Rogers v. Rogers Part Deux: McCain v. McCain

@alexposadzki.bsky.social
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Weekly Roundup: Google Loses Again in Canada's Competition Court Plus: Airlines caught in one scandal after another, Amazon scores a win in fake review case, and did the CIA conspire to make a more compliant music industry?

If you're interested in competition issues in Canada, Peter Nowak's "Do Not Pass Go" substack is becoming a must-read. This weekend, his weekly roundup included a story on how cable companies are defying the CRTC to push out the small amount of competition they have left:

Screenshot: TekSavvy Solutions Inc. Quarterly Transparency Report Reporting period: July 1, 2025 to September 30, 2025 Published April 2026 Introduction The purpose of this report from TekSavvy is to provide insight into our disclosure practices by detailing how often we receive and respond to government agencies’ requests for the personal information of our end users. This edition of our Transparency Report contains information about requests that we received between July 1, 2025 to September 30, 2025. As of the date when this report was published, at least six months have passed since we received or responded to each of those requests. The Government of Canada has endorsed the development and issuance of transparency reports. Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) has subsequently developed Transparency Reporting Guidelines. Although we have adopted most of those Guidelines, we have decided to deviate in respect of how we present the data. Specifically, <snip>

📢 Today, TekSavvy published a **Quarterly Transparency Report** about requests we got from police and how we handled them.

This report covers the period from July to Sept, 2025 and as usual, I’m summarizing that report here 🧵👇🏼

#Privacy #Transparency #TransparencyReport #Telecom #TekSavvy
1/9

Thanks for reading. You can get back to the top of this thread here:

bsky.app/profile/andy...

10/10

TekSavvy Solutions Inc. Law Enforcement Guide TekSavvy Solutions Inc. is a provider of Internet access, voice telephony, and related telecommunication services. Hastings Cable Vision Ltd. is a broadcast distribution undertaking, Internet and voice service provider, and an affiliate of TekSavvy Solutions Inc. This document refers to both companies together as the TekSavvy Companies, or simply as “TekSavvy”. We retain subscriber information in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. As innovators in the protection of online consumer rights, we are committed to protecting the privacy of our customers. The purpose of this Guide is to assist law enforcement agencies in understanding TekSavvy’s retention and disclosure practices. That being said, these practices are subject to change without notice. Table of Contents ...

TekSavvy is the only ISP in Canada (AFAIK) that publishes detailed information about how we handle requests from law enforcement. You can learn more from our Law Enforcement Guide, which includes what info we have about subscribers, and when we do or do not disclose it. www.teksavvy.com/pol...
9/9

Finally, as always: Sometimes our numbers don’t add up perfectly, or may not be totally complete, mostly because it's hard to perfectly keep track of every informal request, including so-called "jurisdiction requests". There may be small discrepancies in our numbers due to that.
8/9

Screenshot: 5) Disclosures Made at the Initiative of the Organization During this reporting period, TekSavvy did not perform any disclosures to government agencies on our own initiative. This category describes any disclosures TekSavvy made proactively. We only make voluntary disclosures if TekSavvy becomes aware of a real and imminent threat to someone’s wellbeing or when we are required by law to make such a disclosure. These kinds of circumstances do not arise often. When they do, they most frequently result from one of our agents overhearing physical violence during a phone interaction with our customers. TekSavvy Policy We record all of our phone conversations with our customers, within the technical constraints of our systems. These recordings are retained for a period of two years to assist in the resolution of service-related or billing disputes.

This quarter, we made no proactive reports to law enforcement. These are when an agent overhears violence or threats. It is never about a customer's online activity; we do not track that. From our stats, we make proactive disclosures about 5 times per year, with a record of 5 in one quarter.
7/9

Screenshot: 4) Administrative Requests Of the 39 requests received during this reporting period, 2 requests for information were “administrative requests”. TekSavvy provided the requested information in response to 1 request but did not have any relevant information in response to the other request. This category describes any requests for information about TekSavvy’s customers made by government agencies exercising their administrative powers. Administrative powers are, broadly speaking, powers that are created by law and exercised by government agencies or government officials, ranging from tax audits to the issuance of licences and permits.

We received 2 "Administrative" requests from agencies that are not technically "law enforcement", but had power to *compel* disclosure, i.e. we had to disclose. Administrative agencies are typically a tax agency or the CRTC's enforcement folks. In this period, we disclosed in 1 out of 2 cases.
6/9

Screenshot: 2) Emergency (Exigent) Requests Of the 39 requests received during this reporting period, 10 were requests for information in relation to exigent or emergency circumstances. TekSavvy provided the requested information in response to all 10 of those requests. This category includes all requests made in relation to “an emergency that threatens the life, health or security of an individual” as set out in subsection 7(3)(e) of PIPEDA which allows organizations such as TekSavvy to disclose a subscriber’s personal information without their knowledge or consent. TekSavvy Policy Before disclosing information in response to an exigent or emergency request, TekSavvy requires the agency making the request to answer a series of questions intended to establish the urgency of the request and the importance of the requested information. This approach ensures compliance with subsection 7(3)(e) of PIPEDA before we disclose the requested information. <snip>

There were 10 emergency requests this quarter, and we identified subscribers in all 10 cases. Average is under 8 requests, so this is a tad high but fairly typical. Our disclosure rate in response to those requests seems consistent -- our policy for when to respond has not changed.
5/9

Our disclosure rate is usually lower for provincial than for federal requests: From 2020-now, we disclosed info for ~90% of fed requests, but 62% of prov. Why? Fed agencies act fast while we have logs and rarely make informal requests. However this quarter, we disclosed for 80% of prov requests.
4/9

A line graph titled 'Requests for information from Federal agencies fell off a cliff in 2024' displays data from Q1 2017 to Q3 2025. It features two lines: yellow for provincial requests and blue for federal requests. The y-axis ranges from 0 to 50. Provincial requests fluctuate between roughly 10 and 44, with noticeable peaks in Q3 of 2022 and 2024, and show a rising trend in 2024. Federal requests decline sharply starting in Q2 2024, dropping to nearly zero by Q3 2024 and remaining low into 2025.

Requests from federal agencies remains very low compared to pre-2024, at just 2. From 2020-23, the avg number of fed requests per Q was 25; since 2024, it has been under 5. Fed requests dropped in 2024, while Prov requests rose. We don't know why it's happening; changes in police practices? 🤷
3/9

Screenshot of a table showing data about the requests and orders TekSavvy received, broken down by Authority, Jurisdiction, the type of order/request, and how it was handled.

Download at www.teksavvy.com/pol... (now in English and French)

The number of requests and disclosures in this report is pretty typical. In Q3 2025, we got 39 requests and orders, compared to:

59 in Q4 2023
39 in Q1 2024
40 in Q2 2024
40 in Q3 2024
39 in Q4 2024
36 in Q1 2025
51 in Q2 2025
2/9

Screenshot: TekSavvy Solutions Inc. Quarterly Transparency Report Reporting period: July 1, 2025 to September 30, 2025 Published April 2026 Introduction The purpose of this report from TekSavvy is to provide insight into our disclosure practices by detailing how often we receive and respond to government agencies’ requests for the personal information of our end users. This edition of our Transparency Report contains information about requests that we received between July 1, 2025 to September 30, 2025. As of the date when this report was published, at least six months have passed since we received or responded to each of those requests. The Government of Canada has endorsed the development and issuance of transparency reports. Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) has subsequently developed Transparency Reporting Guidelines. Although we have adopted most of those Guidelines, we have decided to deviate in respect of how we present the data. Specifically, <snip>

📢 Today, TekSavvy published a **Quarterly Transparency Report** about requests we got from police and how we handled them.

This report covers the period from July to Sept, 2025 and as usual, I’m summarizing that report here 🧵👇🏼

#Privacy #Transparency #TransparencyReport #Telecom #TekSavvy
1/9

I wonder when we'll see the Charter Statement for Bill C-22, An Act Respecting Lawful Access? www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/...

Marc Chagall

Tonight is different from any other night: Passover begins. More than a seder, 4 glasses of wine, matzah, Miriam, Moses, the exodus of Jewish slaves from Egypt, for many of us it is time to consider modern plagues and suffering, to reaffirm commitment to tikkun olam, healing the world. Chag sameach.

Photograph. A historic stone building labeled ‘STEAMPUNK HQ,’ with a large steampunk‑style metal sculpture mounted on rocks in front, under a partly cloudy sky.

Photograph, a selfie. Multiple narrow waterfalls cascade down a steep, forested mountainside, with a great looking family in colourful raincoats in the foreground beneath mist and cloud.

...visited this incredibly weird steampunk museum,
...and generally saw a lot of waterfalls!

Thanks for reading this. I'm posting more photos over on my #pixelfed account, pixelfed.social/andykm, so follow there for more.
7/7

Photograph. Two small human figures stand on opposite ridgelines with arms raised, silhouetted against a snow‑capped mountain and blue sky with scattered clouds.

Photograph. Night sky filled with stars and a faint band of the Milky Way, with dark tree silhouettes along the edge of the frame.

Photograph. Sailboat mast and rigging in the foreground, with steep, forested mountains rising behind under a clear blue sky.

Photograph. Close‑up of green fern fronds in the foreground, with tiny blue points of light scattered on a dark, damp rock surface behind them.

Other than the Milford Track, we hiked at the base of Aoraki/Mt Cook, NZ's highest peak,
...saw the southern stars (find the Southern Cross!),
...spent a night on a boat in a fjord,
...saw glowworms,

6/7

Photograph. A massive tree trunk covered in moss and ferns, with a small wooden structure embedded at its base, surrounded by dense forest.

In the 1800s they used pigeons to communicate, but by the early 1900s they had a phone line; there are still remnants of wires and phoneboxes there. There’s still no cell service near the track; they use walkie-talkies. But here's a phone box built into a tree:
5/7

Photograph. A large bird, a parrot, with wings fully spread perches on a thin branch, showing patterned feathers with reddish markings, against a rocky hillside and sky.

I know I'll get roasted for this, but NZ honestly feels a bit weird in that there is almost no wildlife at all. There are native birds but no native mammals and no predators, but it's even rare to see many birds. But we did see some rare ones including this Kea, an alpine parrot:
4/7

Photograph. A lone hiker with a backpack stands on a rocky stream bed in a wide green valley, surrounded by steep mountains under an overcast sky.

Photograph. Several hikers walk along a narrow muddy trail through grassy hills, with low clouds partially obscuring steep mountains in the background.

Photograph. Three hikers stand on grass at the base of a tall waterfall cascading down a steep, moss‑covered cliff.

Photograph. Three hikers stand on a narrow suspension bridge over a river, with dense forest and a mist‑covered mountain rising behind them.

We basically hiked up this valley, over this mountain pass, the Mackinnon Pass, to this waterfall (Sutherland Falls, actually the reason this track was developed in the first place), and then out through this rainforest (welcome to Jurassic Park):
3/7

A photo of 3 Canadians walking on a forested hiking trail with backpacks.

The main thing on this trip was hiking the Milford Track, a 53 km four-day hike that's a well-known bucket list destination. Most of the hike, my view was something like this:
2/7

A photo of Mitre Peak in Milford Sound, New Zealand

My family went to New Zealand earlier this month. I posted some photos over on Pixelfed, but thought I'd add some here too.
1/7

When Writing About Antisemitism Proves the Point: What the Replies Reveal - Michael Geist Over the past several weeks, I have written and spoken about the escalation of antisemitic violence in Canada including a Globe and Mail op-ed, a blog post after Toronto Police finally moved to restri...

I've written several pieces about antisemitism in Canada in recent weeks. The antisemitic vitriol in response may no longer surprise, but it still leaves me stunned. My post on the barrage of hate and criticism that greets anyone who speaks out about antisemitism.
www.michaelgeist.ca/2026/03/when...

‘Second-classness’ in wholesale internet: Independent ISPs hope Bell-Telus dispute will prompt service standards reform - The Wire Report Now, smaller competitors say they are not the only ones struggling with the quality of service they receive.

Although the dispute between Bell and Telus over how they provide wholesale services to each other has been settled, smaller competitors say they are not the only ISPs struggling with the quality of service they receive

By @phalentm.com

www.thewirereport.ca/2026/03/24/s...

Canadian internet companies say their livelihood is dependent on changes to the Copyright Act — but Ottawa hasn’t taken action - The Wire Report For more than two years, the ISP Coalition has been lobbying to alter a part of the Copyright Act they argue leaves them vulnerable to massive annual penalties without any recourse.

For more than two years, ISPs have lobbied the government to alter a specific part of Canada’s copyright legislation, which they argue leaves them vulnerable to massive annual penalties (potentially totalling billions of dollars)

www.thewirereport.ca/2026/03/26/c...

The private right was delayed by 3yrs to give companies time to comply, but it also gave the Government time to get cold feet. Now it's too late.

CASL was never going to stop all spam anyhow, but at least it created a framework that, AFAIK, legitimate businesses try to comply with.

There was originally a private right of action that would have allowed individuals to sue companies that violated the law, but those provisions have never been brought into force. Beyond that if there is especially egregious conduct, you might contact the CRTC enforcement branch.

👀

Kea (New Zealand parrots), McKinnon Pass

Finished the incredible Milford Track: 53 km hike in Fiordland National Park, from Lake Te Anau to Milford Sound. These beautiful jouvenile kea (endangered New Zealand alpine parrots) were playing on a rock as we descended from McKinnon pass.

About to leave for our four day trek across the Milford Track, New Zealand…