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Wednesday May 08, 2013 |
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As the future of the proposed Canada - European Union Trade
Agreement becomes increasingly uncertain - the EU has been
unwilling to compromise on the remaining contentious issues
leaving the Canadian government with a deal that offers limited
benefits and significant costs - the Trans-Pacific Partnership
Agreement (TPP) is likely to emerge as the government's new top
trade priority. The TPP has rapidly become of the world's most significant trade
negotiations, with participants that include the United States,
Australia, Mexico, Malaysia, New Zealand, Vietnam, Japan, and
Canada. There is a veil of secrecy associated with the TPP,
however, as participants are required to sign a confidentiality
agreement as a condition of entry into the talks. Despite
those efforts, there have been occasional leaks of draft text that
indicate the deal could require major changes to Canadian rules on
investment, intellectual property, cultural protection,
procurement, and agriculture.
My weekly technology law column (Toronto
Star version, homepage
version) notes the Canadian government has adopted several
measures to guard against leaks by departmental officials.
According to documents obtained under the Access to Information
Act, a November 2012 email to government officials noted that
their access to TPP texts was conditioned on "Secret" level
clearance, an acknowledgement that all texts are watermarked and
can be traced back to the source, and confirmation that no sharing
within government is permitted without prior approval.
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Sunday March 10, 2013 |
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In the aftermath of the CRTC's hearing on a consumer wireless code and
the government's announcement of its plan for future spectrum auctions, a
debate has raged over the competitiveness and health of the Canadian
wireless market. Scotia Capital released a report last week titled "Canadian wireless myths and facts"
that argued the Canadian market is healthy and that "it is time for the
regulators to declare victory on the policies they adopted five years
ago". Meanwhile, Open Media issued a report titled Time for an Upgrade: Demanding Choice in Canada's Cell Phone Market
that places on the spotlight on many of the ongoing problems in the
market, with a particular focus on consumer complaints. The report
includes many recommendations for regulatory and policy reform.
The reality is that both the regulators and politicians have either
expressly or impliedly acknowledged that the Canadian wireless market is
uncompetitive. Last week, Industry Minister Christian Paradis promoted
the government's past moves on wireless competition, but admitted that "there is much more to do." Meanwhile, the Competition Bureau told the CRTC in its submission on the wireless code of conduct that:
certain impediments continue to diminish the effect of competitive
forces in this industry. First, certain industry practices have tended
to impose costs on consumers who wish to avail themselves of competitive
alternatives. Second, consumers are not always provided with sufficient
information in an adequately clear manner to make informed purchase
decisions.
This post seeks to extend the debate and respond to some of Scotia
Capital's claims. It identifies ten reasons why there is ample evidence
that the Canadian wireless market remains woefully uncompetitive when
compared with peer countries around the world with higher costs, price
gouging, and restrictive terms.
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Tuesday October 09, 2012 |
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After months of delays, Canada (and Mexico) have officially joined
the Trans Pacific Partnership negotiations. The next round of talks
is scheduled to take place in New Zealand in December.
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Tuesday September 04, 2012 |
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The Economist focuses
on new copyright rules for the digital age, rightly pointing to Bill
C-11 as "setting a new standard of permissiveness" (though it
neglects to mention the restrictive digital lock rules).
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