 Here’s what you need to know to get the day started: | | | Why are Canadians' cellphone bills higher than other countries? | | |  | Studies show Canada’s prices for mobile wireless plans are still among the most expensive in the world. (Shutterstock) | | | A Marketplace investigation into the cost of telecom services in Canada has found that many of the oft-quoted industry explanations for high wireless prices — costly operating margins and a sparse Canadian population, for example — are insufficient to explain lower prices found in other countries and even between some provinces.
Rewheel, an independent telecom research firm based in Finland, publishes reports on the mobile data pricing across 50 countries worldwide twice a year. Its latest, published in May of last year, once again ranked Canada among the most expensive countries for wireless rates.
Canada's cost-per-gigabyte is seven times more expensive than Australia, 25 times more than Ireland and France, and 1,000 times more than Finland, according to the analysis. Marketplace calculated the data usage of common cellphone tasks using Rewheel's cost-per-gigabyte analysis in order to put those numbers into perspective.
For example, scrolling Instagram for five minutes would cost about half a cent in France, while it would cost 20 cents in Canada. Downloading a half-hour show from YouTube would cost eight cents in Ireland and $1.03 in Canada. Downloading an entire season of Wednesday from Netflix would cost about $1.62 in Australia and $10.22 in Canada. (All prices are in Canadian dollars based on the Dec. 1, 2022, exchange rates.)
"There is underlying economics that justify somewhat higher prices in Canada," said Ben Klass, a researcher with the Canadian Media Concentration Project and a PhD candidate at Carleton University. But he says companies in Canada go too far.
"Countries that have similarly low population density such as the Scandinavian countries and in particular Australia … despite having those similar economics, the similarly situated countries nevertheless are offering service for substantially less, or for significantly better amounts of data," he said.
Klass says the Australian government has taken steps to ensure the market is more competitive, like allowing foreign-owned companies to enter the market.
Klass says Canada is at an "inflection point," and the government needs to renew its commitment to encouraging competition in the industry, or make drastic legislative changes to reel in a more monopolistic one.
Francois-Phillipe Champagne, the minister of Innovation, Science and Industry who is responsible for overseeing the CRTC and the telecommunications industry, would not sit down for an interview with Marketplace, but said in a statement that his ministry is "committed to continue doing everything [it] can to make life more affordable for Canadians."
Bell, Telus and Rogers would not do an on-camera interview with Marketplace when asked for comment about pricing, as well as competitive tactics. Rogers noted that prices have come down over the past six years, and both Rogers and Bell deferred to the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) for comment.
The CWTA told Marketplace in a statement that it "simply costs more to operate wireless networks in Canada than most other countries," noting that Canada has a relatively small population density that makes it harder to recover costs. | | | | | Desert dash | | |  | (Hamad I Mohammed/Reuters) | | | | Sand flies as motorcycle rider Michael Docherty of South Africa speeds through dunes in Saudi Arabia's 'Empty Quarter' during stage 11 of the Dakar Rally on Thursday. | | | | | | | | | In brief | | | Ontario Premier Doug Ford's government is preparing to significantly ramp up the number of surgeries done in privately run for-profit clinics. Ford and Health Minister Sylvia Jones are planning to make an announcement next week on expanding the number and range of surgeries performed in independent health facilities outside of hospitals, said a senior government official, who asked not to be named because they were laying out government plans. For Ontario patients, the official says the move will lead to thousands more surgeries and diagnostic procedures performed each year, and an immediate way to reduce wait times for such operations as cataract removals. Independent health facilities are clinics operated by the private sector that receive public funding from the Ontario Health Insurance Plan to perform medically necessary procedures. But various health-care professionals are concerned that the move would drain resources from publicly funded hospitals and benefit the owners of private-sector clinics without improving patient care. Read the full story here.
The woman who alleges she experienced unwanted sexual touching by Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet has revealed her identity, saying she wants more transparency from the Vatican and to encourage others to come forward with their stories of abuse. Paméla Groleau is one of the more than 130 people taking part in a class-action lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Quebec, which includes allegations of sexual misconduct against 96 members of its clergy dating back to 1940. "Today, I am no longer F," Groleau said in a statement to a small group of reporters, referring to the letter used to identify her in court documents. "I am Paméla Groleau." Ouellet is a prominent Vatican cardinal, who has been regarded as a potential successor to the Pope. He has denied all the allegations against him and sued Groleau for defamation in December, seeking $100,000 in damages. Ouellet did not immediately respond to a request for comment made through his lawyers. Read more here.
Recent news stories have highlighted the dangers of real-estate title fraud, which take place when fraudsters or scam artists steal ownership of a home. Title fraud takes place when a person uses fake identification or forged documents to steal the identity of a homeowner and take away their "title," or legal ownership of a property. Once fraudsters have a property's title, they can re-mortgage it, sell it to an unsuspecting buyer, or extract value from it in some other way and make off with the proceeds. Homeowners often don't learn about what's happened until they receive notice of missed payments or they try to sell, title insurance company First Canadian Title (FCT) says on its website. Victims of title fraud lose the right to mortgage their home, can no longer leverage the equity and can't sell the property until they re-establish their title rights through the courts, according to FCT. Morris Cooper, a civil litigation lawyer in Toronto who successfully argued a landmark case in 2006 that shifted the responsibility for title fraud from victims to lending institutions, said seniors and people who rent out their homes to tenants can be at a high risk of title fraud. But homeowners can take steps to protect themselves. Read more here.
Lisa Marie Presley, a singer, Elvis's only daughter and a dedicated keeper of her father's legacy, died Thursday after being hospitalized for a medical emergency. She was 54. Presley's death was confirmed by her mother, Priscilla. "It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter Lisa Marie has left us," Priscilla Presley said in a statement. "She was the most passionate, strong and loving woman I have ever known." Los Angeles County paramedics were dispatched to a Calabasas home at 10:37 a.m. local time following a report of a woman in full cardiac arrest, according to Craig Little, a spokesperson for the county's fire department. Property records indicate Presley was a resident at that address. Read the full story here.
A short trip to space for some yeast samples could have the potential to be a giant scientific leap for mankind after an experimental collaboration between the North American Space Agency and researchers at the University of British Columbia. When NASA's Artemis 1 lunar mission shot its first rocket into space just before 2 a.m. on Nov. 16, it left Cape Canaveral, Fla., with a shoebox-size pod filled with samples of yeast and algae as part of a project led by UBC pharmaceutical sciences professor Corey Nislow. The goal? To see how those samples, which returned to earth on Dec. 11, fared while exposed to cosmic radiation. Yeast have a similar genetic makeup to humans. The ultimate endgame is to find a way to protect astronauts — and potential members of future space colonies— from the same harmful rays. Read more on this story here.
Now here's some good news to start your Friday: A man from B.C.'s Haida Gwaii archipelago has won the title of the world's oldest person to perform a headstand. The Guinness World Records has confirmed Bruce Ives, 82, set the world record in Daajing Giids (formerly Queen Charlotte) on Aug. 7, 2022. Born on June 25, 1940, Ives says he has been doing headstands since he learned gymnastics at age 15. More than 40 years later, he started a tradition of doing a headstand every year on his birthday. Ives said that to set the Guinness world record, he needed to hold a headstand for at least 15 seconds with some witnesses present. In the presence of two Mounties, a yoga instructor, a high school principal and his grandchildren, Ives’s headstand lasted 25 seconds in his yard. Read more and check out the video here. | | |  | Cooking with gas: the great stove debate | As the backlash around gas stoves burns, a look at the persuasive campaign that pushed fossil fuel-burning appliances into our homes and what the science says about their harms.
Listen to today's episode | | | Today in history: January 13 | | | 1920: A New York Times editorial ridicules rocketry pioneer Robert Goddard for saying that rockets would work in outer space. The paper issued a correction after the 1969 Apollo 11 Moon landing.
1983: A storm dumps 141 millimetres of rain in one day on St. Alban's, Nfld. A dam on the Exploits River burst, causing an estimated $60 million in damage to Grand Falls and Bishop's Falls.
1984: Toronto social worker Anne Cooles becomes Canada’s first Black senator when she is appointed to the Red Chamber by Gov.-Gen. Edward Schreyer on the recommendation of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.
2011: In its first expansion outside of the U.S., retailer Target announces it would spend $1.83 billion to take over the leases of as many as 220 Zellers stores owned by Hudson's Bay Company. | | | (With files from CBC News, The Canadian Press, The Associated Press and Reuters) | | | | |  | CBC NEWS APP | The most convenient way to get your news
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