Bill S-4 – (The not quite) Digital Privacy Act ?
I had originally wanted to wait until the Privacy Commissioner of Canada released a report on Bill S-4 before commenting but decided that I should just go ahead and post something about this senate bill.
This bill was proposed to help in the cases of security breaches, to help control identity theft. But unfortunately it may also cause individuals to have their information given to third parties without their consent or knowledge.
“an organization may disclose personal information without the knowledge or consent of the individual if
(a) the disclosure is made to the other organization, the government institution or the part of a government institution that was notified of the breach under subsection (1); and
(b) the disclosure is made solely for the purposes of reducing the risk of harm to the individual that could result from the breach or mitigating that harm.” – Bill S-4, Section 10.2 (3)
Furthermore warrants may not be required under Bill C-13 and the costs associated to the infrastructure required to keep records of your online activities would be passed onto either consumers and/or taxpayers.
Are to believe this bill is meant to improve our situation ? We would be paying more for internet and give more private information to a government that was just hacked because of the Heartbeat Bug.
I think this bill needs to be re-written. And if you do too I think you should sign the Open Media petition on Privacy.
Thank you.
Budget Day Goodies ?
Today is Budget Day in Ottawa. And the current government has been promising to address some issues related to the higher prices Canadians pay for certain products.
Canadians pay significantly more for certain products than the Americans and although some of the price differences can be attributed to tariffs, labour and transportation costs, much of the purchase price is pre-determined by the manufacturer.
“Country Pricing” has become the standard and unfortunately Canada’s prices have not been adjusted to match our dollar’s strength.
Some online retailers have done their best to match prices but Canadians were still forced to either import products from the states or pay higher prices at their local retailers.
I suspect that tariffs will be reduced or eliminated on certain products in this budget, perhaps on books, clothing, electronics and home appliances.
Those are the most imported products, especially on Black Friday. But I’m also hoping they will follow the recommendations in the February 2013 Senate Committee report of the US/Canada Price Gap and raise the de minimis threshold for postal shipments from $20.
When you import most products by mail you are exempt from duties, fees and taxes if the product or products shipped are valued at less than $20 Canadian.
I’ve managed to save some money using they exemption. But many countries like the United States, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore had raised this minimum to US$100 in November 2011, enabling their citizens to avoid paying the hefty brokerage fees some couriers charge on parcels.
Brokerage fees have recently gone up in Canada so I’m hoping they will at least consider a CAN$50 threshold.
The other probabilities in the budget are reductions in credit card/banking fees, funding for an expansion of high speed internet into rural areas, and the unbundling of cable channels so I guess lots of Canadians will be watching this afternoon.
The budget broadcast will air on television and online on CPAC at 4PM Eastern. Details on the budget will also be made available on the Government’s Official Site after 4 PM Eastern.
My Thoughts On The Throne Speech
There were quite a few music related issues mentioned in the throne speech that I’d like to discuss, so here they are in the order presented in the speech :
Government assets
“Our Government will review federal assets; when it is in the best interest of Canadians, they will be sold.”
Unfortunately that may include the CBC/Radio Canada, which has been in the cross hairs for years.
The CBC/Radio Canada has remained a constant for the promotion of Canadian music so its loss to another major network would be felt through-out Canada. And I’m hoping that the support shown during the recent CRTC hearings will keep the CBC/Radio Canada going. But I suspect the current government will cut into this public broadcaster’s budget again soon.
Heather Conway will be the new executive vice-president of English-language services at the CBC in a few weeks so we should know CBC’s fate soon.
Cable/Wireless
“Our Government will take steps to reduce roaming costs on networks within Canada. Our Government believes Canadian families should be able to choose the combination of television channels they want. It will require channels to be unbundled, while protecting Canadian jobs.”
A deduction on wireless roaming fees would be great. But I have some doubt in regards to the reduction of cable fees through unbundling.
Yes, it would be more convenient to choose which channels you want. But will choosing individual channels result in lower monthly bills for the average consumer ?
The providers have been hiking their rates significantly higher than the rate of inflation, claiming the expansion of their services justified these rates. And I suspect they will fight any reduction tooth and nail until their industry is eventually decimated by online broadcasting.
The CRTC will be holding public hearings on the future of Cable and Satellite television, starting on the 24th of this month, and I’m sure Canadian consumers will make it abundantly clear that it’s time to move on.
I, for one, will probably only have an antenna and internet access in four to five years if they don’t get their hikes under control.
Rural Internet
“Our Government will continue enhancing high-speed broadband networks for rural Canadians.”
Good news but I just hope the rates will be more reasonable. There definitely needs to be a reduction in price to make these services more affordable to the average Canadian consumer.
I would hate having to download music and stream music videos using the very limited speeds found in some rural communities. And with cutbacks at Canada Post access will become essential.
At Par Purchasing ?
“And our Government will take additional action to protect Canadian consumers. Canadians are tired of hidden fees. They deserve to know the real cost of paying by debit or credit card. And they should not be charged more in Canada for identical goods that sell for less in the United States.”
When I purchase books I mostly purchase music biographies, industry books and sheet music. But I’ve pretty much given up on purchasing books in my local book stores because of the higher Canadian sticker prices.
I don’t think the industry can be helped now because of the e-Book, which is much more convenient. But it could help people who prefer paperbacks, like yours truly.
My most recent paperback purchase was Belinda Carlisle’s Lips Unsealed: A Memoir
The difference in price is usually attributed to higher labour and transportation costs but many consumers have been questioning whether this is a valid argument since our dollar got strong.
Seriously, if it weren’t for the shipping costs I’d probably buy more from the states and several Americans companies have already started offering free shipping to Canadians. The Canadian retailers definitely need to get their prices down.
The prices on compact discs and DVDs/Blu-rays are o.k but when it comes to imports I can still find better deals outside of Canada, even with shipping & handling.
For example, I just imported Belinda Carlisle’s “Heaven On Earth
I don’t know what measures can be taken to help this situation on the federal level. But as a consumer I’d appreciate lower costs.
I’m sure rural Canadians would enjoy an elimination of the fees associated to paper billing proposed in this speech. But I’m guessing public consultations will probably be required for most of these changes.
I will of course post additional details on these issues as they come along.
New Fee May Hurt Small Clubs
The Calgary Herold reported yesterday that new fees for international performers have been introduced on July 31st, 2013.
Non-Canadian musicians, technicians, sound engineers, crew members and tour managers may now be subject to a $275 fee, per person, per venue. This amount is added to the $150 work permit fee that most of these people are required to pay to work in Canada.
Prior to the introduction of this fee most bands were subject to a maximum of $450 to play Canada’s smaller venues. But now the fees have quadrupled for some international acts resulting in extra expenditures that will be passed along to consumers.
This new fee will also hurt new and upcoming international performers who have not yet gained enough of an audience in Canada to play the larger venues, some of which are tax exempt.
A petition against the implementation of this fee is available at change.org. Please consider signing this petition.
Thank You.
Library and Archives Canada’s Secret Deal
I’ve been keeping an eye out for details on this secret deal for several days now, since the Ottawa Citizen broke the story.
Apparently Library and Archives Canada has decided to contract out their digital conversion. And instead of consulting the archivists of Canada, they entered into secret negotiations with canadiana.org in exchange for an exclusive contract that would last ten years.
Unfortunately this deal may translate into user fees for Canadians who want to access anything considered other than “basic” on the database. And the Ottawa Citizen article mentions a $10 per month fee for this online access, making some wonder why Canadians need to pay to access their own material.
Having accessed these services for decades for free, I am concerned that these fees may shut out researchers like yours truly. Will I be able to access this database for free at the Archives in Ottawa ? Will individuals have access through their public library for free ? Will students be able to access the database via their university or college for free ?
Yes, it is quite expensive and time consuming to digitize material. But what will happen after that contract expires ? The public has clearly not been consulted and were not given answers as to what is involved here.
And this is why I signed the openmedia.org petition and may also consider contacting my local Member of Parliament over this issue.
Please consider doing this as well on this Canada Day weekend.