Consumer Protection

FAQs

Litigation

Today, CIPPIC submitted a letter to the Financial Services Commission of Ontario highlighting the case for expanding the Ontario Consumer Protection Act so that it will better protect consumers from informational and other deficiencies in interactions with financial institutions.  Many such financial institutions are currently excluded from the CPA, yet consumers require CPA safeguards just as much during financial transactions as elsewhere, if not more.  The letter calls for a more detailed investigation of the issue.

A massive coalition of Canada's leading consumer advocates have today released an open letter calling on the Canadian government to embrace copyright policies that put Canada's interests first.  Consumer advocates from across the country - including two of Quebec's leading consumer rights organizations - have demanded a principled approach to copyright policy from Canada's government that rejects any law modeled on the American Digital Millennium Copyright Act.  Signatories include Union des consommateurs, Option consommateurs, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), the Consumers Council of Canada,

Modifying its earlier Decision ordering all large telecom service providers (TSPs) to join a new industry-funded consumer complaints body, the CRTC has limited mandatory membership in the CCTS to three years, clarified that contractual TSP liability limitations continue to apply to indirect damages, and decided that collective complaints are subject to the $5K cap applicable to individual complaints.
CRTC News Release and Decision 2008-46

On May 29, 2009, CIPPIC submitted a letter to the Financial Services Commission of Ontario, calling for an expansion of the protections found in the Ontario Consumer Protection Act, 2002 so that these protections would apply to financial services as well.
On November 3, 2004, CIPPIC Associate Alex Cameron presented a brief to the Senate Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology on Bill S-9, proposed amendments to the Copyright Act that would give photographers first ownership of copyright in the photographs they take.

On January 30, 2004, CIPPIC filed comments with the Ontario Ministry of Consumer and Business Services (MCBS) on its draft regulations under the Consumer Protection Act, 2002, as they would affect online transactions.

 

The term Trusted Computing refers to a computer hardware and software design paradigm pioneered by the Trusted Computing Group that aims to make personal computers more secure.  The technology ensures that a computer only runs trusted software, and only communicates to other computers that are also running trusted software.  Trusted Computing has the potential to increase computer security, but is also controversial because it transfers some control of a computer away from the user to a “trusted” third party. 
In late July, 2007, CIPPIC followed the lead of public interest groups in the USA and Europe by asking Canadian competition authorities to review the proposed merger of Google and DoubleClick on the grounds that it will substantially prevent or lessen competition in the online targeted advertising market.
On June 9, 2006, CIPPIC, together with the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), filed an application for leave to intervene in the Supreme Court of Canada appeal of a Quebec Court of Appeal decision by Dell Computer Corporation. Dell was appealing a determination that the mandatory arbitration clause in its standard terms and conditions of sale was unenforceable against consumers because it was not properly brought to their attention. Dell merely included a hyperlink to the terms and conditions of sale on its website.