Do Not Pass Go with Peter Nowak

Do Not Pass Go with Peter Nowak
  • 5.0 (16)
  • NEWS COMMENTARY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Your very own survival guide for our monopolized times. Do Not Pass Go is a weekly podcast and newsletter from veteran journalist Peter Nowak, reporting on and exposing corporate concentration and monopoly issues in Canada. www.donotpassgo.ca

  1. The Competition Act Turns 40: What Canada Has Right – and Wrong

    5D AGO

    The Competition Act Turns 40: What Canada Has Right – and Wrong

    Fun fact: Canada once led the world in fighting monopolies. With the Anti-Combines Act of 1889, we became the first country in the world to enact pro-competition laws, designed to bust monopolies and protect consumers. But, as the saying goes, being first doesn’t always mean being best. The Competition Act, which took effect on June 19, 1986, was an attempt to fix the problems with its predecessor. It’s been revised several times since. As the Act turns 40, we’re joined by its chief architect, Lawson Hunter, to assess how it has evolved and performed, and where Canada’s competition policy and enforcement should head next. Hunter’s career is long and distinguished. A former competition commissioner and assistant deputy industry minister, he is the recipient of the Chambers Canada Lifetime Achievement Award for his work as a member of the bar and a member of the Order of Canada. He’s the former chief corporate officer for Bell Canada and, as a long-time counsel at Stikeman Elliott, has advised many of Canada’s biggest companies on mergers and acquisitions. On this week’s Do Not Pass Go podcast, we discuss the up-and-down enforcement of the Act, who should be the next Competition Commissioner, and how Canada has been “infected” by all these antitrust hipsters. Do Not Pass Go is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber. Get full access to Do Not Pass Go at www.donotpassgo.ca/subscribe

    37 min
  2. Big Tech is "Trying To Gentrify Music"

    APR 28

    Big Tech is "Trying To Gentrify Music"

    Most musicians in North America are afraid to say anything negative about Live Nation/Ticketmaster for fear of retaliation, but not Rollie Pemberton. The Edmonton-born rapper, better known as Cadence Weapon, doesn’t just speak out – he takes action. In 2022, Pemberton started My Merch, a movement against the entertainment giant demanding a cut of artists’ merchandise sales in venues it owned. That effort led to more than a hundred venues signing on and a wave of public awareness around the issue. Now, on his just released new album Forager, the former Edmonton poet laureate uses his love of vintage clothing and thrifting as a bridge to connect with his immediate surroundings and to return to a less ephemeral existence that isn’t so controlled by big corporations. He goes further in his upcoming book, Ways of Listening, in which he explores how to really connect with music – without relying on algorithms. He joins Do Not Pass Go this week to talk about the ongoing Live Nation monopoly cases in both the U.S. and Canada, the future of Spotify and streaming, and how the fakeness of artificial intelligence is going to make people treasure real music again. Check out Forager here. His upcoming book, Ways of Listening, is out May 26 and can be found here. And of course, check out his regular musings on Substack. We also mention The Artist Economy, a Substack by Joel Gouveia, which can be found here. Do Not Pass Go is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Do Not Pass Go at www.donotpassgo.ca/subscribe

    36 min
  3. The Man Who Sued Google

    APR 20

    The Man Who Sued Google

    It wasn’t the result he was hoping for, but Alexander Martin’s defeat in Canada’s competition court was historic nevertheless. Now, he’s ready to talk about it. Last year, the Toronto-based independent game developer – known online as “Droqen” – jumped on a new law that lets regular citizens and civil society groups challenge monopolies. His target was Google’s deal with Apple, where its search engine is the default on the iPhone maker’s devices in exchange for billions of dollars. This arrangement, Martin argued, is harmful to Canadian businesses and internet users because it forces them to use an opaque system that Google can – and does – change at any time. The Competition Tribunal in January refused to let his complaint go ahead, citing doubt that Martin and his law firm, Berger Montague, could mount a compelling case. But the effort was historic because it established the rules that other Canadian monopoly cases against Live Nation and Apple are now following. Martin joins the Do Not Pass Go podcast this week to talk about the experience, how the new law is intended to allow regular people like him to fight monopolies, and how the judge in his case may not have got that memo. Link is in the first reply below. Do Not Pass Go is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Do Not Pass Go at www.donotpassgo.ca/subscribe

    38 min
  4. Do Not Pass Go Trailer

    APR 18

    Do Not Pass Go Trailer

    As much as it pains me to preempt our regular weekly news roundup given everything that’s happened in the competition space over the past week, I’m also uber-sensitive to sending you – dear subscriber! - more emails than I absolutely have to. I really want to hear from you as we head into Do Not Pass Go phase 2, “Operation: Let’s Grow This Thing,” so I’m prioritizing the short, short, like really short survey below over dealing with some of the massive news from the past few days. Fear not, we’ll deal with the Live Nation verdict and Cineplex being up for sale soon enough. In the meantime, please take a few seconds to answer five quick questions. Your answers will help me determine where to go next: And since we’re here, have a listen to the new one-minute podcast trailer, inserted above, which I’ve created for Spotify visibility purposes. Speaking of the podcast, we’re back this Monday with an exclusive interview with Alexander Martin – aka Droqen – the independent video game developer who sued Google for being a monopoly. As Billy Red Lyons used to say, don’t you dare miss it! Do Not Pass Go is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Do Not Pass Go at www.donotpassgo.ca/subscribe

    1 min
  5. Consolidation in the Canadian Resource Sector (Ft. Peter Nowak)

    APR 15

    Consolidation in the Canadian Resource Sector (Ft. Peter Nowak)

    Get full access to Do Not Pass Go at www.donotpassgo.ca/subscribe

    1h 18m
  6. Six Months and 1,000 Subscribers: Celebrating Do Not Pass Go Milestones!

    APR 6

    Six Months and 1,000 Subscribers: Celebrating Do Not Pass Go Milestones!

    This week we’re celebrating a pair of milestones here at Do Not Pass Go: We’ve officially hit both the six-month and the 1,000-subscriber marks! Our quick growth tells us there’s a big appetite for what we’re doing here, which is reporting on and elevating the profile of competition, affordability and consumer issues in Canada. That’s great news, because we’re just getting started – there’s so much more to come. Join us on this very special episode of the podcast for a look back at some of the highlights and stats from the past six months, plus a look forward at what’s next. Plus, in between, we’re joined by Vass Bednar, director of the Canadian SHIELD Institute sovereignty think tank, and Arshy Mann, host of The Hatchet podcast and Substack, for a report card on how the “hawkish” Carney government is doing so far on competition issues. Along with Denise Hearn, Vass is the co-author of the 2024 book The Big Fix, while Arshy in 2022/2023 produced Canadaland’s monopoly podcast series, both of which were the inspiration for Do Not Pass Go. What better way to celebrate our milestones than a conversation with grandma and grandpa! Check out the Canadian SHIELD Institute here and The Hatchet here. Do Not Pass Go is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Do Not Pass Go at www.donotpassgo.ca/subscribe

    34 min
  7. Own Your Future: Why Businesses Can’t Afford to Rely on Online Platforms Anymore

    MAR 30

    Own Your Future: Why Businesses Can’t Afford to Rely on Online Platforms Anymore

    Whether you’re a solo entrepreneur, a small business or a large enterprise, having an online presence is a necessity. And while businesses have always had to deal with unfavourable changes to online platforms, these issues are multiplying now that concentration has set in and competition between them has levelled off. Stories of businesses losing access to their social media accounts are increasingly popping up. Entire industries have pivoted because of changes to algorithms, only for platform owners to switch them up again on a whim. Some have ceased to exist entirely while others have changed hands and ushered in completely new sets of rules. On top of it all, most of the platforms in question are U.S.-based – a big problem when Canada is pushing toward more sovereignty. In other words, it’s never been a worse time to hitch your online wagon to someone else’s train. Spencer Callaghan is the brand and communications director for the Canadian Internet Registration Authority, the non-profit organization that sells the dot-ca domain name. He’s self-admittedly biased because of who he works for, but he’s not wrong in advocating for businesses of all sizes to control their own online fate. He joins Do Not Pass Go this week to warn of the dangers of businesses putting too much effort into opaquely run platforms, and to share his advice on how they can own rather than rent their respective online presences. Do Not Pass Go is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Do Not Pass Go at www.donotpassgo.ca/subscribe

    36 min
  8. Inside Canada's Competition Court with Its Former Top Judge

    MAR 23

    Inside Canada's Competition Court with Its Former Top Judge

    Of all the places you’d think that Canada would have drawn inspiration from when deciding how to adjudicate its competition problems, Sweden maybe isn’t top of mind. But that’s exactly what lawmakers did back in the 1980s, when they borrowed from the Scandinavian country’s Market Court to create the Competition Tribunal – Canada’s court of first resort when it comes to assessing mergers and abuse of dominance cases. As the name implies, it’s not precisely a court. The Tribunal is indeed made of up judges, but they are often joined by lay members that jointly hear cases as a panel. As per the Swedish approach, the idea has always been to couple real-world economic and market knowledge with legal expertise. Prior to retiring this past October, Paul Crampton served on the federal court for 16 years, with 14 of those as its Chief Justice. His duties included heading the Competition Tribunal, where he presided over some of the biggest and most contentious cases in Canadian history – including perhaps the biggest and most contentious, the Rogers-Shaw merger in 2023. He joins the Do Not Pass Go podcast this week to discuss how recent, badly needed updates to Canada’s competition laws are likely to affect future Tribunal cases – and, of course, we talk about that Rogers-Shaw case. Do Not Pass Go is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Do Not Pass Go at www.donotpassgo.ca/subscribe

    37 min
See All (37)

5
out of 5
16 Ratings

About

Your very own survival guide for our monopolized times. Do Not Pass Go is a weekly podcast and newsletter from veteran journalist Peter Nowak, reporting on and exposing corporate concentration and monopoly issues in Canada. www.donotpassgo.ca

Information

You Might Also Like