If there is one thing that unites Canadians across the political spectrum it is our undying hatred of our telecom situation
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EU & Canada to sign free-trade agreement (CETA) on Sunday
- Thread starter chadskin
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Canada is way too big to get that sort of pricing. Infrastructure will never be cheap in Canada.
gutter_trash
Banned
Canada's geographical size has nothing to do with telecom prices.
Canada isn't big, it's actually small. Really small in terms of population for its geographical size
You have 3 Big companies Bell, Rogers and Telus who collude and engage in price fixing
Absolutely false. Infrastructure is relatively inexpensive at this point.
The problem with Wind when it rolled out was that the other Telcos deliberately filled their towers or left crappy spots when Wind wanted to share towers.
The back haul is also simplified because everything is on internet-based protocols anyway.
I'm sorry this can't be a serious post. Canada's pricing problems have enormous amount to do with its geographic size and the difficulties of maintaining infrastructure in the conditions it sees. Even though a majority of the Canadian populace is within 200 kilometres of the border, that's still a larger amount of territory than any country in Europe, with a comparatively small population.
gutter_trash
Banned
that is not the reason for the price gauging
the price gauging is due to quasi-monopolistic tactics and price fixing among the Big 3
All countries see monopolistic tactics in telecoms to some extent. This isn't unique to Canada. What is unique is the size and conditions they operate in.
killer rin
Member
Good to see this trade deal go through. Interested to see how both of our economies will grow because of it
It almost certainly is possible to get those prices. We don't need towers in the middle of nowhere, nor do we need them on random chunks of ice in the north. You just need to cover population centers and the roads
It almost certainly is possible to get those prices. We don't need towers in the middle of nowhere, nor do we need them on random chunks of ice in the north. You just need to cover population centers and the roads
gutter_trash
Banned
you need to visit other countries more
Visited just over 20, lived in three, hope to do much more. Thanks for the advice!
It's not just a simple majority – over 90% of the population lives that close to the border. That's a significantly smaller footprint than the USA, yet Canada is significantly more expensive in pricing.
The collusion between the three main telecoms is most certainly the driving factor behind the grotesque prices.
I heard something vague about weakening ISDS but there's also the general nerfing CETA got due to the massive public protests against it.
The UK asked for a special treatment that would let them keep CETA independent of EU membership... Generally the UK is the country that pushes the EU towards neoliberalism, the rest of the union is more left leaning.
Mr. Giggles
Member
We don't...we don't talk about them... What maple syrup mafia?
TemplaerDude
Member
ClosingADoor
Member
Countries like Norway, Sweden and Finland would have the same conditions. Relatively large for their population with only a few major cities where the people are concentrated.
You don't need full coverage or the fastest speeds in the middle of nowhere.
Vampirolol
Member
This story gest even better when you realize that "Darth Maple Syrup" is a name Lucas could have come up with.
As someone who works at a telco, who has to deal with Rogers/Telus/Bell on a regular basis (along with the transit providers like Allstream/Zayo/Hibernia), there is a "little" bit more to it than that.
I'm not saying it's not at least partially their practices that caused this, but there is a little bit more nuance to it.
Also environmental condtions are like the least of our worries. Aside from your routine train derailment/ship anchor/guy shooting at fibers, most equipment is build/designed/deployed with the canadian weather in mind.
Honestly you'd be shocked how badly PR gets for a company if they don't make an honest effort to supply equal service to outlying areas. And it's usually a losing proposition, since the cost of deploying/maintaining those "middle of nowhere areas" definitely outweights the income we'd get from the few customers that'll be out there.
But especially now, in a world where people expect to be able to take their cell phones just about anywhere and always have it working, they get mad when they can't get service out in the middle of fucking nowhere.
newtypepilot
Member
now EU can enjoy our bagged milk
Mr. Giggles
Member
It wouldn't be the first time, I mean... there was the commonwealth before the EU..
Phantast2k
Member
Heckler456
Banned
From what I've heard, they got some exemptions.
D
Deleted member 231381
Unconfirmed Member
Canada's population isn't equally distributed, though. 83% of the population live in continuous urban areas, and then I'd assume a reasonable proportion beyond that are satellites of said urban areas. The actual amount of area you have to cover is not especially large compared to any other country of comparable population.
There will always be a 5% of whatever of Canadians it is disproportionately difficult to reach compared to most other countries, but it really isn't the main problem here.
Trade deals aren't inherently bad, of course, but there are enough red flags in CETA particularly to make a lot of people worry about its effects. Like stuff related to nature conservation. Sure, its defenders say that CETA has all kinds of jargon about nature's protection being important, but from what I've understood, all of it is basically just suggestions and not legally binding, whereas all the investor protection stuff is legally binding and opens up whole nations to being vulnerable to big corporations suing if they, say, try to introduce new laws to protect nature that affect those big corporations (negatively).
It just potentially makes nature conservation harder when nations have more hurdles to go through if they want to introduce new laws concerning conservation. It seems hard enough for governments to make important decisions relating to battling climate change & ruining nature. It'll become even harder if big corporations flash the possibility of some billion dollar lawsuits if "harmful" laws are introduced in some country. This is bad because we are at a point where we really need to take drastic measures to battle all kinds of environmental issues not to end up with a worldwide catastrophe and all the things CETA will possibly make possible are things that go against us taking steps in the right direction, potentially acting as breaks at a time when we need to accelerate our efforts of environmental protection.
All of this could have been pretty easily prevented with stricter language in the parts of CETA that are about these issues instead of being so soft-handed about environmental issues while protecting the big money at all costs.
And environmental protection isn't the only thing that has the potential to suffer.
Frankfurter
Member
That maple syrup discounts.
MedicUnderFire
Neo Member
Now Canada can enjoy our canned burgers.
I need to see what it actually looks like, when it comes out of the tin.
You really would not want to. Trust me.
As long as it gets cheap here too. 90% of the year a can of maple syrup like this
cost around 8$ or 9$.
Confrontation
Member
Wasn't really following it, despite it being in the news here in Belgium nonstop. Why were Wallonia and Magnette playing hardball in the first place?
You do know which party is currently the most popular in the UK right? You do realise that in the position the country is in right now, they will probably swallow any trade deal that comes their way.
It's a good thing to piss off farmers?
We get 250 ml for ~5. And it's not always on shelves either.
-Plasma Reus-
Service guarantees member status
I hope Canada gets closer and closer. Then freedom of movement between Canadians and Europeans happens.
RocknRola
Member
That is a sin against Humanity.
If you're worried about US companies, they'd only need a subsidiary in Canada (which most of them have) to take advantage of the treaty... that's why it was referred to as TTIP through the back door.
if you are a nation of 5 million, sure. If you are a the biggest trading block in the world with more than 500 million inhabitants? no tariff in the world would companies stop from trying to do business there
because usually they are trade deals in name only.
yeah, just ask the US how they feel about getting sued by that canadian oil company through nafta
this deal isn't going to change that, tariffs are already miniscule
That's cute. US got nothing with Canada being the most sued country in the worldyeah, just ask the US how they feel about getting sued by that canadian oil company through nafta
~ Zyzomys ~
Member
Unfortunately supply management is still in effect. We do get a boost in dairy imports but i think it'll mostly be the high end cheeses. we will still get goug d by the dairy farmers.
When they run a cartel that supply manages and price gouges Canadians to the point that we pay some of the highest prices for dairy in the western world, yes it is.
That's true, but they will definitely start to feel some of the squeeze from competition. The dairy farmers are already trying to negotiate with the government about compensation for lost revenue as a result of CETA, which, to me, seems extremely entitled.
I read that European cheese exporters will now be able to export 30k tonnes of cheese to Canada, up from 13k that they're allowed to export right now, so that's a nice boost.
Well, you asked:
Yikes. I'd rather have a plain piece of bread.
Yah, i think it's ridiculous considering the already favorable market conditions they're allowed. A coworker of mine says she has to buy milk in Ottawa because it's cheaper than in Quebec. $6 in hatineau compared to $4.27 for 4 L.
don't get me started on the cheese.
But as i said before. i hope the wine market opens up for us.
Damn, the prices are high in Quebec, and the lobby must have an insane advertising budget because their ads are everywhere.
You should, the producers can't get a profit from it, many survive because of the government support.
My main concerne about this deal is the rule that states can't press charges in court against corporations
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