UPDATE: PIAC has resigned from Keep Me Posted, effective 9 November 2020. PIAC has joined a global advocacy campaign, Keep Me Posted (KMP), working for the right of every consumer to choose, free of charge, how they receive important information from their service providers – on paper or electronically. PIAC has actively advocated for consumers’ […]

PIAC has received complaints from the public that service providers are refusing to unlock devices locked to their network for persons who are not current customers of the service provider. PIAC was surprised to find that the Commission staff apparently have been supporting this position through social media, notably through Twitter and Reddit. To address […]

In June, the Supreme Court of Canada issued its decision in Douez v. Facebook, Inc., 2017 SCC 33, an aspiring privacy law class action brought by a British Columbia resident against the social networking service. In the decision, the majority of the Court found that a clause in Facebook’s terms of use, which required that […]

Consumer protections for air travel passengers? What a crazy idea! This past week, U.S. air carrier United Airlines had to navigate an embarrassing and offensive incident which resulted from a passenger being physically dragged off a flight from Chicago, Illinois to Louisville, Kentucky to open up seats for other airline employees. The event prompted a […]

Written by: Alysia Lau, Legal Counsel at PIAC Recently, I took the plunge—I switched internet service providers. Although the switching process itself was as smooth as I could have asked for, the inertia and personal resistance to switching I experienced took me by surprise. I had been with a major Canadian telecommunications provider for several […]

During the last six months of 2016, there was much discussion about the plan by Air Miles to let miles five years or older expire starting January 1, 2017. However, in December, the Ontario Legislature passed Bill 47, Protecting Rewards Points Act, prohibiting the expiry dates on reward points programs based on time alone in […]

This Media Release is available as a PDF [pdf file: 0.03mb] Smart Regulation Will Need Public Input To Succeed Smart Regulation, a new strategy for regulation recommended by a federal government appointed committee, will need considerable checks and balances, and in particular mandated public input, in order to achieve its goals. This was the conclusion […]

Canadians Want Increased Consumer Protection For Internet Services A new study released today by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) highlights problems with consumer protection for customers of internet services. According to Michael Janigan, PIAC Executive Director and General Counsel, “Canadian internet customers are not being well served by the current hands-off approach to regulation […]

CONSUMERS CALL FOR LEGISLATED PROTECTIONS IN GLOBAL ELECTRONIC COMMERCE Consumers International, a global organization representing consumer groups worldwide, today called upon governments to take measures to protect consumer’s rights to information, privacy, security and redress in the context of electronic commerce. “We welcome the OECD’s commitment to develop consumer protection guidelines for the electronic world”, […]