,” Lawyers Weekly reported. Bill C-28 received royal assent on Dec. 15. The article said the new law is expected to come into force by September “at the latest”.

Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services: Mandate expanded

“Customers of all small upstart wireless companies will now be able to lodge consumer complaints with Canada’s telecom consumer agency, the country’s telecommunications regulator ruled,” Sarah Schmidt reported for Postmedia News on Jan. 26. “The CRTC also ruled if it requests the agency to develop a code of conduct to address a widespread consumer problem, the agency’s industry-dominated board cannot kill the idea. … John Lawford, who testified during the hearings on behalf of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre and the Canadian Consumers’ Association, said these two steps are good news for consumers,” Postmedia News reported.
“But Lawford was unsuccessful in convincing the CRTC to expand the mandate of the agency so different types of consumer complaints could be considered. Consumers can only lodge a complaint if it falls in four areas: billing errors, contract disputes, service delivery dealing with installation, repair and maintenance, and the unauthorized transfer of service, known as slamming,” Postmedia News reported.

Manitoba takes aim at cell contracts

“John Lawford, a lawyer with PIAC, said cellphone contracts are “the No. 1 frequent flyer in most provinces for consumer complaints” and commended Manitoba’s effort, but cautioned that most telecommunications issues fall under federal jurisdiction and warned that if legislators here aren’t careful, cellphone companies could launch a court challenge arguing Manitoba has no power to regulate their contracts,” Paul Turenne reported for the Winnipeg Sun on Jan. 23.
“It’s a real need but it’s really tricky,” he said. “Take it slow and pick your spots, then you’ve got a shot,” the Winnipeg Sun quoted Lawford.

Stumbling toward the Aug. 31 digital TV transition deadline

“Less than eight months before Canada’s DTV transition is to occur, it looks as if many Canadian households may lose TV service because their local over-the-air stations will go dark, they won’t have digital sets or set-top boxes equipped to receive DTV signals, or they just won’t know what’s happening,” Communications Daily reported on Jan. 13.
“Some don’t think the CRTC agency has gone far enough, criticizing the government for relying mostly on a market-based approach and taking few actions to spur or support the transition process. Michael Janigan, executive director and general counsel of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, labeled the government’s approach “leadership by amnesia,” Communications Daily reported.
PIAC wants, at minimum, the TV networks to run ads warning the 10% of Canadian households who depend on rabbit ears, about the impending deadline.

You may fit that class-action suit

“Well, whether you know it or not, class-action suits have been a legal tool available to Ontario residents since 1992. “Quebec was the first province to enact class proceedings legislation in 1978,” says Janet Lo, legal counsel for the Public Interest Advocacy Centre in Ottawa,” Al MacRury wrote for the Hamilton Spectator on Jan. 13. “Ontario was the next with the Class Proceedings Act, 1992. The rest of the provinces followed suit except for PEI, where no legislation exists, but class actions are permitted by common law. … The PIAC recently released a report reviewing the success and failure of these actions.
“An alarming trend for consumers, the PIAC notes, is the retaliatory strategy implemented by some firms faced with multimillion-dollar court settlements. They simply pass the cost back to the consumer in the form of a rate increase,” the Hamilton Spectator reported.

Consumers are still not getting benefits promised from industry competition

On Dec. 29 the Canadian Press reported: “Consumers are still paying too much and don’t have enough choice when it comes to mobile phones, the Internet and cable and satellite TV, says a consumer advocacy group.
LuAnn LaSalle reported: “In most services, we lag international models in relation to price and choice,” Michael Janigan of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre said … Even though the telecom industry has been deregulated and restructured to allow more competition, it has been a “frustrated” success for consumers, Janigan said.”

New law finally gives Ottawa power to recall unsafe products

“Canada has taken a giant and long-awaited step in protecting consumers from unsafe products. Bill C-36 received royal assent Dec. 15. It gives Health Canada the power to order recalls of dangerous products — instead of waiting for manufacturers and importers to do their own voluntary recalls,” Ellen Roseman wrote for the Toronto Star on Dec. 17.
“This is probably the most important piece of consumer legislation that we’ve had in a very long time,” says Anu Bose, the Ottawa spokesperson for Option Consommateurs, a consumer group. “We can’t have a 40-year-old law, as the Hazardous Products Act was, when shops are blanketed with objects made elsewhere,” the Toronto Star reported.

SLAPPs: Lawsuits targeting citizen groups

“The Ontario government this week made public the final report of an advisory panel on SLAPP suits (Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation). SLAPP suits typically take the form of abusive defamation lawsuits aimed at shutting down criticism by non-governmental organizations or citizen lobby groups…” Michel-Adrien Sheppard wrote for slaw on Dec. 23.
PIAC’s John Lawford is a member of the advisory panel.
“The panel recommends that Ontario adopt anti-SLAPP legislation to protect the freedom of the public to participate in matters of public interest,” slaw reported. The article said the legislation should include speedy and cheap solutions, place onus on plaintiffs, rebalance an inequality of financial resources and provide stronger legal protection for citizens engaged in public participation. h

Bell fined $1.3M for breaking do-not-call rules

“It’s taken a while to get to this stage, but I’m pleased that it’s now happening. To now, it’s been mostly small telemarketers, mom-and-pop shops and, you know, movers and duct cleaners, this sort of thing, people with very small lists not doing large campaigns. So it’s taken a while to get to this stage, but I’m pleased that it’s now happening,” John Lawford told CBC The National on Dec. 20. PIAC helped get the DNC going. The consumer group participates in the consumer oversight of the DNC.
Une nouvelle tribune permet aux groupes de consommateurs d’exprimer clairement leur opinion en matière de salubrité des aliments
Le ministre de l’Agriculture, Gerry Ritz, a lancé une nouvelle table ronde offrant aux consommateurs une occasion additionnelle d’exprimer leurs préoccupations et d’examiner des moyens de parfaire davantage le système canadien d’assurance de la salubrité des aliments le 8 décembre.
Huit grands groupes de consommateurs représentés à l’échelle nationale ou ayant une représentation importante à l’échelle régionale composeront la Table ronde. Option consommateurs est une des groups.

Feds reject complaint about Bell coupon

“A federal regulatory agency has rejected a complaint about Bell Canada’s $100 coupon offer to land-line customers. The phone company can offer land-line customers the coupon, which can only be used to reduce the cost of activating a new cellphone or Bell TV subscription, in lieu of a $67.41 rebate, the CRTC said in a ruling released (Dec. 21),” Postmedia News reported.
The decision is in response to a complaint by the Ottawa-based Public Interest Advocacy Centre, which argued Bell’s coupon offer didn’t comply with the CRTC’s order to reimburse customers. The commission is giving Bell until March 29 to repay land-line customers $67.41 it found they overpaid from 2002-06. The order applies to all land-line customers as of Aug. 31 of this year. http://www.windsorstar.com/technology/Feds+reject+complaint+about+Bell+coupon/4017031/story.html#ixzz18wI7Hs8j

Lawford appointed to the OBSI Consumer and Investor Advisory Council

“The Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI) Wednesday announced the launch of its Consumer and Investor Advisory Council, an independent body that will provide input directly to OBSI’s board of directors,” Investment Executive reported on Dec. 15.
“The first chair of the council is James Savary, Associate Professor of Economics Emeritus at York University in Toronto, and an expert on consumer issues. Savary is a former member of OBSI’s board of directors. Investment Executive reported John Lawford, research analyst and lawyer with the Public Interest Advocacy Centre was appointed to the council.

Mobile Text Messages

Have you ever subscribed to a premium text message?
Have you ever gotten a cell phone bill that charged for premium text messages that you didn’t think you signed up for?
Have you had problems trying to get these messages or charges stopped?
If so, PIAC wants to hear from you! Tell us about the premium text messages you received and how you subscribed to the service (or didn’t). We’d also like to hear about any problems you had making the messages or charges stop.
If you have ever subscribed to or been charged for a mobile premium text message, please email us at premiumtext@piac.ca and tell us about your experience! (Please indicate if we have permission to quote your story.)
Mobile Premium Services, or premium text messages, are text or media messages that cost a premium, meaning they cost more than a standard text message. Some MPS are subscriptions where you receive messages on a regular basis such as a joke every day. Subscriptions usually have an automatic renewal until you cancel the service. Other MPS are pay-per-use services such as texting a vote to a contest on TV, or texting a request to a radio station. MPS fees can be anywhere from 15 cents per message, to a couple dollars per message, to $10 per month or more. The fees are billed to your mobile phone bill or deducted from your pre-paid credit.
If you have ever subscribed to or been charged for a mobile premium text message, please email us at premiumtext@piac.ca and tell us about your experience!
 

PIAC submission to the Manitoba Wireless Consultation calls for a principled basis for segregation

“The Public Interest Advocacy Centre is highly supportive of Manitoba’s review of consumer protection legislation in the province, its holistic approach and in particular its open engagement with all parties, and in particular citizens and consumers, in the development of policy,” the Ottawa-based consumer group wrote on Jan. 17. 2011.
The six-page submission to the Manitoba Wireless Consultation released today notes: “Quebec has for some years been reforming its consumer protection law, in planned substantive tranches, and recently has tackled the problemof consumer discontent with telecommunications services, in particular wireless contracts. It is a positive development for Manitoba to try to chart a similar course. That said, the consumer protection landscape in telecommunications is a minefield. Most of the concerns in trying to deal with consumer protection in relation to wireless contracts are jurisdictional. Quite simply, anything that is in pith and substance “telecommunications” is wholly federal.”
“It is PIAC’s belief that the Manitoba paper is discussing all consumer issues with wireless and thus has cast its net too wide. In our view, the prudent course is to mirror Quebec’s main substantive reforms, namely limits on early termination fees and to mandate disclosure.
“PIAC thus recommends a new consultation with a restated set of proposals that have a principled basis for their segregation into categories of provincial, federal and potentially shared jurisdiction.”
The comment was written by John Lawford, counsel for the Public Interest Advocacy Centre. Download the submission to the Manitoba Wireless Consultation

Regulate telecommunications by results not promises consumer group says

An Ottawa-based consumer organization, with a 35-year history of representing consumers in telecommunications work, today released a 218-page report on the need for reform of the regulation and performance of markets for telecom services.
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) concludes that ordinary consumers are still not getting the benefits promised to them by industry competition, and, in particular, have received few benefits from the reforms taken by the government in 2006 and 2007 to deregulate telecom services. PIAC’s report principally recommends that policy makers and the regulator stop trying to make decisions based on untested economic theories and make sure that markets actually work for consumers.
“In 2006 and 2007, the government stepped in to tell the CRTC to deregulate as a priority and to deregulate local telephone service faster promising better deals for consumers. As a our report notes, this did not happen despite all the hype”, said Michael Janigan, author of the report, “Waiting for the Dream, The Consumer Brief for Telecom Reform 2010”. In fact, the report concludes that Canada’s performance in telecommunications services such as broadband and wireless has been less than impressive, and the results for customers of cable and satellite services from deregulation of basic service has been the opposite of what should be expected in competitive markets.
“It is one thing to try a course of action that doesn’t work out: it is another to ignore the results and simply try more of the same,” said Janigan. “It doesn’t now make sense to have a government Policy Direction in place that hampers both competition and consumer protection”.
PIAC’s report recommends that the government rescind the Policy Direction of December 2006, and establishing a licensing regime for all carriers with codes of conduct in place for all licensees. It also recommends reforms to the CRTC operations, including the establishment of more powers and resources recommended by the Government’s Policy Review Panel Report of 2006.
Funding of the research on which this report was based was received from Industry Canada’s Contributions Program for Non-Profit Consumer and Voluntary Organizations. The views expressed in the report are not necessarily those of Industry Canada or the Government of Canada.
 

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Click here to download the whole report

Public Interest News: Telcom complaints / Bell Canada rebate hustle / Whitelisting / Le courtage hypothécaire

All telcos must fund the Commissioner for Complaints

(PIAC 7/Dec/2010) “For the first time, the CRTC has issued a ruling from the bench at the end of a regulatory hearing, rather than after the usual 120 days, mandating that all telecom providers in Canada must become members of the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS),” Iain Marlow reported for the Globe and Mail on Dec. 1, 2010. “Citizens’ groups, such as the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, asked the regulator to increase the scope of the complaint agency’s powers, and also pushed for mandatory membership,” the Globe and Mail reported.
In a story earlier in the week the Globe reported PIAC counsel John Lawford “said the work done by the CCTS would never be done by individual companies; the number of Canadian consumers who are not happy with their providers is evidence of that, he added. He said the agency’s scope should be expanded, noting that it doesn’t handle complaints about cable TV or about a non-member company, or even complaints from home-phone customers in rural areas (high-cost areas where companies are required to provide service).”

Bell Canada rebate hustle: PIAC gains support in the call for a halt

(PIAC 7/Dec/2010) According to CRTC filings Rogers and Quebecor are supporting PIAC’s call for a halt to the Bell coupon campaign. “We hope for a quick resolution to this matter that meets the intent of the Commission’s rebate decision,” says Michael Janingan, executive director of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre. The Ottawa-based consumer group was a driving force behind the order to rebate customers who were overcharged for local phone services.

Bell rebate plan decried as a hustle

(PIAC 7/Dec/2010)”A new advertising campaign by Bell Canada is offensive to consumers, the Ottawa-based Public Interest Advocacy Centre has charged. The group wrote a letter of complaint to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission yesterday, saying Bell’s rebate campaign of $100 per home phone customer in urban areas, which the company says is in response to a court ruling, “offends consumers, violates the directives, and should be stopped,” Jason Madger reported for the Montreal Gazette on Nov. 30.
“The promotion should be halted,” Michael Janigan, the centre’s executive director, told The Gazette. “People should be given the money they’re entitled to, or offered something else. This is a bait and switch kind of tactic.” Janigan said it’s inappropriate for Bell to use its customers’ money to tie them in to long-term services,” the Gazette reported,

Whitelisting: What it means for consumers

(PIAC 7/Dec/2010) On Nov. 15 the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) released a report called “Whitelisting for Cyber Security: What It Means for Consumers”. It examines the technique of whitelisting and provides examples of how whitelisting is being deployed in Canada by security companies.
PIAC conducted interviews with industry and government stakeholders and found that the use of whitelisting has advantages for cyber security, such as preventative protection against zero day attacks. However, whitelisting is not a holistic cyber security solution and is particularly ineffective at dealing with grey areas such as spyware and adware. A centralized whitelist can slow efficiency and stifle innovation the report says.
“Whitelisting does not work for consumers yet because it requires a level of technical sophistication and time to set up and manage that most consumers do not have,” said Janet Lo, legal counsel for PIAC. “As whitelisting continues to develop in the enterprise space, pure-play vendors and holistic security vendors will likely look to innovate for deployment in the consumer space. The successful adoption of whitelisting will depend on innovation that makes it easier for consumers to implement and administer whitelisting.”

Eden Maher joins the Public Interest Advocacy Centre

(PIAC 7/Dec/2010) Eden Maher received her J.D. with Distinction from the University of Saskatchewan in 2010. She was Managing Editor of the Saskatchewan Law Review and active in the inner-city student legal clinic.
As recipient of the Borden Ladner Gervais Research Fellowship, she co-wrote a recent journal article on legal ethics curriculum in Canadian law schools. Prior to pursuing law, she taught English in Asia for four years and was a Social Worker in emergency housing and addiction services in BC and California. In her articling year at PIAC, she is primarily involved in researching consumer issues relating to wireless phone services and privacy, as well as assisting with hearings before the CRTC.

Air passenger rights: Define basic service PIAC says

(PIAC 7/Dec/2010) “Maryse Durette, a spokeswoman for Transport Canada, said the government supports consumer protection for air passengers but “seeks a balance between protecting the interests of consumers and the competitiveness of Canada’s air carriers.” Air passenger rights, she said, are enshrined in the Canada Transportation Act and were further enhanced when the government launched Flight Rights Canada in September 2008,” Tobi Cohen reported for Postmedia News on Nov. 24.
“Michael Janigan, executive director of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, said passenger dissatisfaction remains high and airlines are still trying to “winnow down the meaning of basic service,” with things like additional baggage charges. Quebec, he added, is also the only jurisdiction to move forward on a plan to crack down on “all-in” marketing in which airlines advertise flights at far less than the end price,” Postmedia News reported.
“He also wants Transport Canada to start collecting statistics on things like carrier delays, cancellations and lost baggage so consumers can make informed decisions about which airline they wish to fly with. “The airlines have not become suddenly consumer friendly organizations,” he said. “The fact of the mater is they’re in a difficult industry and if there are measures that can be put in place that are not necessarily friendly to consumers but will raise money they will do so,” the news agency reported.

Ellen Roseman talks consumer activism at PIAC Annual Dinner

(PIAC 7/Dec/2010) “FAIR Canada Director Ellen Roseman was the keynote speaker at the Nov. 5 Annual Dinner of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre. During her remarks, Ms. Roseman reviewed her role in consumer activism over the past decades, noting that there is now a “tiny consumer movement, underfinanced and struggling to make itself heard in the halls of power”.
The presentation reviewed recent developments in the US, including the creation of a Financial Consumer Protection Agency, and the positive roles that media and the internet are playing in helping consumers share information and raise awareness across Canada,” FAIR Canada reported on Nov. 11, 2010. Ellen Roseman’s presentation is on the Fair Canada website

Le courtage hypothécaire plus fréquent au Canada

(PIAC 7/Dec/2010) “Le courtage hypothécaire au Canada demeure une industrie en santé, contrairement à son pendant américain, selon une étude de la firme Deloitte rendue publique mercredi,” SRC a rapporté le 27 octobre.
“Selon Jean-François Vinet, analyste des services financiers à Option consommateurs … les courtiers achètent en gros auprès des banques, ce qui leur donne un bon pouvoir de négociation. Ils peuvent obtenir de meilleurs taux, ce qui peut aussi servir d’outil de négociation pour les emprunteurs dans le magasinage d’un prêt.
“Toutefois, selon M. Vinet, les emprunteurs potentiels doivent rester prudents, puisque les courtiers hypothécaires, autant que les banques, ne donnent pas toujours l’information nécessaire à l’emprunteur concernant sa capacité de rembourser et les restrictions à apporter à ses habitudes de consommation,” SRC a rapporté.

Bill C-36: Canada Consumer Product Safety Act

(PIAC 7/Dec/2010) In Parliament, on Oct. 29, MP Megan Leslie cited Public Interest Advocacy Centre testimony: “It is particularly disheartening to find the oppositional posture to this Bill presented as a matter of protection of the civil rights of business and property owners engaged in the sale and distribution of the consumer products that are the subject matter of this bill. Such individuals are amply protected by the provisions in the Canadian Charter of Human Rights and possible civil remedies for government behaviour that exceeds the ambit of its protective statutory mandate. Monetary loss, embarrassment and hurt feelings are regrettable, but nonetheless compensable in the event of improper government conduct.
“On the other hand, harm caused to public health and citizen livelihood may only be imperfectly remedied. What will be the explanation given to a parent grieving the loss or permanent injury of a child caused by the use of a product irresponsibly brought to market, when the reason is the lack of, or delay in application, of proper enforcement tools by the responsible authority caused by these amendments?” PIAC testified Hansard reported on Oct. 29.

CRTC needs new legislation to impose administrative penalties

(PIAC 7/Dec/2010) “CRTC officials appeared before the House Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage Tuesday where they called for the power to impose administrative monetary penalties across all of its regulated sectors,” Jonathan Migneault wrote for the Wire Report on Nov. 3. “Michael Janigan, executive director of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), said in an interview that government would need to amend the Telecommunications Act and the Broadcasting Act to allow the CRTC to impose administrative monetary penalties across the board,” the Wire Report story said.

Regulate financial planners: No rules enable fraudsters

(PIAC 7/Dec/2010) “There’s too little regulation of financial planning in Canada, which is confusing investors about which advisors are qualified and enabling fraudsters to profit, according to John Lawford, counsel with the Public Interest Advocacy Centre,” Megan Harman reported for Investment Executive on Nov. 22. “PIAC is calling for more regulation in Canada since under the current system, anyone can call himself or herself a financial planner, and so investors often have no way of determining whether an advisor is qualified. This is making it easy for fraud artists to profit, and the confusion that this creates among investors may retard growth of the industry, according to Lawford.
“PIAC suggests establishing a professional self-regulatory body for financial planners in Canada, and setting out specific requirements that individuals must meet in order to identify themselves as financial planners. Quebec’s financial planning regulations could be used as a model for the rest of the country, the advocacy centre suggests,” Investment Executive reported.

Bill C-29: Anti-privacy privacy bill condemned

(PIAC 7/Dec/2010) Bill C-29, which amends PIPEDA, Canada’s federal privacy legislation, does much to undermine Canadians’ privacy rights and not enough to protect them, say privacy advocates,” p2pnet reported on Nov. 19. “Where Bill C-29 seeks to protect privacy, it fails. Worse, the Bill would greatly expand the ways in which private organizations can be used in investigations against their customers,” says David Fewer, director of the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC).
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre, British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, British Columbia Freedom of Information and Privacy Association, Canadian Civil Liberties Association and CIPPIC wrote the chairman of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics about the failure to insure consumers are notified when their personal information is lost or stolen,” p2pnet reported.

Consumers and global institutions: Consumers International

(PIAC 7/Dec/2010) Consumer organisations worldwide, including PIAC, work together in an organization called Consumers International (CI). CI is pressuring the G20 for financial protection for “real people”. The organizations including Option consommateurs, Proconsumer Argentina, Consumidores Argentinos, Choice Australia, Proteste Brazil, Hong Kong Consumer Council, The European Consumers Organisation, CLCV France, UFC-QUE France, CUTS International India, Consumers Association of India, Yayasan Lembarga Konsumen Indonesia and others want the G20 to get beyond the banks when considering global financial issues.

Google Street View broke Canadian law: “Blaming a rogue employee doesn’t cut it”

(PIAC 7/Dec/2010) The company is at fault for failing failure to follow procedure, says the privacy czar, who set a deadline for Google to meet her recommendations. A careless engineer and failure to follow procedure are to blame for private e-mails being read by Google Street View cars driving through Canadian neighbourhoods, the federal Privacy Commissioner says,” Brian Jackson wrote for IT World Canada on Oct. 20.
“The commissioner was right to find fault with Google, says John Lawford, a lawyer with Ottawa-based Public Interest Advocacy Centre. But she should have gone further with her response. “We don’t think the response is sufficient given the seriousness of the breach,” he says. “It’s serious as it gets, driving around literally looking inside people’s private e-mails from the street. If that cannot be stopped, and by a private party, then what chance have we of any privacy in electronic communications from other companies, or the state?” IT World Canada reported.
“Blaming a “rogue employee” for the breach doesn’t cut it, Lawford adds. Google should have procedures in place to ensure the law is followed in any circumstance. The office has set a deadline of Feb. 1, 2011 for Google to respond to the recommendations,” IT World Canada reported.

Links to other PIAC documents on Transport

Other Transport Documents

 

A helping hand for cable customers

Click here for original PDF document [pdf file: 0.07mb]
 
Dear Consumer Advocate:
When your cable customers contact you and indicate they have concerns relating to their cable company, we invite you to tell them that the Cable Television Standards Council is here to help. For over 10 years, the Council has been providing assistance to customers and their cable company by helping them work together to resolve conflicts relating to the various aspects of the service provided by member companies. The Council’s process is simple and effective, as proven by our track record. The following “Information Sheet” provides detailed information on the Council and its process.

A helping hand for cable customers is now just a click away

For years, help has been but a phone call away for cable customers wanting to voice concerns they have about their cable company. All they have to do is call the Cable Television Standards Council (CTSC) via the toll-free number (1-800-426-4170) accessible twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Recently, the Council has added another convenient way for customers who wish to register a complaint: an online complaint form that is easily accessed right from the Council’s Website: www.ctsc.ca.
Customers who visit the Council’s Website will find useful information, including a link to the Council’s easy-touse online complaint form. The customer fills out the form with all the required information and by a simple click of a button, sends it directly to the Council to be processed. It’s that simple.
As ombudsman for the cable industry, the CTSC was established over 10 years ago to help customers resolve concerns they may have relating to any aspect of the services provided by member cable companies. This self-regulatory body is a free service for cable customers.
Through its efficient solution-oriented process, the Council will register and respond to the complaints it receives from customers. The complaints are then forwarded to the cable companies in question, which are required to respond to the customers in writing, addressing the issues raised in their initial complaints. If a customer remains dissatisfied, the Council requests that the objections be communicated in writing and the Council then follows-up with the cable company accordingly. The majority of complaints processed through the Council are resolved using the above-mentioned steps.
On occasion, a file may be brought to the attention of the Council’s three-member panel, consisting of the independent Chair, the consumer representative, and the cable industry representative. These Council members then conduct a review of the file and render a decision as to whether or not the company has breached any industry standards. Once the customer and the cable company are informed of the decision, it is made available to the public via the Council’s Website.
The Council’s complaints process has proven very successful over the years. “There have been nearly 27,000 complaints processed by the Council this past decade,” says Gerald Lavallee, Secretary General for the Council. “Only 17 of these required formal adjudication by Council members. Our goal is to ensure that customers’ complaints are satisfactorily resolved.”
For more information or to register a complaint, contact the Council:
1030-360 Albert Street
Ottawa ON K1R 7X7
Tel: (613) 230-5442
Toll-free: 1-800-426-4170
Fax: (613) 230-5679
Website: www.ctsc.ca
Email: comments@ctsc.ca
 

Public Interest News: G20 consumer protection / Le taux de pauvreté / ROE Ontario utilities / Digital locks / Canadian Payments Association / Aug. 31, 2011 / Recall unsafe products

PIAC Annual Dinner, Nov. 5: Featured Speaker, Ellen Roseman

(PIAC 19/Oct/2010) The Public Interest Advocacy Centre cordially invites friends and colleagues to the PIAC Annual Dinner 2010. This year’s featured speaker is Ellen Roseman, the Toronto Star columnist for personal finance and consumer issues. Roseman is also the first public representative on the board of the Financial Planning Standards Council. She sits on the board of FAIR (Canadian Foundation for Advancement of Investor Rights), Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO) and Starnews Credit Union.

$60.00 individual or $550.00 for a table of ten

(PIAC 19/Oct/2010) PIAC’s Annual Dinner will be held Friday Nov. 5, beginning at 6:00 PM at the Yangtze Restaurant, 700 Somerset Street, West, Ottawa. Ticket are $60.00 individual or $550.00 for a table of ten. To reserve your place please contact Donna Brady at 613-562-4002 ext. 21 or dbrady@piac.ca or by fax at 613-562-0007. Payment can be made by cash, cheque, Mastercard, VISA or AMEX. If you can’t make it to the dinner but want to support PIAC please make a tax-deductible donation.

World consumer protection body needed: PIAC

(PIAC 19/Oct/2010) “The Public Interest Advocacy Centre is urging Prime Minister Stephen Harper to support the creation of a financial consumer task force to report to the G20 summit next year. … In a letter to Harper, PIAC executive director Michael Janigan notes the increasing interdependence of financial markets adds urgency to the need for better regulations and practices. “International co-operation on financial consumer protection has the potential to deliver substantial savings for national agencies through the co-ordination of research, the development of standards and guidelines, the sharing of best practice and the avoidance of costly crisis,” CBC News reported on Oct. 15. Text of letter.

Make G20 consider consumer issues and the financial markets

“John Lawford, legal counsel for PIAC, told CBC News that most international financial bodies are at the banking and macroeconomic level, and don’t consider common issues facing consumers. “What we’re trying to do is get this international task force or something which is permanent to advise the G20 on what the consumer issues are in payments and in financial markets so they don’t always have the bank view,” CBC News reported.

Class action tests Quebec new consumer protection legislation: Cellphone contract termination fees

(PIAC 19/Oct/2010) “A Quebec law firm (BGA Avocats) has filed two class action suits against Bell Canada and Telus Mobility over the companies’ contract termination policies, potentially creating the first legal test of a new provincial law surrounding telephone contracts. … John Lawford, counsel with the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) in Ottawa, said in an interview that PIAC receives a large number of complaints from the public involving contract termination fees,” Karen Fournier wrote for The Wire Report on Oct. 12
“The problem is it’s an outrageously high break fee, ,,,It doesn’t matter that it’s in the fine print when you sign up. It’s not often a really big feature of the pitch when you’re getting a free phone … It’s legal, but is it fair?” But Lawford said Bell and Telus can argue the new law is unconstitutional because telecommunications fall under federal jurisdiction,” The Wire Report story said.

Endettement: Option consommateurs demande à Ottawa d’agir

(PIAC 19/Oct/2010) « Option consommateurs se dit préoccupé par l’augmentation du taux de pauvreté et de l’endettement des ménages canadiens et demande au gouvernement fédéral d’adopter des mesures afin de permettre aux consommateurs d’alléger leur fardeau financier. L’association a présenté mercredi ses observations et ses recommandations à la Chambre des communes à Ottawa, dans le cadre de la préparation du budget fédéral » l’Agence QMI a rapporté le 7 octobre.
« Selon Option consommateurs, le ratio de la dette des ménages par rapport au revenu disponible a atteint un nouveau sommet de 146 % au premier trimestre de cette année. En d’autres termes, explique l’association, pour chaque dollar gagné, un ménage canadien doit 1,46 $. «Les citoyens ont de plus en plus recours au crédit pour financer leur consommation courante comme pour l’épicerie, ce qui devient problématique si les gens ne remboursent pas la totalité de leur compte», a expliqué Michel Arnold, le directeur général d’Option consommateurs » l’Agence QMI a rapporté.

PIAC asks Hon. Brad Duguid to reconsider Ontario energy rate hike decision

(PIAC 19/Oct/2010) In a letter to the Hon. Brad Duguid the Public Interest Advocacy Centre asked for a reconsideration of a key energy rate decision. The Ontario Energy Board decision (EB 2009-0084) establishing rates of return on equity for public and private utilities is flawed Michael Janigan, PIAC executive director wrote on Sept. 27. Janigan, who represented the Vulnerable Energy Consumers Coalition at the hearing, noted no evidence was presented suggesting Ontario utilities are having trouble accessing capital. He called the decision to change ROE formula surprising and the decision to hold no further hearings unfair. He writes the decision will cost Ontario consumers $285 million a year. In its letter PIAC asks the Minister of Energy to instruct the OEB to hold full public hearings on the appropriate rate of return on equity for regulated utilities.

The Consumer Product Safety Bill C-36: Option consommateurs urges speedy adoption

(PIAC 19/Oct/2010) Option consommateurs urged Parliament to quickly pass C-36, which received its second reading on Oct. 7. The current legislation, the Hazardous Products Act, does not allow the Government of Canada to protect consumers and children by issuing mandatory recalls of unsafe products. Passage of Bill C-36 will enable the government to issue timely and mandatory recalls of products. It will also make it possible to make manufacturers provide test results and studies and to increase the frequency of inspections.
“Bill C-36 is crucial for the safety and well-being of all Canadians,” says Anu Bose, Head of the Ottawa office of Option consommateurs. “It will bring the laws of Canada into line with those of her principal trading partners, namely the United States and the European Union. If the law is not passed, Canada will be seen as a dumping ground for dangerous products by unscrupulous importers, manufacturers and suppliers.”

The Copyright Bill C-32: Digital locks must go PIAC says

(PIAC 19/Oct/2010) “The government’s copyright bill is back on the Parliamentary agenda. “If passed, the bill would legalize several well-established consumer practices, permitting you to time-shift TV programs, make backup copies of CDs and DVDs and format-shift anything you have legally acquired, copying your CDs onto your iPod, for example,” Kate Taylor reported for the Globe and Mail.
“But it doesn’t permit you to pick any digital locks that producers might choose to install on their content, which is proving to be its most contentious provision. Critics say the digital-locks language will trump the permitted uses and all three opposition parties have said that needs to be amended. “What the government gives with one hand, it takes away with the other,” notes John Lawford” The Globe and Mail reported on Oct. 6.

Ontario energy regulator blamed for sharp rise in hydro bills

(PIAC 19/Oct/2010) “Industry critics say the regulator has abandoned more than 100 years of tradition, in which an electricity utility borrowed money to build an asset and then recovered its costs from consumers once the new power was delivered to their homes,” Karen Howlett reported for the Globe and Mail.
“Michael Janigan, executive director and general counsel of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, represented seniors and low-income consumers at board hearings on the rate increase. He said the board set the return on equity based on what utilities earn in the United States, where the risks associated with building new systems are typically greater,” the Globe reported. Mr. Janigan said: “We were somewhat alarmed by the fact that fairness to the utilities was considered first and foremost over fairness to Ontario ratepayers,” The Globe and Mail reported on Sep. 24.

Publicité et consommation: les jeunes répliquent

(PIAC 19/Oct/2010) « Le chamois ShamPow – qui absorbe 150 fois son poids … Parodie, bien sûr. Ce court métrage plein d’humour, réalisé par Nicolas St-Cyr, Jean-Marc Léger, Vincent L’Écuyer-Simard et Clément Roberge, élèves de l’école Louis-Philippe-Paré, en Montérégie, dénonce les promesses fallacieuses de la publicité et les risques des achats à distance. Il a remporté le premier prix du concours Ados Zoom 2009-2010, qui invitait les élèves de 4e et 5e secondaire à réaliser un court métrage sur le thème de consommation de leur choix. Organisé par Option consommateurs, ce concours a suscité la participation de plus de 2000 élèves provenant de 27 écoles du Québec. Les vidéos ont été réalisées dans le cadre des cours de français et de monde contemporain » Marc Tison a rapporté pour La Presse le 15 septembre.

Gym memberships among top consumer complaints

(PIAC 19/Oct/2010) “When Mary Jo Morrison of Toronto tried canceling her membership, she learned how difficult, frustrating and expensive it could be,” CBC New reported on Sept. 20. Morrison told the gym, on three separate occasions, she wanted to cancel but the business continued to debit her bank account. When she closed her bank account the gym sent a collection agent after her.
“John Lawford of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre says it all comes down to cancelling properly. He says simply telling the gym is not enough. “It is better to write a letter, send it to the gym and to the gym’s head office, and you have evidence you quit,” he told CBC News. “It is a problem you can make into the bank’s problem and the gym’s rather than your problem,” CBC News reported on Sept. 20.

Do B.C. Hydro smart meters make cents?

(PIAC 12/Oct/2010) “The state-of-the-art technology comes with a big price tag, just under a billion dollars. But BC Hydro believes it can recover those costs internally and then pass on additional savings to customers. “We expect $145 to $450 per customer per year,” said Fiona Taylor, the director of smart metering for BC Hydro,” CTV News reported on Sept. 27.
“Critics like Jim Quail, from the (B.C.) Public Interest Advocacy Centre, fear bills will go up. “I would take any claims from BC Hydro about offsetting savings with a big grain of salt,” he said. “This is a totally needless imposition of costs, it’s going to add several per cent – six, seven, eight per cent by itself on people’s hydro bills. … In Ontario, where smart meters are already in a million homes—more than two-thirds of those customers are paying more every month—only about a third are paying less,” CTV News reported. Jim Quail is a member of PIAC’s Board of Directors.

Wireless Charges: Better consumer protection called for

(PIAC 12/Oct/2010) A Global National series on Canada’s wireless industry took “a look at the way that a lot of teens and some of us older folks love to communicate – by text. You can sign up for unlimited plans, but they don’t cover something called premium texts. And they can cost a lot more than ten cents a pop, and you might not even know you’re being charged until they show up on your cell phone bill,” Dawna Friesen reported on Sept. 22.
Global’s Robin Gill reported: “The self-regulated wireless industry insists it has created a foolproof system so before consumers receive texts, they must opt in on-line. They’ll then receive a PIN on their phone, where they opt in again. … Bottom line they say? Read the fine print. But consumer advocates say the terms and conditions aren’t always clear up front.
“From a consumer standpoint, there is a lot of protection that is lacking, and it’s certainly not good enough that the only protection a consumer has is to complain,” PIAC’s Janet Lo told Global National.

Task Force for the Payments System Review: Eight consumer principles

(PIAC 12/Oct/2010) The Public Interest Advocacy Centre welcomes the decision to open up the consultations on the payments system. The Canadian Payments Association, created by the Canadian Payments Act, sets the rules for transferring money. The group, which is dominated by bank executives, clears transactions between institutions. It is responsible for policies like NSF charges and the decision to end cheques in 2018.
On Sept. 17 PIAC released “All along the Watchtower”. In the report the consumer group said confusion is impairing the evolution of Canada’s payments system. The report noted a challenge will be to listen to the voices of consumers, in all their complexity, their responsiveness and vulnerability to changes in the payments environment. The 39-page report calls for a new principle-based framework with a risk management approach. PIAC suggests eight principles including (insofar as possible) technological neutrality.

Coalition asks Prime Minister for a digital transition education campaign

(PIAC 12/Oct/2010) “A coalition of industry associations, politicians and scholars sent Prime Minister Stephen Harper an open letter last week urging the government to launch a public education campaign about the transition to over-the-air digital television broadcasting. … The CRTC has set a deadline of Aug. 31, 2011 for broadcasters and the public to switch to digital over-the-air television broadcasting. Broadcasters will have to change to digital transmitters and consumers will have to purchase digital tuners or televisions with digital receiving equipment,” a Sept. 15 Wire Report story said.
The coalition said low-income earners or people living in rural areas might be particularly hurt by the transition if they are forced to purchase cable or satellite to continue receiving television signals. (Michael Janigan said,) “We believe a communications campaign on this issue should provide information to individual Canadians and communities on the changes and their options; for example, cost-effective alternatives that communities could implement to maintain their access to over-the-air television, including innovative opportunities presented by the digital switchover.”Members of the coalition include the Canadian Association for Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS), the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), among others,” the Wire Report story said.

PIAC asks Hon. Brad Duguid to reconsider Ontario energy rate hike decision

In a letter to the Hon. Brad Duguid the Public Interest Advocacy Centre asked for a reconsideration of a key energy rate decision. The Ontario Energy Board decision (EB 2009-0084) establishing rates of return on equity for public and private utilities is flawed Michael Janigan, PIAC executive director wrote on Sept. 27.
Janigan, who represented the Vulnerable Energy Consumers Coalition at the hearing noted no evidence was presented about Ontario utilities having trouble accessing capital. He called the decision to change ROE formula surprising and the decision to hold no further hearings unfair. He writes the decision will cost Ontario consumers $285 million a year.
In its letter PIAC asks the Minister of Energy to instruct the OEB to hold full public hearings on the appropriate return on equity for regulated utilities.
The letter to the Minister is at:
LINK TEXT [pdf file: 0.27mb]

Public Interest News: $310 million for consumers / Hydro rate shocks / C-36 / Les cartes de crédit / SuperNet / SLAPP

The consumer advocate who took on the telecom giants and got them to pay up: Michael Janigan

(PIAC 15/September/2010) “Canadians who find a chunky phone rebate in the mail should consider giving Michael Janigan a call to say thank you. Sure, it was the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission that forced the major phone carriers to pay consumers back the hundreds of millions of dollars they had overcharged over the years. But Mr. Janigan, a former Ottawa city councillor who is now the executive director of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, has been representing consumers on the file for more than eight years,” Steve Ladurantaye wrote for the Globe and Mail on Sept. 4. PIAC worked with the Consumers Association of Canada and Canada Without Poverty to make the big phone companies pay up. The watchdog group is asking consumers to donate part of their rebates. Tax deductible donations can be made to the Public Interest Advocacy Centre.

Hydro rate shocks across Ontario: PIAC represents consumers during OEB review

(PIAC 15/September/2010) “Hydro Ottawa has applied to the Ontario Energy Board to increase its rates by 1.1 per cent as of Jan. 1. Power rates rose eight per cent in May as part of a general increase, then shot up another eight per cent on July 1 with the introduction of the HST in Ontario,” CBC News reported on Sept. 7. “Steeper prices for electricity, however, put more people at risk of not being able to afford it, an Ottawa consumer advocate said. “Any time you have these kinds of percentage increases, with more on the horizon, you’re in a circumstance where there may be rate shock, which means that people fall off the system,” said Michael Janigan … Hydro Ottawa may not get approval of its rate increase within its requested time frame. The Ontario Energy Board said it could take until the spring for a decision,” CBC News reported.
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre is representing the Vulnerable Energy Consumers Coalition during the OEB proceedings. The VECC is made up of the Ontario Coalition of Senior Citizens Organizations (OCSCO) and the Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations (FMTA).

On August 31, 2011: Don’t leave Canadians in the dark

(PIAC 15/September/2010) On Sept. 10 a group of media watchers and researchers sent a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper calling for a public education campaign on the transition to digital television. On August 31, 2011—just under a year from now—broadcasters will start shutting down their analog TV transmitters, which may come as a rude shock to as many as 3 million Canadians who rely on them for TV service.
“The transition requires a sophisticated public awareness campaign,” says Michael Janigan, Executive Director and General Counsel of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre. “One day soon, Canadians are going to turn on their TV sets to watch the news or their favourite show, and all they’ll see is static. People need to understand what is happening to TV broadcasting where they live and they’ll need clear information, repeated over and over again.” The Canadian Association for Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS) is on the web.

Bill C-36 Consumer Product Safety Act: Let’s get it through Parliament

(PIAC 15/September/2010) “The product safety legislation has been derailed several times in the past. Option consommateurs does not want this bill to suffer the same fate. It should be passed as soon as possible,” says Anu Bose, Head of the Ottawa office of Option consommateurs. “It is an important bill for Canada and Canadians on several counts. It shows the government’s commitment to consumer protection. It will improve the health and safety of Canadians, especially children, by preventing injury from unsafe products. Better consumer safety standards will allow to Canada to increase trade with the EU and the USA,” Bose says.

Incumbent telcos argue they have no obligation to serve: Broadband access

(PIAC 15/September/2010) “The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) is challenging the incumbent Internet service providers (ISPs) that say, in the CRTC’s obligation to serve proceeding on Internet access, market forces are enough to provide universal Internet access across Canada. “They’re not going to drive [wireline] DSL or some other form of Internet out to high cost areas without being really pushed [by the CRTC],” John Lawford, counsel with PIAC, said,” Jonathan Migneault wrote for Wire Report on Sept. 7.
“Whether the CRTC should implement “obligation to serve” rules on broadband Internet providers is at the top of the commission’s proceeding to review access to basic telecommunications services. Public hearings will start in Timmins, Ont., on Oct. 26,” Migneault wrote for Wire Report. The Public Interest Advocacy Centre will represent consumers at the hearings.

Nouvelles règles pour les cartes de crédit: Option consommateurs aurait préféré …

(PIAC 15/September/2010) « “On est contents… mais on voudrait toujours plus”, a commenté Elise Thériault, conseillère juridique chez Option consommateurs. L’organisme croit que l’information sur les relevés de compte incitera les consommateurs à rembourser leurs achats plus vite. “Mais il aurait pu y avoir des mesures préventives”, dit Me Thériault, comme l’imposition d’un paiement minimal plus élevé. Elle rappelle que les émetteurs ont réduit, au fil des ans, le paiement minimum de 5%, à 3%, et même à 2% dans certains cas, » Stéphanie Grammond a écrit pour La Presse le 2 septembre.
« “Maintenant, il est impossible de faire perdre aux consommateurs le bénéfice du délai de grâce pour leurs achats futurs, parce qu’ils n’ont pas payé au complet leurs achats passés”, résume Me Thériault. … Option consommateurs aurait préféré que les émetteurs soient forcés d’attribuer 100% des paiements à la dette la plus coûteuse. “Ottawa a raté une belle occasion de mieux servir les consommateurs” » La Presse a rapporté.

Bell, Telus told to open access to independent ISPs

(PIAC 15/September/2010) On Aug. 3O the CRTC ordered Bell Canada, Bell Aliant, and Telus to give independent internet service providers open, speed-matched access to their networks. “It is a common sense decision that speaks to the need for Canadians to have more choice, better service and prices,” Michael Janigan, Executive Director and General Counsel of PIAC, said. “The Commission was careful to balance the needs of the suppliers of the facilities to recover their investment with the requirements of competition and the needs of Canadian customers. We may accordingly see some greater efforts to fracture the current broadband duopoly.” PIAC represented consumers in the wholesale high-speed access proceedings.

CRTC orders Bell, Telus and MTS to give consumers $310 million in rebates

(PIAC 15/September/2010) “We are pleased that the CRTC has shut the door on the blank check approach of Bell Canada and Telus to expanding their broadband networks,” Michael Janigan, PIAC’s Executive Director and General Counsel stated. And while $311 million to be rebated is a fraction of the $1.6 billion in excess rates that were collected in the mistaken belief that artificially high incumbent rates would increase business for local service competitors, Janigan noted that it ensures that some recognition of customer interests takes place, and that the additional telephone rates paid into the deferral accounts are not squandered on expenditures benefiting only the telephone companies that collected the excess rates,”digitalhome reported on Sept. 1.

Expansion d’Internet à large bande et remboursements

(PIAC 15/September/2010) « Le Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), un organisme sans but lucratif qui fournit des services juridiques et de recherche au bénéfice des intérêts des consommateurs, a qualifié les décisions du CRTC de « conclusion raisonnable à une aventure réglementaire défaillante » . « Nous sommes ravis que le CRTC ait fermé la porte à l’approche de “chèque en blanc” de Bell Canada et Telus quant à l’expansion de leurs réseaux à large bande, déclare Michael Janigan, le directeur du PIAC » Jean-François Ferland a rapporté pour Direction Informatique le 2 septembre.
« L’organisme estime que la somme de 311 M$ qui sera retournée aux consommateurs constitue une fraction de la somme de 1,6 G$ qui aurait été perçue en excédent par les compagnies de téléphone pour les services de téléphonie locale. Le PIAC ajoute les montants excédentaires des comptes de report « ne seront pas affectés à des dépenses qui auraient été bénéfiques seulement aux compagnies de téléphone qui ont recueilli des montants excessifs » Direction Informatique a rapporté.

Government focus on delivering SuperNet to rural Alberta

(PIAC 15/September/2010) “Governments around the world are facing intense political pressure to develop policies in support of rural broadband initiatives. The Obama administration has allocated $7.2 billion in stimulus money for broadband grants, saying fast access to the Internet is essential to bolster the American economy. In Canada, the Harper government rolled out $225 million in stimulus funding last year to extend high-speed Internet in underserved areas. And a 50-page report released last month by the non-profit Public Interest Advocacy Centre has called on Ottawa to follow the lead of Finland and Spain and make high-speed Internet a right in Canada, much like basic telephone service,“ Tamara Gignac reported for the Calgary Herald on Sept. 6.
“But despite all the attention being given to the plight of rural residents, some within the industry are skeptical the province can deliver on its goal to supply broadband to virtually every Albertan within three years,” The Herald reported.

Investment industry planning to challenge new do-no-call ruling

(PIAC 15/September/2010) “The financial industry says it plans to lobby against a recent CRTC decision that brings financial planners under the rules of the national do-not-call list said Ian Russell, president and CEO of the Investment Industry Association of Canada (IIAC). “This [decision] has happened without any notice and any opportunity to adjust to the new reality,” Jonathan Migneault wrote for Wire Report on Aug. 23.
“John Lawford, counsel with the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), said he expects the financial industry to apply for a review and vary the decision,” Migneaul reported. PIAC was involved in the creation of the do-not-call list. The Centre represents consumers on the DNC oversight committee. Last December a PIAC report called for the regulation of the financial planning industry in the public interest.

PIAC Comments on Potential SLAPP legislation in Ontario

(PIAC 15/September/2010) “The Anti-SLAPP Advisory Panel requested submissions from organizations, including PIAC, and the public to assist them in successfully discussing what the potential content of Ontario legislation against strategic litigation against public participation (SLAPP) should include. PIAC has extensively studied this subject matter, evidenced by its 2004 report titled “Corporate Retaliation Against Consumers: The Status of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) in Canada”, in which PIAC provided rationale for the passage of Anti-SLAPP legislation.