A Nova Scotia man is unhappy that Bell Aliant won’t be accepting cash or cheque payments at its stores beginning Jan. 1, 2018. Instead, the company will only accept payment by debit and credit card. “It’s difficult to understand how legal tender is not good for business these days and my concern is for those who perhaps don’t have a credit card or a debit card and the inconveniences this will cause them,” said Maurice Rees, the publisher of The Shoreline Journal, a monthly paper in Bass River, N.S. He thinks…
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‘Open Banking’ Holds Promise But Cybersecurity Fears Loom For Canadian Banks – National | Globalnews.ca
TORONTO – As banks work to fortify their cybersecurity defences amidst a growing number of data breaches, they are also exploring the promise of so-called “open banking,” a concept that could finally disrupt the staid financial services industry. Customers have increasingly moved away from physical branches towards online and mobile apps, but banking has yet to reach its “Uberization” moment, one that breaks down traditional models to usher in new innovations, as Uber has done for the taxi industry. Open banking – granting third-parties like financial technology startups access to…
Read MoreSpies More Free To Use Cellphone Surveillance Tech Without Warrant, Under Court Ruling – Technology & Science – CBC News
A federal court judge has ruled that Canada’s domestic spy agency can continue to use contentious cellphone surveillance devices without a warrant, in some cases. For several years, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has used a device it calls a Cell Site Simulator (CSS) to collect information about cellphones and other cellular-capable devices — such as some laptops or tablets — during its national security investigations. The devices are perhaps better known as IMSI Catchers or Stingrays, and pretend to be legitimate cellphone towers in order to collect information. Privacy…
Read MoreConsumer Complaints About Telecoms On The Rise — Wireless Issues Most Common Beef – Business – CBC News
Canadians are becoming more vocal about poor service by their telecom providers, according to a report released on Tuesday by Canada’s telecom watchdog, the Commission for Complaints for Telecom Services (CCTS). The report shows in 2016-17, consumers filed more than 9,000 complaints with the CCTS. That’s up 11 per cent over the previous year, when 8,197 complaints were accepted, and reverses a three-year trend that saw complaints decline. Most people who filed a formal complaint were ticked off about their wireless accounts, accounting for 46 per cent of all complaints. Linda…
Read MoreCanada Should Fight For Open Internet, Says Former Head Of FCC – Politics – CBC News
The former head of the Federal Communications Commission in the U.S. has a strong warning for Canada: do what you can to protect the internet. Tom Wheeler, head of the FCC under former U.S. president Barack Obama, said the Trump administration’s decision to repeal his net neutrality policy could become a cross-border issue. In 2015, Wheeler approved an order that barred internet service providers from blocking or slowing down consumer access to web content. This week, his replacement, Republican Ajit Pai, unveiled plans to repeal that decision and said the U.S. regulator will prevent states…
Read MoreNo Relief At The Pumps For Consumers, As Refiners Pocket Benefit Of Low Oil Prices | CTV News
There may be no fact of life more confounding to ordinary Canadians than gas prices. They seem to go up at the first whisper of climbing oil prices, but don’t fall nearly as fast when barrels of oil sell for less. That’s certainly true right now. Oil is selling for about US$55 a barrel, about half of an eight-year peak of $108 in 2014. The average barrel price that year was $88. Gas prices hit a high of $1.41 a litre in Canada in 2014 and averaged $1.28 for the…
Read MoreCanada, U.K. Join Forces To Phase Out Coal, But At Least 2 Canadian Provinces Want Out – National | Globalnews.ca
Canada and the United Kingdom have enticed 18 other nations to adopt their mutual goal of weaning themselves off coal-fired power – but at least two provinces are trying to negotiate their way out of the federal government’s own domestic plan. Environment Minister Catherine McKenna was all smiles Thursday as she and her British counterpart officially launched the Global Alliance to Power Past Coal at the United Nations climate change talks in Germany. Eighteen countries, five provinces and two states signed onto the Canada-U.K. alliance. “We’re seeing huge momentum for…
Read MoreCRTC Weighs Impact On Revised Wireless Code Following Rogers Request For Delay – Business – CBC News
A revised wireless code, which originally went into effect in 2013, would tie data caps for shared plans to single accounts, no matter how many devices are listed. Rogers is seeking a delay of the implementation of the revised code. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press) It’s all but certain that the Canadian telecom industry’s revised wireless code of conduct won’t be fully implemented before Christmas, including a change in the way customers are billed when data usage goes over their contract’s limit. While the CRTC hasn’t ruled yet on a delay requested…
Read MoreCanada Aligning With U.K. To Fight Global Growth In Coal-Fired Electricity – Politics – CBC News
Canada is joining forces with the United Kingdom to push for a global crackdown on unabated coal-fired electricity. Eliminating, or at least reducing, the world’s reliance on coal is a critical step in the Paris climate change accord’s efforts to prevent the planet from warming more than two degrees Celsius over with pre-industrial times. Environment Minister Catherine McKenna is on a two-day trip to the U.K. and Ireland this week, pushing Canada as a global leader on climate change action. On Thursday she will be in Ireland to be a panelist…
Read MoreFederal government failing to put climate plan into action, environmental watchdog finds – Politics – CBC News
The federal government must put its plan to cut greenhouse gases and adapt to climate change into concrete action to mitigate the catastrophic effects of wildfires, floods and extreme weather events, Canada’s environment watchdog warns. In a blunt fall audit report tabled in the House of Commons on Tuesday, Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development Julie Gelfand said the government has failed to implement successive emissions-reduction plans, and is not prepared to adapt to the life-threatening, economically devastating impacts of a changing climate. It is “crucial” that the government…
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