Menu

Syndicated

francois-phillipe-champagne-moderna

Ottawa Demands Immediate Action After Rogers Outage

, , , , , , , ,

Canada’s industry minister is demanding immediate action from the country’s telecom companies after last week’s Rogers outage.

François-Philippe Champagne met with the heads of Rogers, Bell and Telus on Monday to discuss ways to improve the resiliency of the network across Canada.

“I told them in essence that this was unacceptable. Full stop,” Champagne said of the nationwide outage that affected millions of Canadians.

Champagne said the companies must enter into a formal arrangement within 60 days to cover three areas of concern.

They include mutual assistance during outages, emergency roaming, and a communication protocol to better inform the public and authorities during telecommunications emergencies.

Champagne said the agreement is similar to what the FCC in the United States has enacted to improve network resiliency during disasters.

“All these measures taken together will add resilience to our network and make sure we are better prepared if anything similar were to happen again,” he said.

Champagne said these initial steps will be in addition to any recommendations that come from the CRTC inquiry that will investigate the root cause of the outage.

Over the weekend, Rogers said it believes the outage was caused by a network system failure in one of its core networks following a maintenance update which caused some of its routers to malfunction.

3406776371_c141a00012_b

Tentative Agreement Reached At VIA Rail

, , , , ,

A tentative deal has been reached between VIA Rail and the union representing 2,400 of its workers.

Unifor said the deal came late Monday just hours before the workers were prepared to walk off the job.

The initial strike deadline was for 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on Monday, but it was pushed back several times as negotiations continued.

“Fighting back against the concessions that VIA proposed wasn’t easy, but the resolve, commitment and solidarity of our VIA Rail members, helped the bargaining committees to push forward and achieve this tentative agreement,” lead negotiator Scott Doherty said in a news release.

Details of the new contract are not being released until the deal has been ratified by members. Once it has been approved, the three-year deal will be retroactive to January 1, 2022.

Martin Landry, president and CEO of VIA Rail, recognized the hard work of both sides during the negotiating process.

“As we look forward to ratification, these tentative agreements allow our teams to get back to doing what we do best: serving Canadians throughout the country,” Landry said in a news release.

Unifor represents maintenance workers, on-board service personnel, chefs, sales agents and customer service staff at VIA Rail.

unifor-talks-end-with-bell-canada-and-clerical-and-aliant-worker-scaled-1

Talks Between Bell Canada And Clerical And Aliant Workers End

, , , , , , ,

Negotiations have broken down between Bell Canada and members of the Clerical and Aliant groups.

The Bell Aliant group applied for federal conciliation, declaring an impasse on Friday in Toronto.

Employees are represented by Unifor and are looking for a fair pay increase, continuing to work from home and an enforceable floor of employment in the bargaining unit.

This affects around 6000 employees in Ontario, Atlantic Canada, and Quebec.

On June 21, 2022, Bell Clerical members voted in favour of strike action.

The Bell Aliant group applied for federal conciliation, declaring an impasse on Friday, July 8, 2022, as talks broke down in Toronto. At Bell Aliant, Local 401, Local 410, Local 506, and Local 2289, represent 1,700 workers.

Bell clerical and associated workers are represented in Quebec by Unifor Locals 6000, 6001, 6002, and 6003, and in Ontario by Unifor Locals 6004, 6005, 6006, 6007, 6008, and 37. All locals are represented in the bargaining caucus.

Collective agreements expired at the end of 2021.

 

TlFw-WoI8_w-scaled-1

Network System Failure Likely Cause Of Rogers Outage

, , , , , , , ,

A network system failure following a maintenance update is believed to have caused Friday’s widespread Rogers outage.

Tony Staffieri, president and CEO of Rogers, outlined the details in a letter sent to customers over the weekend.

Staffieri said the network system failure in its core network caused some of its routers to malfunction early Friday morning.

“We disconnected the specific equipment and redirected traffic, which allowed our network and services to come back online over time as we managed traffic volumes returning to normal levels,” Staffieri said in the letter.

Services were restored to a “vast majority” of customers by Friday evening, and Rogers said its networks and systems are “close to fully operational.”

The day-long outage affected internet, TV, home phone and wireless services across the country starting early Friday morning.

Interac services were also impacted by the outage, leaving Canadians unable to send or receive e-transfers, or use their debit cards.

“We’re particularly troubled that some customers could not reach emergency services and we are addressing the issue as an urgent priority,” said Staffieri.

While 911 services themselves were not directly impacted by the outage, some Rogers customers were unable to connect when dialing 911.

Staffieri said their team of leading technical experts and global vendors continue to investigate the root cause of the outage and “identify steps to increase redundancy in our networks and systems.”

“We will take every step necessary, and continue to make significant investments in our networks to strengthen our technology systems, increase network stability for our customers, and enhance our testing,” he said.

Rogers said it will proactively credit all affected customers, adding that more information will be shared soon.

17986388172_e9dd24ddb7_b

UPDATE: Rogers Restores Services To ‘Vast Majority’ Of Customers

, , , , , , , , , ,

Rogers says it has restored services for the “vast majority” of customers affected by a widespread network outage on Friday.

In a tweet posted by the telecom giant around 7 a.m. Eastern Time on Friday, it said technical teams were working hard to get the remaining customers back online as quickly as possible.

“As our services come back online and traffic volumes return to normal, some customers may experience a delay in regaining full service,” reads the tweet.

It is still unknown what caused the outage or how long it will take to restore services to everyone, but Rogers said it will proactively credit all affected customers, adding that more information will be shared soon.

The day-long outage affected internet, TV, home phone and wireless services since early Friday morning, with Downdetector reporting a massive spike in reported issues shortly after 4:30 a.m. Eastern Time. It also affected wireless providers Fido, chatr and cityfone, which use the Rogers’ network.

Rogers first acknowledged the problems in a tweet shortly before 9 a.m. Eastern Time.

“We are aware of issues currently affecting our networks and our teams are fully engaged to resolve the issue as soon as possible. We will continue to keep you updated as we have more information to share,” said the tweet.

In a statement issued late Friday evening, Rogers president and CEO Tony Staffieri said he takes full responsibility for ensuring the company earns back the trust of consumers.

“We know going a full day without connectivity has real impacts on our customers and all Canadians,” wrote Staffieri. “On behalf of all of us here at Rogers, Rogers for Business, Fido, chatr and cityfone, I want to sincerely apologize for this service interruption and the impact it is having on people from coast to coast to coast.”

Staffieri said they are committed to fully understanding the root cause of the outage and will make “all the changes necessary to ensure that in the future we meet and exceed your expectations for our networks.”

The nationwide Rogers outage also impacted Tbaytel’s Mobility network.

“We apologize and recognize that the Mobility outage was frustrating and disruptive to your day. Unfortunately, this outage inconvenienced you and customers across the country,” stated Tbaytel on its Facebook page Saturday morning. “A proactive credit for the time of the outage will be issued to our Tbaytel Mobility postpaid customers. Your invoice will be automatically credited next month. You do not need to contact us.”

Interac services were also impacted by the Rogers outage.

Some people reported that they could send or receive e-transfers, while others were not able to take money out of their banks, and many businesses were only able to accept cash.

In a tweet around 10 a.m. Eastern Time on Saturday, Interac confirmed its services had been restored.

“As Rogers has restored connectivity after their system wide outage, INTERAC services are now fully available,” read the tweet.

plj7sjnv-400x400-1

Godfather star James Caan dead at 82

, , , , , ,

Legendary actor James Caan has died.

His family has released a statement announcing The Godfather star passed away on Wednesday night.

In 1973, he received an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor for his role as Sonny Corleone.

You might also know him as Buddy’s dad in Elf.

“The family appreciates the outpouring of love and heartfelt condolences and asks that you continue to respect their privacy during this difficult time,” a statement on his official Twitter account says.

He also starred in Misery, The Gambler, and the TV show “Las Vegas”

Caan was 82 years old.

afn-youth-council-at-afn-meeting-july-2022

Youth Plea to Chiefs at AFN Assembly

, , , , ,

An emotional plea to Chiefs attending the Assembly of First Nations general assembly in Vancouver from members of its youth council.

They’re asking Chiefs to refocus their attention on matters that impact youth.

The Council’s co-chair Rosalie LaBillois says they feel forgotten amidst the political squabbling.

“For every Chief who has gotten away with capturing the attention of this assembly while our children are once again put aside to seek political ambitions that have taken the attention away from the matters which we proclaim to matter most to us and our children,” says LaBillois.

LaBillois also expressed disappointment with Chiefs leaving Tuesday’s meeting during a blanket dance for the family of a missing five-year-old in Saskatchewan.

“Each and everyone of you have the opportunity to support the family of a child that has gone missing. And when our Youth Council has seen a room of empty chairs to support him, our hearts were broken.”

Youth council members say it’s important that their leaders are listening to their voices.

Resolute-Forest-Products_33

BC-based Forestry Company to Acquire Resolute F.P.

, , , , , , , ,

Resolute Forest Products is being sold.

The BC-based Paper Excellence Group says it has entered into an agreement to acquire Resolute.

The deal is worth an estimated $2.7 billion U.S.

Under the agreement, Resolute will continue to operate its mills under its name but will become a subsidiary under Domtar, that Paper Excellence acquired last year.

Resolute operates a pulp and paper mill in Thunder Bay and sawmills in Thunder Bay, Ignace and Sapawe. Domtar has operations in Dryden.

There are no changes expected to the management team, which will remain at Resolute’s headquarters in Montreal.

The deal still needs to be signed off by shareholders, with a vote planned for this fall.

qmNt1PgbLqA-scaled-1

New Automatic Low Cash Balance Alerts In Effect

, , , , ,

Notifications have been pinging from banking institutions recently after a new federal rule came into play.

These notifications are part of new federal rules to alert customers when bank balances are under a certain default thresholds (typically $100). You’ll also see notifications from your credit card about being too close to your limit as well (also usually within $100 of the max).

The rule went into effect on June 30th, and is automatic from banks, credit cards and lines of credits and are meant to help customers with their daily banking and to avoid fees.

Customers can opt out of these notifications at any time, but must contact the institution in writing.

The alerts are only in effect for personal banking, and are not applicable to accounts that were opened for business purposes.

More details on the new alerts can be found here.

patrick-brown-in-kakabeka-falls-1

Brown Disqualified as CPC Leadership Candidate

, , , , , , ,

Patrick Brown has been disqualified as a candidate for leader of the federal Conservative Party.

The party alleges it because of financial violations under the Elections Act.

Election Committee Chair Ian Brodie says in a statement that Brown’s campaign did not satisfy their concerns, forcing them to drop him as a candidate.

“Throughout the investigation into these allegations, the Chief Returning Officer and I have done our best to be fair to the Patrick Brown leadership campaign and provide them with the time they need to substantively refute these allegations,” states Brodie. “We regret having to take these steps, but we have an obligation to ensure that both our Party’s Rules and federal law are respected by all candidates and campaign teams.”

Brodie adds none of the issues has any impact on the integrity of the leadership vote.

The party is now sharing the information it has gathered with Elections Canada, which is now investigating.

Brown’s campaign team says they never had the chance to defend themselves against what they call “anonymous allegations.”

In a statement, the campaign says they were never provided with the full details or evidence surrounding the allegations.

They allege Brown was disqualified to ensure Pierre Poilievre would have enough points to win the leadership race.

“This is reprehensible, undemocratic behaviour that breaks faith with hundreds of thousands of Canadians that embraced Patrick Brown’s for a modern, inclusive Conservative Party. This is an indictment of the CPC, and a party that is not serious about winning a general election,” reads the statement.

Brown and his campaign say they are consulting with their legal team.

(With files from Brad Perry/CHSJ)

Load More