The Future of Canada Post

Having incurred a loss of 100 million in the previous three months, Canada Post is thinking about introducing community boxes to more neighbourhoods where door to door home deliveries are the norm.

Though mostly attributed to equipment upgrades, this loss has resulted in a public consultation in regards to what measures can be taken to address the reduction of letter mail, which was once the corporation`s bread and butter before the internet.

E-mails and paperless billing have pretty much eliminated the need for  weekday letter deliveries for most people in the larger cities of Canada. But there remains a need for parcel deliveries, especially during the Christmas season.

Personally I’ve had very few problems with my community mailbox, other than the rare lock freezing in January and February. But I can see why some people would like to keep their home delivery.

The handicapped and seniors probably prefer to have their mail delivered so they don’t need to go out in bad weather and risk heat stroke, frostbites and injuries related to falls or smog.

I’m guessing these people will probably be eligible for a compassionate exemption programme and will keep getting their mail delivered at their door. But I think community mailboxes should work for most.

In regards to a reduction in letter mail deliveries, Canada Post had stated last February to the Canadian Press that it would continue deliveries weekdays, regardless of the rumours in the press that these would be reduced from five to three deliveries a week.

Whether they choose to reduce their letter deliveries or not  it makes sense for them to keep delivering mail to community mailboxes that receive parcels, so I’m guessing that deliveries at urban and sub-urban community mailboxes will remain unchanged for a while.

If there are any changes or news related to these deliveries I will an update on this blog.

October 19th, 2013 Comments Off on The Future of Canada Post Consumer Information Rob McIntyre

Success !

Almacantar has been released on iTunes in Canada and the United States.

Known primarily for hit singles "Kiss You When It’s Dangerous", "Sincere" and local Ottawa hit "Where’s Bula", this Rupert Hine production had been discontinued, like many 80’s albums in Canada. But I was one of the fortunate few to have secured a new copy of this album on compact disc shortly after it had been discontinued.

I thought it was a shame this album was no longer available so I decided to publish a simple web site called The Almacantar Project to promote its re-release. And this was of course well before the creation of iTunes so I had hoped it would be re-released on compact disc, which I understand may happen next year.

The band is of course no more. But this album’s singles still aired quite regularly in Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec since the band had moved on to other projects in the early 90’s so I am sure many listeners will appreciate being able to download the album.

October 18th, 2013 Comments Off on Success ! Music Technology, Random Bump Rob McIntyre

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, whose regular price is $17 in Canadian book stores but $15 in American book stores.

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" and "Runaway Horses" CD/DVD boxed sets from England for $35, shipping and handling included. These British releases would have cost me at least $42 to purchase in Canada, with free shipping but taxes not included.

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.

October 17th, 2013 Comments Off on My Thoughts On The Throne Speech Canadian Law, Consumer Information, Music Industry, Music Technology Rob McIntyre

Bloomberg Confirms Apple’s Plans

Bloomberg has confirmed that Apple will be expanding their iTunes Radio services to both Canada and the U.K early next year.

October 13th, 2013 Comments Off on Bloomberg Confirms Apple’s Plans Music Industry, Music Technology Rob McIntyre

Apple To Introduce New Radio Service In Canada

iTunesicon Radio is on its way into Canada, offering iTunesicon users on Macs, PC and Apple mobile devices the ability to create their own stations.

Funded by advertisements, the service will stream music from pre-set and customizable stations to iTunes icon and may be ad free for iTunes Matchicon subscribers.

The service will feature an extensive selection of recordings from iTunesicon’ catalogue.

October 6th, 2013 Comments Off on Apple To Introduce New Radio Service In Canada Consumer Information, Music Industry, Music Technology Rob McIntyre

Adobe Hacked

Adobe had been breached and have issued a consumer security alert.

Those of you with accounts at Adobe have probably received emails asking you to reset your password. You may also want to keep an eye out for Phishing attempts by fraudsters claiming to be Adobe and unusual activity on the credit cards you’ve used on Adobe. 

For additional details, consult the consumer security alert linked above.

October 5th, 2013 Comments Off on Adobe Hacked Consumer Information, Music Technology Rob McIntyre