Gas Prices Spike And Canadians Keep Filling Up | CBC News

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Gas prices keep climbing across the country, yet Canadians show no sign of slowing down how much gas and diesel they pump into their cars and trucks. Pump prices have jumped almost 20 cents per litre across Canada over the last three months for regular gasoline and are expected to continue rising this summer. On Wednesday, a litre of gasoline was more than $1.60 at some stations in Vancouver. Gas prices hit record in Vancouver, highest in North America Suncor, the parent company of Petro-Canada, announced on Wednesday record volume sales at…

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Big Telco’s Lower-Cost, Data-Only Plans Are ‘Embarrassing,’ Critics Say | CBC News

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Bell, Rogers and Telus’ proposed lower-cost, data-only wireless deals are no deal at all, say critics. The offerings include half a gigabyte (GB) of data for $30 a month. “It’s embarrassing and quite frankly it’s rude to think that these are functional plans,” said Laura Tribe, executive director of Open Media, a consumer watchdog group. In March, the CRTC announced that it would ensure Canadians have access to cheaper, data-only wireless deals. The plans are meant to fill a void while the telecom regulator reviews a recent decision that effectively hinders smaller, WiFi-based, national discount wireless carriers from operating in Canada. The…

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Your Legal Pot Buying Data Could Get You Banned From The U.S., Lawyers Warn – National | Globalnews.ca

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As laws on marijuana relax on both sides of the U.S.-Canadian border, attitudes have hardened at the border itself. When Canadians are able to buy legal recreational marijuana sometime this year, we are going to start generating a lot of consumer data. Some of it will be clearly linked to individuals: credit card purchases at physical stores and online ordering to home addresses, for example. And that could have lasting consequences. Canadians can be barred for life from the United States — even after legalization here — if a border…

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5 Reasons Why Gas Prices Are Set To Go Up In Canada — And Fast | CBC News

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The price of filling up a tank of gas is a classic Canadian irritation. But a confluence of factors may soon make that process even more gobsmacking than usual. Here’s a look at five reasons gas prices are soaring. A big one is that gas prices always rise around this time of year. “Usually we see a gasoline demand spike in the second week of June,” GasBuddy.com’s senior petroleum analyst Dan McTeague says. While few people put any thought to it on a fill-up, the chemical composition of gasoline is different in summer…

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FTC Warns Companies That Void Warranties Over Using 3rd Party Services | TechCrunch

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The days of reading the small print to see whether a repair or new part for your ailing laptop will void its warranty may be coming to an end. The FTC has officially warned several companies that their policies of ceasing support when a user attempts “non-approved” repairs or servicing are likely illegal. It’s the sort of thing where if you buy a device or car from a company, they inform you that unless you use approved, often internally branded parts, you’re voiding the warranty and your item will no…

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Telecom Mediator Adds Staff To Deal With Soaring Complaints About Bell, Rogers, Telus And Others | CBC News

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So many people filed complaints with the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services in recent months, the telecom mediator had to add staff to deal with the volume. In its mid-year report released today, the CCTS says it accepted 6,849 complaints between August 2017 and January 2018, a 73 per cent increase over the same period the previous year. “It’s disappointing,” says CCTS commissioner Howard Maker. “Obviously there are challenges — miscommunication, misunderstandings, poorly written documents. It’s a bit frustrating.” He attributed part of the increase in complaints to recent telecom coverage in the…

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Three Ways Blockchain Could Kill the Old-School Utility Model | Bloomberg Quint

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(Bloomberg) — If utilities think rooftop solar panels and batteries are bad for business, blockchain should scare the bejeezus out of them. That’s because in addition to helping more people slapl panels on their rooftops — which eats into power sales and taxes grids — the distributed, digital ledger that’s proliferated across industries can also be used to trade electricity without a utility even knowing it. Imagine your neighbor with a solar panel directly selling you cheap power to charge your Tesla. Sure, there are some utilities that see the…

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The Evolution of U.S. Electric Vehicle Charging Points [Infographic] | Forbes

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What a difference a decade makes. In 2017, people planning on following the electric route had a choice of 25 battery-electric vehicles, along with 26 plug-in hybrid models. As cars such as the Chevrolet Volt, Nissan Leaf and Tesla Models S and X became increasingly common sights on U.S. roads, the charging network also evolved to keep pace. The number of outlets really started to take off in 2012 when the total count nationwide hit 12,000. By the end of 2017, the number had surpassed 47,000 (including 6,270 fast charging…

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Global Electric Vehicle Market Looks To Fire On All Cylinders In 2018 | Forbes

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There’s more disruption brewing for the mobility industry as electric vehicles (EVs) continue to surge ahead in top gear. According to Frost & Sullivan’s recently released “Global Electric Vehicle Market Outlook 2018,” global sales are poised to climb from 1.2 million in 2017 to 1.6 million in 2018 and further upwards to an estimated 2 million in 2019. It’s not all smooth driving though as the EV industry needs to overcome major challenges related to battery technology and charging infrastructure, both of which have failed to match the cracking pace set…

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It’s A Canadian Thing: Why Big Phone Companies Still Dominate Internet Services Amid Cheaper Options | CBC News

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There are few things that raise the hackles of Canadian consumers more than the cost of telecom services. But when it comes to rising internet costs at least, Canadians may have only themselves to blame. “There isn’t a lot of price elasticity [because] consumers aren’t leaving,” says Prof. Brynn Winegard, who teaches the neuroscience and psychology of consumer behaviour at York University’s Schulich School of Business in Toronto. “They know they can get those prices from those consumers.” says Winegard. Two of the big telecommunication providers — Bell and Rogers…

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