Broadcasting Archives - Public Interest Advocacy Centre

C-10: The Legal Issues

j.lawford — Tue, 19 Oct 2021 20:02:39 +0000

Join us and FRPC for C-10: The Legal Issues, a legal conference on Bill C-10, an Act to Amend Canada’s Broadcasting Act!

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Fixing TV Service Will Keep Complaints Commissioner Busy

piac_admin — Thu, 06 Apr 2017 06:01:59 +0000

OTTAWA – Over the last six months, Canadians made 2,734 complaints about their television services to the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS). That is more complaints than the CCTS received in relation to wireless, internet, local voice, or long-distance voice services. What makes this particularly surprising is that the CCTS cannot yet address complaints about TV services– it won’t be able to until September 2017, when the “TV Service Provider Code” comes into effect.
With Canada’s communications regulator reporting that it received 3,191 complaints about broadcasting distribution undertakings in a year in its most recent data , it looks like the CCTS will have its hands full bringing TV Service providers up to the standards Canadians expect.[1]
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) fought for the TV Service Provider Code, just as we fought for the Wireless Code before it. These mandatory codes protect consumers and promote competition. Both Codes focus on allowing consumers to make informed choices.
Communications consumers face ongoing problems with communications service providers. These are highlighted in the CCTS mid-term report’s statistics, which outline thousands of complaints made in relation to wireless, internet, local phone, and long-distance services.

Top 10 Issues	Complaints Aug 1-Jan 31
Non-disclosure of terms/Misleading information about terms	795
Incorrect Charge	698
Intermittent/Inadequate quality of service	632
Legitimacy and amount of early cancellation fees	477
30-day cancellation policy/Charges billed after cancellation	398
Credit/refund not received	344
Data charges	283
Credit reporting	235
Breach of Contract	232
Material contract change without notice	224

The TV Service Provider Code will help to address more of these problems. In short, the Code requires carriers to communicate clearly. More specifically it requires carriers to:

Clearly explain promotional offers, including how long the promotion will last, the price at the end of the promotion, and any commitment period or cancellation fee;
Write contracts and related documents in a way which is clear and easy to read;
Clearly itemize all charges, including equipment rental fees, installation fees, and access fees;
Provide a permanent copy of the contract setting out specified important terms;
Provide a critical information summary summarizing the contract;
Provide notice when they are changing prices or packaging of channels, and setting out the customer’s options; and
Clearly explain their policies in relation to service outages and disconnection.

We look forward to the CCTS’ assumption of responsibility for the TV Service Provider Code this September.

For more information, please contact:

Jonathan Bishop
Research & Parliamentary Analyst
Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC)
(613) 562-4002×23
jbishop@piac.ca

John Lawford
Executive Director
Public Interest Advocacy Centre
ONE Nicholas Street, Suite 1204
Ottawa, ON K1N 7B7
(613) 562-4002 x25
(613) 447-8125 (cell)
jlawford@piac.ca
http://www.piac.ca

[1] http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/publications/reports/policymonitoring/2016/cmr3.htm#a3iv

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CRTC Misses Opportunity to Create Future for Community TV

piac_admin — Wed, 15 Jun 2016 20:19:52 +0000

OTTAWA, June 15, 2016 – The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) expressed disappointment in the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission’s (CRTC) new policy framework for local and community television issued today.
In Broadcasting Regulatory Policy 2016-224, the CRTC will ensure that local over-the-air stations will continue to air local news and local programming. However, community channels will be primarily operated by cable and IPTV providers with no funding set aside for independent community stations. Television providers will also be permitted to redirect funding from community channels to their private local stations.
“While the CRTC reinforced the importance of local news and local programming in Canada, they took funding for that programming from community TV,” said John Lawford, Executive Director and General Counsel to PIAC. “The CRTC has robbed the poor community channels to feed the rich, large, national private broadcasters – who should have paid to provide local news themselves.”
At a public hearing in January, PIAC and the Council of Senior Citizens’ Organizations of B.C. advocated for the importance of local news and independent community television. The groups supported earmarking a portion of community TV funding for independent community stations and local community media centres.
“The Commission had an opportunity to create space and growth for communities – especially marginalized communities – who wanted to operate stations which would reflect their needs and values,” said Alysia Lau, Legal Counsel at PIAC. “Instead, this decision has made it harder for any independent community group to find its footing in a system dominated by the television providers. We’re going to see less ‘community’ in community TV.”
For more information please contact:
Alysia Lau
Legal Counsel
Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC)
(613) 562-4002 ×38
alau@piac.ca
www.piac.ca

The post CRTC Misses Opportunity to Create Future for Community TV appeared first on Public Interest Advocacy Centre.

Pick-and-Pay and Skinny Basic are a GO

Donna Brady — Thu, 19 Mar 2015 20:25:29 +0000

PIAC supports CRTC decision to increase choice and flexibility for Canadian TV subscribers
OTTAWA, March 19, 2015 – The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) supports the decision made by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) today to increase choice and flexibility for Canadian television consumers.
“Today’s measures will ensure that Canadians will be the ones who decide how to access television content and what they want to pay for it,” said John Lawford, Executive Director and Counsel to PIAC. “That choice should fall to Canadian consumers, not their television service providers.”
The latest CRTC Let’s Talk TV decision will require licensed television service providers to offer a skinny basic television package for $25 by March 2016 and most channels à la carte and in small customized packages by December 2016. Television service providers must begin to offer pick-and-pay or small customized or pre-assembled packages by March 2016. However, smaller television service providers, including those providing analog service, will not be required to offer their customers skinny basic and pick-and-pay options.
At the CRTC hearing last September, PIAC in a coalition with other public interest organizations advocated for greater choice and flexibility – including through pick-and-pay and skinny basic options.
“Canadian consumers were getting frustrated with soaring prices for television that didn’t necessarily give them the content they wanted to watch,” said Alysia Lau, Legal Counsel at PIAC. “We would have wanted all Canadian consumers to benefit from pick-and-pay and a skinny basic package, but the CRTC’s decision will increase flexibility and make TV service more affordable for many Canadians.”
The CRTC decision also initiates a consultation into a “Wholesale Code” which will regulate affiliation agreements between television programmers and distributors, and establishes rules for independent, official minority language, and ethnic channels which must be offered.
PIAC participated in Let’s Talk TV in a coalition with other organizations named the Groups for the Public Interest. The Groups also included the:

Canadian Ethnocultural Council;
Consumers’ Association of Canada;
Council of Senior Citizens’ Organizations of British Columbia;
National Pensioners Federation; and
Option consommateurs.

For more information please contact:
Alysia Lau
Legal Counsel
Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC)
(613) 562-4002×38
Mobile: (613) 400-9145
alau@piac.ca
www.piac.ca
Geoff White
Counsel to the Groups for the Public Interest
(613) 562-4002×24
Mobile: (613) 612-1190
gwhite@piac.ca
www.piac.ca

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