Shows
We fight for thatA Christmas Scarol - Competition Tribunal on Rogers-ShawThis episode recounts the dramatic, rapid decision(s) of the Competition Tribunal allowing the merger of Shaw and Rogers (with divestment of Freedom Mobile to Videotron) and why that is weird, appealable, and not a good sign for Canadian wireless and other telecommunications markets.Ben Klass again joins the podcast to give his opinion on the meaning of the decision(s), the appeal, the possible state of the market if the merger proceeds and the weaknesses of Canada's Competition Act and related entities.We close with an update on the CBC-Radio-Canada licence renewal decision that...2023-01-121h 07We fight for thatWireless Wind of Change?We return to look at the Rogers-Shaw deal and possible different solutions than the divestment of Shaw's wireless business to Videotron (Quebecor) - solutions that might include a "maverick" once and future(?) independent wireless competitor, Globalive, best known as the operator of WIND Mobile before it was sold to Shaw and renamed "Freedom Mobile". Globalive's Simon Lockie joins the podcast to give the inside scoop on a past and future competitor's efforts to start a fourth national wireless company and whether Globalive can acquire Shaw's "Freedom Mobile" assets if Shaw (or Rogers) must sell them to obtain regulatory approval o...2022-11-071h 13We fight for thatBill C-27: Privacy, only worseWe discuss Bill C-27, the Consumer Privacy Protection Act, Personal um, something AI and a tribunal, I think? It does not matter, because the federal government took the last bill ('the other' Bill C-11) to try to replace the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and MADE IT WORSE. Wow.The new Bill C-27 guts consumer privacy by simply abolishing it and replacing it with a regime of business use of consumer information. All done without your knowledge and consent. But don't worry, it will all be used by the artificial intelligence (AI) industry to d...2022-09-081h 04
Law BytesEpisode 138: John Lawford on the Legal, Regulatory and Policy Responses to the Rogers OutageRogers has provided some answers to the many questions about its massive outage last month that affected millions of Canadians. Yet there is still considerable uncertainty about what the government and CRTC are prepared to do to address ongoing concerns in the telecom sector. John Lawford is the Executive Director and General Counsel of PIAC, the Public Industry Advocacy Centre, which has been a leading consumer voice for decades in Canada. PIAC was the first to file a request with the CRTC seeking an inquiry into the outage. John and I were both participants at the Industry committee hearing into...2022-08-0833 minWe fight for thatBlack Swan or Red Friday? The Rogers Outage in ContextBlack swans, red dawns and consumer pawns. I had a longer summary but the Internet ate it. Not typing this again. Just listen.
2022-08-031h 12We fight for thatCRTC Decision on CBC N-word ComplaintNOTICE TO LISTENERS: THIS EPISODE DISCUSSES A RACIAL SLUR (BUT WE DON'T USE IT)We also note both commenters are racially white and do not pretend to be able to speak to systemic racism, except in general terms and that this episode is not intended, even indirectly, as a collateral attack on the decision's holding. Rather, the CRTC's way of approaching the issue legally and procedurally is what is discussed. Since the recording, the CBC has claimed to appeal the decision, but is also agreeing to follow the CRTC's expectations (to issue an apology), which is interesting g...2022-07-191h 13We fight for thatFixing Bill C-11 for Consumers - Part 2 with Scott BenziePIAC discusses Bill C-11 - the "Online Streaming Act" with Scott Benzie of Digital First Canada, a group representing Canadians making user-generated content on social media and related platforms. We discuss PIAC's proposal of "statIc" versus "dynamic" discoverability as a method to reach a compromise between promotion of Canadian content and user-generated content. We also discuss algorithmic platforms and the present environment for digital creators in Canada as well as several scenarios and their effect on viewers and creators if C-11 passes as is. Part 2 of 2 part special.PIAC remarks to Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage on B...2022-06-2149 minWe fight for thatFixing Bill C-11 for Consumers - Part 1PIAC discusses, once again, Bill C-11 - the "Online Streaming Act" which is an Act to Amend the Broadcasting Act, to, among other things, require "Internet broadcasters" to be registered under Canadian law and contribute to the creation of "Canadian content" or more simply, "CanCon". We recap PIAC's appearance before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage at the House of Commons (CHPC) and in particular, detail our idea to "fix" C-11, in particular, the user-generated content issue.We argue that the "discoverability" issue and the "exemption" of "YouTubers" and other online content creators that has roiled the...2022-06-1430 minWe fight for thatDe-Crypting Cryptocurrencies for ConsumersGuarav Arora, University of Ottawa Master's student in the law department and recent tech law intern at PIAC, sits down to describe, and in some cases to defend against the host, cryptocurrencies (and blockchain and distributed ledger technologies in general) and their derivative products like non-fungible tokens (NFTs), stablecoins, initial coin offerings (ICOs), decentralized finance (de-fi), distributed autonomous organizations (DAOs), smart contracts, and the coming metaverse and its relation to finance. We try to see the potential benefits while being realistic about the relative lack of regulatory controls in this area (currency controls and investment regulation) and why consumers...2022-05-041h 07We fight for thatClearing Communications Consumers Complaints: CCTS with Howard MakerWe interview Howard Maker, Commissioner of the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS) about the Canadian ombudsman service that helps Canadians - for free - to resolve their consumer complaints with Internet, wireless (cellphones), home phone and paid TV services. You never heard of the CCTS? You should get acquainted because they just may get your money back. But it's not quite that easy, and we ask Howard to describe the challenges of being an independent agency charged with being fair in a notoriously difficult communications market.We also break down the CCTS' 2021-22 Mid-Year Report an...2022-04-071h 04We fight for thatCRTC Bad Series: What's the Hold Up? with Geoff WhiteIn this first of several podcasts on troubles with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), we concentrate on the CRTC's egregious slowness in both running regulatory proceedings (both broadcasting and telecommunications) and in releasing its decisions after these proceedings - all of which can take years. During this time, the smaller, or more vulnerable, less powerful parties, such as small competitors, consumers, politicians and the public are disadvantaged while larger players reap the benefit of delay that allows them to exploit their marketplace advantages.CNOC's Geoff White joins us to explain his take on why this s...2022-03-311h 04We fight for thatThe Promotion of CompetitionCompetition in Canada is enforced by the Competition Bureau of Canada. In this episode, we discuss all things competition in Canada and how it can be promoted with Anthony Durocher, Deputy Commissioner, Competition Promotion Branch at the Competition Bureau of Canada. First up, possible reform of the Competition Act and the Competition Bureau's submission to Senator Howard Wetston's review. Next, we hear about two consumer-centric, proactive campaigns by the Bureau upcoming next week and next month. First up is #SwitchWeek , this year from 21-27 February 2022, during which the Competition Bureau encourages Canadians to shop around for better deals on esse...2022-02-1954 minWe fight for thatInvestment Complaints: OBSI is your one-stop shopSarah Bradley, the Ombudsman and CEO of the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI) discusses how OBSI can help consumers resolve investment disputes in Canada. OBSI (https://www.obsi.ca/) is the single independent ombudsman service if you cannot resolve your complaint with your investment company or investment adviser. OBSI's services are free to consumers. We discuss the scope of OBSI's services and the limitations on their potential monetary awards to consumers, limitations periods and OBSI's interaction with Canadian courts. We also discuss potential changes to OBSI's powers, notably, binding decision authority (so investment companies and advisers can no...2022-02-111h 01We fight for thatBanking Complaints: Roadmap or roadkill?PIAC's articling student, Rene Kimmett, guests on this episode to explain how consumers can complain about banking services to their own financial institution and to third-party resolution services - yes, there are two "external complaints bodies" in Canada - OBSI and ADRBO. No need for that - which we get into. The Federal Department of Finance and the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) are presently implementing improvements to the internal complaints system inside banks, but we still have battling third party ECBs. Finance can fix this in a wink. We argue why they should and how consumers can a...2022-02-0456 minWe fight for thatWhere would you like these lumps of coal?This episode recaps the major consumer set-backs of 2021, which, during a pandemic, are inexcusable. We cover three terrible CRTC decisions that will make your wireless phone and home Internet connections much more expensive. We cover a mega-merger that will raise prices and reduce choice. We recap the airline refund fiasco and finish up with banking problems and a warning about crypto-assets. Fun fun fun. See you next year!
2021-12-2322 minWe fight for thatC-10: The Legal Issues - Online Conference PreviewReturning champ Monica Auer visits to preview PIAC and FRPC's online conference, "C-10: The Legal Issues".Please register for this free webinar on Wednesday, November 3, 2021 from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm ETMore information and registeration are found here:https://www.piac.ca/2021/10/19/c-10-the-legal-issues/We discuss the scope and definition of "broadcasting" under the Broadcasting Act and former Bill C-10, which the re-elected minority government has vowed to move through Parliament in the first 100 days post-election. Also discussed are the limits of CRTC discretion and ability to police the vast new powers d...2021-10-191h 00Law BytesEpisode 97: John Lawford on Why the CRTC Should Take Action on Inadequate Low-Cost Wireless PlansThe CRTC’s wireless decision earlier this year dubbed the “MVN-no” decision given its very limited opening to mobile virtual network operators in Canada sparked widespread frustration with the Commission. That decision included one less discussed element, however, namely the expectation that the major wireless carriers would introduce low-cost plans to ensure connectivity for low-income Canadians. Those plans were recently introduced, but John Lawford, the Executive Director and General Counsel of PIAC, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, wasn’t impressed. He wrote to the CRTC asking the Commission to take action over plans that aren’t even offered under the main c...2021-10-1926 minWe fight for thatSIM-swap Hide and Seek with Randall Baran-ChongWe explore the Canadian wireless industry's best-kept secret (with CRTC help): their problem with SIM-swap fraud!Randall Baran-Chong, Co-Founder of Canadian SIM-swap Victims United (CSSVU) joins PIAC to explain his personal experience with fraudsters switching his cell service to a new SIM-card (twice!) and his advocacy for victims before the CRTC, the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology (INDU), in the media and with politicians. John Lawford, PIAC Executive Director and General Counsel, outlines PIAC's ongoing regulatory and other efforts to shed light on the issue, despite regulatory headwinds. Even the politicians know that this is...2021-08-0458 minWe fight for thatThe Internet Affordability Revolution will not be Subsidized with Shelley RobinsonThe CRTC's recent reversal of its wholesale internet rates decision will impede small non-profit Internet Service Providers (ISPs) such as Ottawa's community-centred National Capital Freenet (NCF).Shelley Robinson, NCF's Executive Director, joins PIAC's ED John Lawford to break down the CRTC's increase in rates and how it will impede NCF's desires to offer its "Community Access Fund" and low-cost connectivity at basic service speeds (50 Mbps download / 10 Mbps upload) to its qualifying customers. Shelley also details the pressures the higher rates will place on all non-profit and community-based ISPs and the CRTC's overconfidence in thinking that its coming "d...2021-06-2548 minWe fight for thatWhole lotta wholesale with Andy Kaplan-MyrthWe discuss the CRTC's disastrous decision on wholesale internet rates from late May 2021 with Andy Kaplan-Myrth, VP Regulatory of Teksavvy, a well-established wholesale-based Internet service provider and its effect on Teksavvy, other wholesale-based ISPs, the market, consumers, the rest of the industry and even the CRTC itself.We spend a full hour and a half (sorry) to get way into the history and actual details of the rate set by the CRTC - details that usually are not reported on or discussed outside the CRTC - but that will affect the price for Internet access and who...2021-06-101h 13We fight for thatAirline Bailouts = Consumer Refunds! We won! with Tahira DawoodConsumers in Canada are now eligible for refunds for flights cancelled due to COVID-19 from two airlines and more are likely to be added soon. Our guest this episode is Tahira Dawood, PIAC's second articling student and former researcher at PIAC (and she is also a foreign-qualified lawyer and worked in the aviation industry!). We break down the airline bailouts at Air Canada and Air Transat, and what consumers must do and by when to get their money back and how to apply for these refunds and other details.We also cannot help ourselves as we talk a...2021-05-0345 minWe fight for thatKlass Consciousness: CRTC MVNO decision, telecom socialism & Shaw-Rogers deal with Ben KlassWill the CRTC's recent decision on mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) provide new wireless competition in Canada? We discuss this in excruciating detail with Ben Klass, PhD Candidate and telecom policy wunderkind. The answer: not likely, sorry. This likely result leads the conversation to frustrations with Canadian telecom regulation of competition, including wholesale rates that end up affecting how many competitors consumers have to choose from and how much they charge for cellphone service as well as telecom mergers, such as Rogers buying Shaw, which appear to be a way for industry to avoid regulation. This leads us to co...2021-04-271h 17We fight for thatRogers-Shaw Merger - Part 2 - Discussion with Konrad von FinckensteinJohn Lawford, PIAC's Executive Director and General Counsel welcomes special guest Konrad von Finckenstein, PIAC's current Chair of the Board, to work through options the Competition Bureau, the CRTC and the Industry Minister could have to modify the deal to preserve at least some competition. In a spirited conversation, Mr. Lawford attempts to outline consumer frustration with the process and the deal, while Mr. von Finckenstein calmly discusses the cold, hard calculations in the regulatory, merger and political fields and how they could play out in a frankly challenging merger with no easy way to ensure the same level o...2021-04-1653 minWe fight for thatRogers-Shaw Merger - Part 1: Anatomy of a MergerJohn Lawford, PIAC's Executive Director and General Counsel, explains merger review in Canada in light of the proposed Rogers-Shaw merger. What fun.Competition law basics are described but the real process of applying them to a deal by the Competition Bureau and the parties is covered, along with the roles of the CRTC and the Minister of Innovation Science and Industry in the Department of Industry, Science and Economic Development (ISED).This convoluted process has previously resulted in blocking 0 of 6 previous wireless mergers. What do you think are the odds of stopping number 7?C...2021-04-1641 minWe fight for thatThe Epic Battle for Your Privacy with Yuka SaiPIAC's articling student, Yuka Sai, joins John Lawford to discuss the epic battle between business, with an assist from the federal government, and consumers over privacy.This battle centres on Bill C-11 and in particular, the part called the "Consumer Privacy Protection Act".This doublespeak title hides the facts that the bill will amend our present Canadian private sector privacy act, the Personal Information and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), to allow collection and use of your personal information for any "business purpose" without your consent. This is a reversal of the law that, what, they t...2021-03-161h 01We fight for thatBroadcasting and Why it Matters to You with Monica AuerThe CanCon is coming! The CanCon is coming! Or not. Today we discuss Bill C-10, An Act to amend the Broadcasting Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts, phew!Today's guest Monica Auer, Executive Director of Canada’s Forum for Research and Policy in Communications (FRPC) strives mightily to explain broadcasting regulation in Canada and how the federal government wants to change it. What could go wrong? Turns out a lot, if you hurry to do it, have a very specific goal in mind but ignore the rest, and just rip the heart out...2020-12-241h 11We fight for thatWhat the heck is wholesale with Matt SteinWholesale regulation of Internet (and wireless, maybe?) is fundamental to competition in Canadian telecommunications services. We give a short lecture on the concept and then interview Matt Stein, CNOC President and Chairman, and Distributel CEO, to bring listeners up to date on recent disputes about wholesale rates for Internet service and how this arcane regulatory question affects the price consumers pay for Internet as well as the choice of providers and innovation in the industry. Matt reveals why consumers should have optimism that things are going in the right direction - thanks for the positivity, Matt! Plus, PIAC takes a...2020-11-0257 minWe fight for thatMystery Shopping with Marina Pavlovic - Your Internet Mileage May Vary - Mea culpa COVID appaWe interview Marina Pavlovic, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law, Common Law Section at the University of Ottawa and member of its Centre for Law, Technology and Society about the CRTC's recent "mystery shop" of communications services in Canada. We also talk about another CRTC report claiming Canadians get all the speed they need from Internet services in Canada. And we fall on our own sword (sort of), explaining why we want CRTC to outline some rules for the COVID Alert app - because we want people to trust it cannot be misused, not that it should not...2020-10-1551 minWe fight for thatIntro to PIAC - Am I Going Crazy? - PIAC's COVID Alert app CRTC Application explained"We fight for that" - is the new podcast from the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) focussing on consumer protection in Canada. This first episode includes an introduction to PIAC, asking and answering why you, as a Canadian consumer, keep asking "Am I Going Crazy?" when you have a problem with your purchases and subscriptions; and a detailed explanation of PIAC's COVID Alert app CRTC Application, that seeks to limit government access to any personal information from contact-tracing in Canada. Our last segment, which we hope will be fun, is "I told you so!" - where we call out go...2020-09-1137 minWe fight for thatTrailer: We fight for that.Consumer protection news, advocacy and information in Canada from the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC).
2020-09-1100 min
Unpublished CafeCanadian Telecomms and Broadcasting RegulationsPUBLISHED: 04/14/2020
Brave and bold or same old same old. Two ends of the spectrum when it comes to Canada’s Broadcasting and Telecommunications Legislative Review panel’s final report. The result of 18 months of industry experts outlining what is needed in this country as the industry grapples with new, limber competitors in their traditional world.
The report provides us with 97 recommendations for the industry. Some may never see the light of day, while others could bring some challenges. On the political side of the Broadcasting and a Telecommunications Legislative Review panel report, the Conservatives felt it d...2020-03-1448 min
Broadcast Dialogue - The PodcastAn Interview with John Lawford, executive director of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC)The CRTC has unveiled its Internet Code for internet service providers, aimed at better safeguarding Canadians against the shady practices of big telecom. While introducing measures like more frequent usage warnings and an extended cancellation period, some public interest groups say the code doesn’t go far enough after a flawed process that saw most telecom researchers and consumer advocacy organizations boycott the proceeding.
On this episode of Broadcast Dialogue - The Podcast - John Lawford, executive director and general counsel for the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), who says in the current climate it's increasingly difficult for groups like PI...2019-08-0335 min
Policy TalksEpisode 19 - Internet Rights as Human Rights, Challenges and Policy ImplicationsGuests: Dwyane Winseck, Professor at the School of Journalism and Communication and John Lawford, Executive Director and General Counsel of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) in Ottawa.
2017-03-2434 min