Cell Phone Cost Calculator Killed In Canada 214
inject_hotmail.com writes "Internet and law genius Michael Geist writes about some shenanigans by the cell phone carriers and the Canadian government in his column in The Star. Canadian taxpayers funded a 'Cell Phone Cost Calculator' so that the average person could theoretically wade through the disjointed and incongruent package offerings. The calculator wound up being yanked a couple weeks before launch. Geist suggests that the major cell carriers lobbied the appropriate public officials to have the program nixed because it would bite into their profit if the general public could make sense out of pricing and fees. Geist continues, 'Sensing that [Tony] Clement (Industry Minister) was facing pressure to block the calculator, Canadian consumer groups wrote to the minister, urging him to stick with it.' Moving forward, Michael makes a novel suggestion, one that would show an immense level of understanding by the government: 'With public dollars having funded the mothballed project, the government should now consider releasing the calculator's source code and enable other groups to pick up where the OCA (Office of Consumer Affairs) left off.'"
Re:Free press (Score:2, Funny)
But this is Canada, our politicians are already a humiliation.
So good luck with that strategy.
Re:Free press (Score:3, Funny)
Pit bulls--the real ones--are notoriously illegal in Ontario: http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/about/pubs/dola-pubsfty/dola-pubsfty.asp [gov.on.ca]. Apparently that's not so in the rest of Canada, but since the government is located there, the press might want to consider attacking like a pack of chihuahuas, or perhaps Cocker Spaniels.
Re:No leaks? (Score:4, Funny)
We'll get to it. It's just the line up at Tim's Drive thru is a bit slow.
Re:Free press (Score:5, Funny)
Don't be making fun of the land pirañas. Chihuahuas are funny little dogs individually, but if they're ever again allowed to form large packs you'll find out why they were universally feared in days of yore.
Re:heh, title is misleading (Score:3, Funny)
In Soviet Russia is "Cell Phone Cost Calculator" a common name? For boys or girls?
No that would be in South Africa [reporter.co.za]: "Ever since mobile phone services were introduced in KwaZulu-Natal some parents have named their children after some of the terms used by mobile services providers." My favorite is (mr. ?) Pay as you go Mfeka.
Re:No leaks? (Score:3, Funny)