PIAC applauds CRTC decision to allow competitors access to important broadband facilities

(PIAC 31/August/2010)—Yesterday’s CRTC decision to allow competitors access to important broadband facilities owned by incumbent telephone companies and cable companies was applauded by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) that represented consumer groups in the proceeding that gave rise to the Commission Decision.
“It is a common sense decision that speaks to the need for Canadians to have more choice, better service and prices, said Michael Janigan, Executive Director and General Counsel of PIAC. Janigan further noted that, “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”.
The Telecom Regulatory Policy decision, CRTC 2010-632, is on the CRTC web site.
 

PIAC calls CRTC deferral accounts decision a reasonable conclusion to a flawed regulatory adventure

The CRTC Decisions today concerning the disposition of funds in deferral accounts holding excess residential subscriber rates from the 2002-2006 price cap period that were maintained by Bell Canada, TELUS, and MTS was called “a reasonable conclusion to a flawed regulatory adventure”, by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) that represented consumers throughout a process that has lasted over eight years and involved court challenges to the CRTC’s authority.
“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.
PIAC acted for the Consumers Association of Canada and Canada Without Poverty in this matter.

Background

The CRTC is releasing decisions today related to the disposal of the funds remaining in Bell Canada, Bell Aliant, Telus and MTS Allstream’s deferral accounts.
The source of the deferral account funds were foregone price cap formula discounts to residential local telephone rates for the years 2002-2006 for the incumbent local exchange companies (ILECs), Bell Canada, TELUS, MTS, and BellAliant. These discounts would have otherwise been effective in reducing rates for during the price cap period but for the Commission’s desire to maintain local rates at a higher level to encourage entry by local service competitors.
The disposition of these funds was the subject of appeals to the Federal Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada in 2008 and 2009. The SCC decision in 2009 provided that the broad objectives of the Telecommunications Act allowed the CRTC to increase rates to help competition and to set up deferral accounts to receive the excess rates..
This latter experiment in rate alteration made in Telecom Decision 2002-34, was part of a pattern of initiatives by the Commission that was subsequently rejected by the 2006 Policy Direction of the federal Cabinet, as well as subsequent Governor-In Council Decisions. These initiatives had attempted to provide incentives to competition by mandating increased rates and tariffs charged to customers by the ILECs in order to allow greater room for competitors to enter the market enabled by artificially maintained discounts to the ILEC rates.
The only remaining losers from this discredited strategy were the residential local customers that paid the inflated rates, and whose unpaid rate discounts were housed in ILEC deferral account funds. Most of these funds, ultimately amounting to $1.6 billion in total, went to subsidize discounted access to ILEC digital networks under the same, now inoperative, theory of promoting market entry by artificially lowering competitor costs.
The irony of the Commission’s approach to attempting to jump start local service competition by not applying the price cap formula (where productivity exceeded the inflation factor), was that the measures funded by residential subscriber rates primarily assisted local business service competition. As well, residential local service competition, currently primarily provided by cable companies, received little impetus from the Commission directed subsidies.
The state of affairs before the Supreme Court of Canada in 2009, when the jurisdictional appeals were heard, was that there was to be a significant rebate paid to ILEC customers of about 40% of the remaining funds of $650 million, arising out of the effect of Telecom Decision 2006-9, and Telecom Decision 2008-1. This fact drove the vigorous objections and submissions of the ILECs before the courts that their operations were entitled to the entire remaining amount without a rebate.
This decision will determine if Bell and TELUS can spend the promised customer rebate on new and costly broadband plans (some of which involve insupportable expenditures of $7500 per customer). It cannot surely be regarded as a coincidence that the net result proposed by Bell and TELUS now is virtually the same as the result urged on appeal by the ILECs, albeit achieved through different means. Consumers have accordinglyurged Commission vigilance in protecting the relevance and enforceability of its own decisions.
 

Public Interest News: Shaw’s Canwest / High-speed internet for everyone / Net wars / Net consent / Internet regulation / Aeroplan / Rogers Netflix

Shaw Canwest purchase: A negative outcome for broadcasting diversity

(PIAC 24/August/2010) Telus Corp. is warning that Shaw’s $2-billion purchase of Canwest’s broadcasting assets could lead to an abuse of market power, and is asking regulators to maintain a vigilant eye on what the cable firm does with its newfound content properties. … There is also growing anxiety that the deal furthers the concentration of programming power in the hands of distributors like Shaw,” Jamie Sturgeon reported for the Financial Post on Aug. 23. “That is a negative outcome for broadcasting diversity, said Michael Janigan, … “We’re getting empires that not only own content but are in charge of the pipes that deliver it,” the Financial Post reported.

PIAC calls access to high-speed internet a basic service

(PIAC 24/August/2010) “A report by the PIAC recommends that high-speed Internet be declared a basic service, much like telephone access was mandated by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission over 10 years ago. … “The Internet, and in particular broadband services, are important both in terms of the economy of Canada and the individual lives of Canadians,” said Michael Janigan, executive director and general counsel of the PIAC,” the Canadian Press reported on Aug. 18.
“(Janigan said,) “It was discovered that in order to be a full participative member of society access to a telephone service was required and we are certainly approaching that – if not at the circumstance – where broadband itself is something that is required in order to fully participate (in society),” Michael Oliveira reported for The Canadian Press.

New credit and debit card code Sept. 1: Comments from PIAC, Options consommateurs

(PIAC 24/August/2010) “(On Sept. 1) credit card issuers will be required to clearly state the exact time and cost of making only the minimum payment. … Consumers will get a 21-day grace period to pay off any new charges, even if they haven’t paid off all the previous month’s bill. … Banks and other credit card issuers must give consumers advance warning of any changes in interest rates,” Dana Flavelle reported for the Toronto Star on Aug. 17.
“Ottawa should have required the banks to raise their minimum monthly payments so that consumers “won’t be in debt forever,” said Genevieve Reed, head of research for the Quebec-based consumer group Options Consommateurs. … “I don’t think a lot of people read their bills that closely. It may become like warnings on cigarette packages,” said John Lawford, a research analyst with the Public Interest Advocacy Centre,” the Toronto Star reported.
« Ottawa a mandaté l’Agence de la consommation en matière financière du Canada (ACFC) pour veiller au respect du code. Ce gain de dernière minute satisfait Option Consommateurs, qui avait présenté la demande au fédéral. “Vu la nature volontaire du code, on se posait beaucoup de questions… Heureusement, on a été entendus”, a dit Geneviève Reid, responsable du service de recherche et de représentation d’Option Consommateurs, » Stéphanie Grammond a écrit pour La Presse le 17 août.

The internet: A collision values

(PIAC 24/August/2010) “Google and Verizon have released a joint proposal arguing that broadband providers should be permitted to charge different prices for “differentiated online services” – a move critics say sets the stage for tiered Internet pricing. … In the network neutrality debate, there are two opposite ideologies at play, according to Michael Janigan,” Omar El Akkad and Iain Marlow reported for the Globe and Mail on Aug. 9.
The Globe reported Janigan said: “The first is the assumption that the Internet, because of its crucial place in many people’s lives, has intrinsic commercial value that can and should be exploited in the free market. The second is that the Internet is a public commons where “access and affordability” are critical to ensure that the Internet itself remains free. What is required, I think, is a firm set of rules that enable the users of the Internet to be protected against conflicts of interest that arise as a result of the commercial interests of the carriers and some of the content that they carry. In the absence of rules, there’s a collision of these values that is likely to continue to occur as the Internet evolves.”

On the Web, consent is a tricky idea

(PIAC 24/August/2010) “On the Web, consent is a tricky idea. Companies have to say how they collect and use data, but lengthy privacy policies require users with the patience to parse out exactly how that information is being shared – sometimes with partners who have entirely different privacy policies, says John Lawford, …. How many people actually read sites’ privacy policies before clicking “I agree”?, Susan Krashinsky and Omar El Akkad reported for the Globe and Mail on Aug. 13.
“If you are at a retail website, it’s going to be a member of a number of affiliate-advertising networks: Doubleclick, probably Microsoft One, and one or two others. It’s going to place at least one cookie, and then report back to [its] affiliate networks what you did,” Mr. Lawford says. “There’s effectively a perfect, almost biographical sketch of you somewhere in these affiliate computers, but it’s not identified by your actual name,” the Globe and Mail reported.

Rogers lowers download limits as Netflix looms

(PIAC 24/August/2010) Rogers Communications, this country’s second-biggest internet provider, is lowering the usage limits on some of its plans, just days after online video service Netflix announced it was expanding into Canada. … John Lawford, a lawyer with the Public Interest Advocacy Centre consumer watchdog, said the move is both a cash grab by Rogers on its internet customers, and a defensive measure to protect its video services. The company is Canada’s biggest cable television provider and it operates a video streaming service similar to Netflix called On Demand Online,” Peter Nowak reported for CBC News reported on July 22.
“It’s easier to make money from overage charges because those aren’t really advertised rates. You’re going to make more money from those overages, eventually, than your regular monthly rates,” Lawford said. “It also kind of wrecks [Netflix’s] business model if the cost to the end user goes up after they’ve subscribed and then they cancel it a month later because they can’t afford it,” CBC News reported.

Added fees for goods, services are out of control

(PIAC 24/August/2010) “Fees are getting out of control. I’m tired of seeing large companies advertise one price to lure you in and then jack it up with a multitude of extra costs. The Public Interest Advocacy Centre, a non-profit consumer group, has studied the practice of extra charges in the Canadian marketplace and found several negative consequences,” theToronto Star’s Ellen Roseman wrote for CBC News on July 21.
“One, it prevents consumers from doing meaningful comparison shopping among suppliers. Two, it discourages efficiency and productivity when suppliers pass on higher input costs so easily. Three, a company engaging in the practice has an unfair competitive edge, encouraging others to follow so they can offer a lower matching price.Four, consumers may not learn about the extra fees and charges until they sign a deal or get their first bill. This takes away from informed consent.So, what is to be done? The best solution is an outright ban on the practice, the public interest group said. Another option is to insist that companies advertise and show the “all-in price,” CBC News reported.

Credit ruined over unknown Telus bill

(PIAC 24/August/2010) “A couple from Courtenay, B.C., is upset with Telus for putting a black mark on their credit rating for an old bill they said they didn’t know about. … The Public Interest Advocacy Centre in Ottawa said it has heard similar complaints from consumers who say they didn’t know about an outstanding phone bill until it affected their credit rating. “Despite the inability to get anyone in this infernal [telecommunications industry] machine to take responsibility, many more sophisticated lenders know that [phone companies] do this all the time and will lend you money anyway,” said the advocacy centre’s John Lawford. “No guarantee of this, though. And your credit score and report are still awful for years,” theKelowna Daily Courier reported on July 13.
“Lawford said sometimes unpaid phone bills are for charges customers have disputed. He said consumers have no recourse except to appeal to the creditor’s goodwill.“No protection whatsoever. No recourse. No accountability whatsoever,” said Lawford. “The repercussions are those experienced here [by the Krishers]. Part of the problem relates to federal-provincial jurisdictional problems,” the Daily Courier reported.

CRTC extends traffic management policy to wireless providers

(PIAC 24/August/2010) “The CRTC’s decision last week to implement traffic management policies for wireless carriers could be a step toward a broader regulatory framework for mobile services, John Lawford, counsel with the consumer advocacy group the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), told The Wire Report Monday. “Are we going to start regulating wireless? Are we going to start regulating the Internet, and how? At a certain point, I think, ‘Yeah, we are,’” Lawford said. He suggested subsidy mechanisms for local services, price controls, or European-style caps or regulations on roaming charges as potential areas for review,” Simon Doyle wrote for Wire Report on July 5.

Copyright debate turns ugly

(PIAC 24/August/2010) “The only people who are opposed to this legislation are really two groups of radical extremists,” (Heritage Minister James) Moore said …. “There are those that pretend to be for copyright reform, but they don’t believe in actual copyright reform. There are those that are cited as experts by the media endlessly who are not in favour of copyright reform,” Peter Nowak reported for CBC News on June 23.
Michael Janigan, executive director of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), an Ottawa-based consumer watchdog that opposes the bill mainly because of the digital locks clause, was also disheartened by Moore’s comments … he said. “I’m very surprised at efforts to demonize opponents at a fairly early stage in discussion about the bill. I don’t think that’s helpful at all.” PIAC, along with several other consumer groups, wrote to the minister last week to express their dissatisfaction with his recent assertion that consumers support Bill C-32. Moore has not yet replied to the letter, Janigan said.

Unfair change in the Air Canada Aeroplan rules, Michael Janigan says

(PIAC 24/August/2010) From September 15, passengers buying a one-way Tango ticket from, for example, Toronto to Winnipeg, will earn 233 Aeroplan miles, rather than the 466 that would now be accrued,” cheapflights.com reported on June 8,. “The decision has been labeled unfair by consumer groups. Michael Janigan, Executive Director of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre in Ottawa, commented: “When you come aboard and decide to give your business to airlines and collect reward points, there should be some assurance that they’re not going to change the rules midstream. There should be some basic package of expectations that should be part of any airline ticket,” cheapflights.com reported.

Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act: Janet Lo comments

(PIAC 24/August/2010) “Companies get to decide whether to tell their customers they’ve lost their personal information or hackers have stolen it, according to legislation tabled Tuesday by the Conservative government. The proposed amendments to Canada’s private sector privacy law will require banks, retailers and other companies to inform Canada’s privacy watchdog if they’ve experienced a “material” data breach of personal information. Factors for determining if the mandatory reporting rule kicks in include the sensitivity of the information, the number of customers affected and an assessment by the company that concludes the cause of the breach indicates a systemic problem,” Canwest News Service reported on May 25.
“Janet Lo, counsel with the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, said the language around risk and significant harm is troubling. … “Ultimately, what we’re looking for is something that’s objective, reasonable and measurable so it’s not just up to interpretation for a business that collects all this information and has some kind of interest in keeping breaches quiet,” Sarah Schmidt reported for Canwest News Service.

Cut Rogers and Bell out of the next spectrum auction: Michael Janigan says keep spectrum open for new or smaller carriers

(PIAC 24/August/2010) “In the U.S., the Federal Communications Commission auctions off wireless spectrum in much the same way (as Industry Canada) in a process that is usually dominated by the major players. … The biggest players with the deepest pockets pay the most money to ensure that they own the most spectrum — and competitors don’t. But in a move that must surely be unsettling to Rogers, BCE and Telus, the FCC may block the two (biggest) U.S. Firms (AT&T and Verizon Wireless) from its next auction, expected in 2011. In a report released Thursday, the FCC said concentration in the U.S. market had increased substantially since 2003, while the two leading wireless companies continued to gain share through that time. The commission also suggested the industry was no longer “effectively competitive,” the Financial Post reported on May 21.
“Many would argue that Canada’s market is less competitive, and Industry Canada could follow the FCC’s example by blocking or once again limiting incumbent participation in the next auction. AT&T and Verizon control 60% of the American market. In Canada, the big three control 96% (Rogers holds 37% followed by Bell at 30% and Telus at 29%). Micheal Janigan, executive director for the Public Interest Advocacy Centre in Ottawa said the organization supported keeping spectrum in Canada open for new or smaller carriers. “We would like to see several players that would be able to achieve a certain size,” he said,” Jamie Sturgeon reported for the Financial Post.

Aug. 31, 2011: PIAC calls for digital broadcasting transition program

(PIAC 24/August/2010) “In large part, the potential problems associated with the transition have not been a policy priority of the federal government. In the result, there is some likelihood of confusion and outcry when the transition occurs unless steps are taken quickly to prepare for the same,” PIAC’s submission says. PIAC suggests Canada should follow the experience of the United States, where television stations stopped broadcasting analog signals on June 11, 2009, and where “the transition was considered largely successful” a May 7 news story from Wire Report said.
“The American transition was aided by programs for public education and consumer awareness; financial subsidies to consumers in the form of coupons; mandatory broadcast of analog for local broadcasting and border areas beyond the June 2009 cut off deadline; and a trial transition in Wilmington, NC, in September 2008. It is estimated that about 900,000 Canadian households use antennas to receive over-the-air analog signals and do not yet have the equipment to receive digital signals,” Wire Report said.

No phone books no rate reductions: CRTC approves Yellow Pages Group (YPG) “on-demand” approach to the white pages

(PIAC 24/August/2010) OTTAWA “The CRTC decision means most people won’t have a current phone book. It’s a step towards no white pages at all. It’s a service reduction and rates should fall,” Public Interest Advocacy Centre counsel John Lawford said. Residential telephone customers of Bell Canada and Telus in Montréal, Québec City, Ottawa, Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver are affected by the decision.

Bell Canada Touch-Tone Overcharge Reversed

(PIAC 24/August/2010) The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) welcomed the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s (CRTC) decision on May 19 to reverse “Touch-Tone” charges imposed unilaterally by Bell Canada (Bell) on certain of its local telephone customers.
PIAC is concerned that customers may not notice the refund letter or may not claim it. “The problem is that the CRTC said that these customers have to call Bell back to get their credit when Bell made the mistake. The CRTC should tell Bell to refund customers with no work on their part,” John said Lawford. “Now large telephone companies get the message of ‘charge first, figure out the mistakes later.” The Consumers’ Association of Canada and Canada Without Poverty – Touch-Tone charges for rotary dial customers, Telecom Decision CRTC 2010-292, is on the CRTC website.

Cadre international pour l’étiquetage des OGM : Option consommateurs

PIAC 24/August/2010) « Tous unis pour la transparence. Une vaste coalition d’organismes qui défendent les droits des consommateurs a demandé hier à Ottawa de ne pas faire déraper les négociations en cours afin de définir un cadre international pour l’étiquetage des organismes génétiquement modifiés (OGM). Les échanges sur cette question doivent reprendre la semaine prochaine à Québec à l’occasion de la réunion du Comité du Codex alimentarius, un organisme lié à l’ONU qui établit les normes et codes d’usage en matière d’agroalimentation » Le Devoir a rapporté le 1 mai.

Is Broadband Basic Service

The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), today released a report that calls for establishing broadband as basic service for Canadians in the same way that telephone service was established as a need for every citizen in the last century. The report titled “Is Broadband Basic Service” describes the developments that have occurred in Europe and other countries worldwide that have made broadband service a basic right for citizens. It also sets out the models that have been evolved internationally to meet the goal and the principles that should be engaged in designing the delivery structure.
“Many consumers, particularly those in rural or remote areas, are not able to harness the full potential of the internet”, Michael Janigan, PIAC’s Executive Director stated, “Others may live in areas served by broadband providers, but lack the financial resources to obtain service”.
The report concludes that ‘access to broadband has important economic, social and cultural ramifications for Canadians and without it, Canadian consumers risk falling behind in today’s increasingly online interconnected world.’
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre is an Ottawa-based consumer organization specializing in telecommunications services. 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.
 

Is Broadband Basic Service report
Download File: is_broadband_basic_service_piac_aug_2010.pdf [size: 0.75 mb]

Comments of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre associated with Industry Canada consultation on foreign ownership rules in telecommunications

Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC)
Submission to Industry Canada Opening Canada’s Doors To Foreign Investment In Telecommunications: Options for Reform
30 July 2010
In its submissions, PIAC notes that inadequate competition, and premature deregulation of many markets has limited choice and quality of service for consumers, and led to mediocre price/value performance. Although PIAC favours loosening the foreign teleco ownership rules to allow more start up new entrants, it also notes the necessity of reforming the merger rules to prevent takeovers and mergers that do not increase consumer welfare.
Please download a copy of the comments here:
 

PIAC Submission to Industry Canada Opening Canada’s Doors To Foreign Investment In Telecommunications: Options for Reform
Download File: piac_comments_foreign_ownership_telecom.pdf [size: 0.16 mb]

 

PIAC Submission to the Government Consultation on A Digital Economy Strategy for Canada

Bell Canada Touch-Tone Overcharge Reversed

The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) today welcomed the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s (CRTC) decision on May 19 to reverse “Touch-Tone” charges imposed unilaterally by Bell Canada (Bell) on certain of its local telephone customers.
The CRTC’s decision requires Bell to refund to all customers who have had rotary dial phone service since 1993 or earlier the “Touch-Tone” charge of $2.80 monthly it unilaterally levied on these customers since September 2009. However, the CRTC ruled the refund will only be given to customers who contact Bell Canada to have the charge reversed. Bell Canada will be sending letters to those persons who may have been inappropriately charged.
“Bell simply overcharged these customers when it knew or should have known they have had rotary phone service continuously since before Touch-Tone was required and that they are permitted to pay for only rotary service,” said John Lawford, counsel for PIAC, who brought a complaint about the charge to the CRTC on behalf of the Consumers’ Association of Canada and Canada Without Poverty and an individual customer.
PIAC is concerned that customers may not notice the refund letter or may not claim it. “The problem is that the CRTC said that these customers have to call Bell back to get their credit when Bell made the mistake. The CRTC should tell Bell to refund customers with no work on their part.” added Lawford. “Now large telephone companies get the message of ‘charge first, figure out the mistakes later.’”
– 30 –
Please see the original decision, The Consumers’ Association of Canada and Canada Without Poverty – Touch-Tone charges for rotary dial customers, Telecom Decision CRTC 2010-292, on the CRTC website

Public Interest News: Google privacy / Behavioural-targeted marketing / Cloud computers / Les frais de transactions / 900,000 TVs

Privacy watchdogs slam Google: A pattern of neglect

(PIAC 28/April/2010) Canada’s Privacy Commissioner organized 10 countries to send an open letter to Google CEO Eric Schmidt and issue a stern warning to the search giant and other firms to comply with international privacy laws or face enforcement measures. … The group signed an open letter and held a press conference slamming Google Buzz privacy mishaps and threatened enforcement measures against online companies that disregarded privacy laws and norms,” itbusiness.ca reported April 21.
“(Jennifer) Stoddart acknowledges that Google did react quickly after the public outcry about Buzz. “Google has recognized it made an error … the issue right now is not the state of Google Buzz. The question is how could you release something without understanding the privacy impact?” Brian Jackson wrote.
itbusiness.ca reported: “The privacy authorities publicly calling out Google are reacting appropriately to a pattern of neglect for privacy, says John Lawford, a lawyer with Ottawa-based Public Interest Advocacy Centre.”They are getting tired of dealing with Google or Facebook, having endless meetings with them, and then [seeing] companies do just what they want,” he says.”

Online tracking: Marketers are severely testing Canadian law

(PIAC 28/April/2010) Online tracking is putting “personal information” as defined by Canadian law severely to the test warns a PIAC brief to the Privacy Commissioner. Google’s definition of “sensitive personal information” is inferior to its definition under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, the brief observes. The consumer group is especially concerned about protecting the privacy of children and teens and their online lives. PIAC wants age-graduated levels of consent.
The brief notes data aggregators claim “de-identification” protects privacy, but aggregated de-identified data can be reidentified. It also covers problems with security and behavioural-targeted advertising. Office of the Privacy Commissioner consultations on consumer tracking take place on April 29 in Toronto and in Montreal on May 19. PIAC’s March 15 comment was written by counsels John Lawford and Janet Lo.

Cloud computing: Protection depends on cloud location

(PIAC 28/April/2010) PIAC submitted comments to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner on the implications of cloud computing on April 15. The brief notes if a cloud computer is in Canada, consumers are protected by PIPEDA. But if the cloud is in the USA the Patriot Act rules. The brief also raises questions about “lawful access”, the rules for police surveillance.
Other sections of the report cover security and integrity of data, data retention, copyrights, function creep and compromised meaningful choice and consent. A cloud computing consultation is scheduled for June 21 in Calgary. PIAC’s comments to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner were written by counsels John Lawford and Janet Lo.

Clearer consumer rights, awareness, for online tracking

(PIAC 28/April/2010) “Online content providers should make it clearer when they track consumers’ online behaviour for marketing purposes, digital rights and marketing groups have told the privacy commissioner. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada is holding consultations on online tracking, profiling and targeting in April, May and June in Montreal, Toronto and Calgary. “According to submissions for the consultations obtained by The Wire Report through access-to-information, groups are expressing concerns about interest-based advertising (IBA), also known as behavioural marketing or targeting,” Karen Fournier wrote for the Wire Report on April 19.
“John Lawford, counsel with the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), agreed, saying companies need to offer clearer consent for tracking,” Fournier reported.

Cartes de crédit et de débit – Un code sera lancé pour réduire les frais de transactions

(PIAC 28/April/2010) « Le ministre fédéral des Finances, Jim Flaherty, a annoncé hier qu’un code de conduite volontaire aura été mis en place d’ici un mois à l’intention de l’industrie des cartes de crédit et de débit. Le code vise à réduire les frais de transactions par cartes que les entreprises doivent verser aux émetteurs chaque fois qu’un client utilise sa carte » le Devoir a rapporté le 17 avril 2010.
« Chez Option consommateurs, l’accueil est enthousiaste. « Ce nouveau code prend en considération le droit de choisir des consommateurs », souligne Jean-François Vinet, analyste des services financiers à Option consommateurs. « Nous sommes satisfaits du rôle de surveillance des exploitants de réseaux et de cartes de paiements confié à l’Agence de la consommation en matière financière du Canada afin qu’ils se conforment au Code de conduite. Nous saluons par ailleurs la présence de la disposition visant à légiférer en la matière si le code n’était pas respecté ou ne suffisait pas à encadrer les pratiques de l’industrie » le Devoir a rapporté.

Class actions: Option consommateurs’ report in the works

(PIAC 28/April/2010) “Nearly three decades after class actions made their first appearance in the Canadian legal landscape, little light has been shed over the proportion of class members who make a claim, which hasn’t stopped some from speculating that the numbers are so low that they call into question the need for class proceedings,” Lawyers Weekly reported in its April 23 edition.
“’The legal profession could also do a better job to reach people,’ remarked Stephanie Poulin, the head of legal services with Option Consommateurs. While advances in technology provide innovative and potentially effective means of notice, be it through the Web, e-mail, and text messages to cell phones, the profession has generally been slow to react — and still resorts to publishing dull, illegible notices published in the back pages of the business or classified section in major newspapers,” Luis Millan wrote for Lawyers Weekly.
“’Publishing notices in newspapers in simply insufficient,’ said Poulin, who is in the midst of putting together a report addressed to the legal community to help them write claim forms in simple language. ‘Often the notices are indecipherable, replete with legalese, written by lawyers who write to the public as they write to each other. To the extent that we are seeking to mobilize a group of people to defend their rights, it is illusory to persist to use notices in newspapers located in the classified section. We’ve got to begin using marketing methods to communicate with class members,’” Lawyers Weekly reported.

Basic TV service needed for 900,000 Canadian households: Janigan

(PIAC 28/April/2010) “Industry Minister Tony Clement says he doesn’t want delays in the transition from analog to digital TV, despite loud warnings from networks and consumer advocates that Canada is far from ready for it. An estimated 900,000 Canadian households that rely on antennas don’t have televisions equipped to receive those new digital signals, due to begin in August 2011. About another 44,000 won’t have access to TV at all unless they invest in a satellite dish,” the Canadian Press reported on April 7.
CP’s Jennifer Ditchburn wrote: “Michael Janigan of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) calls Canada’s approach to the transition “leadership by amnesia.” He said the concern for consumers goes well beyond someone missing out on their favourite TV show. “It’s clear that television services are an important way that Canadians receive information, relate to each other and have a form of national cohesiveness,” said Janigan.”

PIAC salutes Ken Rubin, Canada’s information warrior

(PIAC 28/April/2010) Ken Rubin has a new web site featuring access to information tips; accounts of important cases; and a model freedom of information bill with suggestions on how to advance the public’s right-to-know. Rubin also released “Digging for Data Over the Years” a DVD reference publication ISBN number 978-0-9865464-0-2. The Public Interest Advocacy Centre regularly calls on Rubin to hunt down the documents that make a case. To order the DVD send $60 by cheque or money order payable to Ken Rubin c/o 212 Third Avenue Ottawa ON K1S 2K3. Rubin can be reached at kenrubin@rogers.com.

Aviation Safety News: Eyjafjallajökull, Body scanners, Air Travellers Security Charge

(PIAC 28/April/2010) The April 21 edition of Aviation Safety News reported on Eyjafjallajökull, CATSA’s increase the security fee – Air Travellers Security Charge, CATSA spending spree on body scanners, ash guidelines at 600 micrograms per cubic meter, the absence of traditional safety oversight in Transport Canada’s new regime, and more. Aviation Safety News is a project of Transport Action Canada (formerly Transport 2000) and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre. The Aviation Safety News readers’ group includes top aviation safety authorities, industry and civil service professionals.

Public Interest News: Spam, fees, privacy, basic tv / Airline bankruptcies / Price ceilings / Règles hypothécaires / Fair dealing / Leaking personal data / Touch-tone fee / Boissons gazeuses

PIAC projects: Spam, fees, privacy, basic tv

(PIAC 6/April/2010) The Public Interest Advocacy Centre is working on major reports about spam and broadband policy. The advocacy centre is in consultations with the federal privacy commissioner on ways to better protect young people using social media. The group was part of a parliamentary lobby by the Canadian Consumer Initiative conducted the last week of March which called for broadband for everyone, reintroduction of the anti-spam bill and fair usage. PIAC continues to fight for a definition of basic television service, all-inclusive advertised prices, flyers’ rights, data breach protocols and improved banking regulations. Hidden fees and fees levied for non-existent services remain a major cause.

National fund needed to protect passengers from airline bankruptcies, PIAC says

(PIAC 6/April/2010) “Skyservice was forced into bankruptcy raising important questions about who monitors the financial health of our airlines, and Shirlee Engel discovered the answer isn’t very reassuring for flyers,” Global National reported on March 31.
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre’s Michael Janigan told Global: We have felt for years and so has the travel industry that it is time that there was closer financial scrutiny of airlines and that airlines paid into a national scheme that ensure that all customers will get their money back if the airlines fail.

Copyright Act: Fix fair dealing

(PIAC 6/April/2010) “More than 25 library, education, creator, and consumer groups (including PIAC) have issued a public letter calling on Industry Minister Tony Clement and Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore to adopt a flexible fair dealing approach,” Michael Geist reported on March 25.
“We don’t want legislation like the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act,” PIAC’s John Lawford says. He says PIAC is concerned that consumers may not have the right to make backups and alternative formats of products they have paid for like DVDs.

EU uses wireless price ceilings to prevent customer gouging

(PIAC 6/April/2010) The Senate transport and communications committee is studying emerging issues related to the wireless sector. “Under committee questioning, Mirko Bibic, Bell Canada senior vice-president of regulatory affairs, said easing the foreign ownership rules for the telecom sector is not a solution to high mobile phone pricing,” Karen Fournier wrote for Wire Report on March 30.
“Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) executive director and general counsel Michael Janigan told The Wire Report that, when it comes to pricing issues, it is to Bell’s advantage to argue that there is enough competition in the Canadian telecom market.
“Roaming fees and some other fees of this nature, including things like long-distance, have been a continual source of friction with customers,” he said in a phone interview. “This has led to jurisdictions like the European Union setting price ceilings to prevent the gouging of customers, and certainly that’s something that may be on the table (in Canada] for the future,” Fournier wrote for Wire Report.

Consumer groups call for better telecommunications services for all Canadians

(PIAC 6/April/2010) “Now is the time to ask the CRTC to require Canadian telecommunications companies to do more for Canada. We intend to argue, and we think Canadians will agree, that access to telephone, cellphone and especially broadband Internet at affordable rates, acceptable data speed and quality of service is crucial for all Canadians, and for our success as a country, both socially and economically,” says John Lawford, counsel for PIAC, an Ottawa-based non-profit organization that provides legal representation, research and advocacy on behalf of consumers. PIAC will represent Canada Without Poverty, Option consommateurs and Rural Dignity of Canada.
The CRTC’s examination culminates with public hearings starting Oct. 25 2010.

Nouvelles règles hypothécaires : Les acheteurs auront toujours une marge de manoeuvre

(PIAC 6/April/2010) « Le mois dernier, le ministre canadien des Finances, Jim Flaherty, a annoncé de nouvelles règles concernant l’achat de propriétés. Ces mesures, qui seront en vigueur à partir du 19 avril, sont toutefois timides et ne devraient pas trop perturber les acheteurs, selon plusieurs spécialistes » Métro a rapporté le 18 mars.
« Les nouvelles mesures sont encore très permissives, soutient Jean-François Vinet, analyste des services financiers chez Option consommateurs. “Les nouvelles règles permettent encore un taux d’endettement qui laisse peu de marge de manoeuvre aux ménages”, déplore-t-il » Stéphane Rolland a écrit pour Métro.

Aviation Safety News: Senator Kenny, safety management systems and more

(PIAC 6/April/2010) On March 10 Aviation Safety News reported on the removal of Senator Colin Kenny from the security committee, near misses in Vancouver and Calgary, blue ice, AC Flight 190, Air France Flight 447 and Transport Canada outsourcing safety. Aviation Safety News is a project of Transport Action Canada and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre.

PIAC comments on telecommunications foreign ownership provisions

(PIAC 6/April/2010) On March 4 PIAC was asked about the effect of the loosening of foreign ownership rules on Canadian subsidiaries in the telecommunications market. PIAC is not in a position to comment from the standpoint of matters such as employment, taxation, research and development, or cultural sovereignty. PIAC’s comments are directed to the possible effect on the position of the consumer in the telecommunications marketplace.
PIAC notes consumers have not been provided with lower prices and more choices by the major Canadian telecommunications players as promised when they were deregulated some three years ago through the actions of then Industry Minister Maxime Bernier in response to the lobbying of the big telephone companies. The budget changes are clearly directed to addressing this market and policy failure.
“New foreign entrants may may make for more competitive telecom markets with more efficient pricing and choice, particularly in markets where there is largely a duopoly between the old telephone company and the incumbent cable provider. But if relaxation of foreign ownership rules leads to takeovers and mergers of existing Canadian firms, we won’t get there. As well, more foreign competition won’t solve the problem of the need for enforceable rules ensuring consumer friendly standards and conduct by providers,” says Michael Janigan, executive director of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre.

Stop web sites from collecting personal information on kids under 13, PIAC says

(PIAC 6/April/2010) “ …one often-targeted group is children, particularly if they visit certain popular websites designed for interaction. A group called the Public Interest Advocacy Centre in Ottawa says that some of these sites use personal information to adapt the website to fit the child’s profile. Then advertisers pay for exposure to this profiled child through games or other fun activities. PIAC is calling for a ban on the collection of personal information for kids under 13. When they turn 18, it would like to see their private data wiped from websites unless they consent to leave it as is,” CBC News reported on Feb. 5.
“Social networking is a huge swindle,” says John Lawford, a lawyer with PIAC. “Everybody has been taken for a ride. People didn’t question the business model. But that business model is to sell personal information to targets ads,” Catherine McLean wrote in a special report.
“Why should anyone care if personalized ads are directed at them? They might be susceptible to the products targeted at them, whether it’s sugary foods, weight loss pills, or gambling, Lawford points out. Or they could find themselves boxed in a certain category from an early age,” CBC reported.

Les agences de recouvrement doivent suivre les règles

(PIAC 6/April/2010) « Elle vous menace de vous poursuivre? De publier votre nom dans le journal? De saisir votre épagneul? C’est illégal » La Presse a rapporté le 15 février. « À Option consommateurs, on conseille aux personnes harcelées de dire à l’agent de recouvrement qu’elles vont consulter un conseiller budgétaire avec lequel elles évalueront leur capacité de remboursement. Elles pourront ensuite faire une proposition de paiement qu’elles seront en mesure de respecter. “Souvent, ça fait diminuer la pression”, indique Caroline Arel. L’offre pourra être acceptée ou rejetée par l’agent, mais le consommateur en retirera au moins une idée claire de sa situation budgétaire » Marc Tison a rapporté.

La taxe sur les boissons gazeuses

(PIAC 6/April/2010) « L’idée de taxer la malbouffe fait son chemin au Québec. … La Coalition sur la problématique du poids – la Coalition Poids – défend le projet avec vigueur, malgré les bémols de plus en plus nombreux qui s’élèvent, ici et ailleurs, contre cette mesure. … François Décary-Gilardeau, analyste agroalimentaire à Option consommateurs: “On punit des comportements malsains avant de favoriser les comportements sains” » La Presse a rapporté le 16 février.
« “Le prix du lait a augmenté de 20% depuis cinq ans, note-t-il. Deux litres de jus d’orange coûtent pratiquement 4$ alors que la boisson à l’orange sucrée est vendue 1,99$. Même prix pour deux litres de Coke. … Dans la région de Montréal, certains quartiers sont des déserts alimentaires. Les gens doivent faire leur marché au dépanneur, estime François Décary-Gilardeau » Stéphanie Bérubé a écrit.

Time to retire touch-tone fee: PIAC

(PIAC 6/April/2010) On Jan. 23 PIAC, filed a complaint with the CRTC, “saying that Bell was levying the touch-tone fee for some rotary-phone customers who did not have touch-tone service,” CBC News reported on Feb. 2. The report said Bell found 20,000 customers who had touch-tone service but were not being billed for it. These customers received notice of a $2.80/mo charge.
“However, one client, 79-year-old Marian Trafford of Toronto, informed Bell she’s never had a touch-tone phone. She contacted PIAC, which is advocating on her behalf and possibly others who might be affected, said John Lawford, counsel for the advocacy centre. … By Lawford’s account, Bell’s touch-tone fee should no longer be listed as a line item but rather folded into the general bill because it no longer has anything do with touch-tone service,” Charlene Sadler reported for CBC News.
“Keeping it as a line item affords Bell the opportunity to make incremental increases without raising customer ire, he said. Surveys done by PIAC have shown that people are more likely to complain if their general bill goes up than if the increases appear to be linked to operational cost broken out in a line item.”
On Feb. 5 Wire Report headlined a story: “Bell acknowledges it wrongly charged rotary phone users a touch-tone fee”.

BC Hydro customers brace for ‘rate shock’

(PIAC 6/April/2010) “Hydro will submit its rate request in early March to the B.C. Utilities Commission, and information posted last year on Hydro’s website projects a rate increase totalling 11.42 per cent for the 2011 fiscal year, and 8.7 per cent in 2012. In the past two years, rates went up a total of 11 per cent,” the Vancouver Sun reported on Jan. 29.
“Jim Quail, executive director of the B.C. Public Interest Advocacy Centre, which represents the interests of Hydro residential customers, said “there is a whole lot of converging factors that are going to drive rates up over the next while.” He said the advocacy centre’s primary concern is the B.C. government’s desire to develop an export power industry,” the Sun’s Scott Simpson wrote. Jim Quail is member of the Board of Directors of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre.

PIAC comments on the telecommunications foreign ownership provisions in the budget

PIAC has been asked about the effect of the loosening of foreign ownership rules on Canadian subsidiaries in the telecommunications market. PIAC is not in a position to comment from the standpoint of matters such as employment, taxation, research and development, or cultural sovereignty. PIAC’s comments are directed to the possible effect on the position of the consumer in the telecommunications marketplace.
PIAC notes consumers have not been provided with lower prices and more choices by the major Canadian telecommunications players as promised when they were deregulated some three years ago through the actions of then Industry Minister Maxime Bernier in response to the lobbying of the big telephone companies. The budget changes are clearly directed to addressing this market and policy failure.
“New foreign entrants may may make for more competitive telecom markets with more efficient pricing and choice, particularly in markets where there is largely a duopoly between the old telephone company and the incumbent cable provider. But if relaxation of foreign ownership rules leads to takeovers and mergers of existing Canadian firms, we won’t get there. As well, more foreign competition won’t solve the problem of the need for enforceable rules ensuring consumer friendly standards and conduct by providers,” says Michael Janigan, executive director of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre.