Phones unlocked for free in canada (enforced by the law?)

[louisville]

If anyone can confirm or debunk this please post.

I recently came across this wikipedia article, and if you scroll about halfway down the page to the section titled "Canada", it explains that in 2010, canadian law was introduced enforcing that at the end of a contract, or if a phone was purchased outright, the carrier that sold you the phone must by law (upon your request) unlock the phone for you free of charge. If this is correct it means FREE UNLOCKS FOR EVERYONE and I would say its about time. If we buy a phone outright or gradually over time it belongs to us and we should be allowed to use it as we so please.

All I know is I have 2 phones from previous contracts, 2 pay-as-you-go phones from rogers and 2 phones on the way under contract and Im gonna put this to the test, as they could be going to good use with family members through the right service providers.

HERE IS THE LINK
LINK (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIM_lock)

EXCERPT:
On June 17, 2010, Member of Parliament Bruce Hyer (Thunder Bay-Superior North) introduced Private Member's Bill C-560,[14] called the Cell Phone Freedom Act, which would prohibit carriers from selling SIM locked phones in Canada without first informing the consumer of the existence of such a lock. Bill C-560 additionally mandates that phone companies selling new phones must unlock customer phones, without charge, at the end of contract or upon purchase of the phone outright, when requested by the customer.

[poooonjabi]

SUMMARY
This enactment provides that a telecommunications service provider is
obligated to
(a) inform a consumer who intends to purchase a cellular telephone from the
provider whether the network access of the telephone is restricted by a lock;
(b) remove free of charge, after the service contract has expired, any network
lock that has been applied to a cellular telephone purchased at a discounted
price by a consumer as a condition of entering into a service contract with the
provider; and
(c) remove free of charge any network lock that has been applied to a cellular
telephone purchased by a consumer from the provider if the consumer does
not enter into a service contract of at least six months in duration with the
provider or if the consumer pays the total cost of the telephone handset
before taking possession of it.




Here is the bill
http://parl.gc.ca/content/hoc/Bills/411/Private/C-343/C-343_1/C-343_1.PDF

[Junerose]

Thank you. My contract with Bell is done at the end of this summer. Thank God. I will put this to the test.

[Laserheart]

This was two years ago, and we hear about it now from an enterprising RFD'er?

Woot!

[d5486]

If anyone can confirm or debunk this please post.

I recently came across this wikipedia article, and if you scroll about halfway down the page to the section titled "Canada", it explains that in 2010, canadian law was introduced enforcing that at the end of a contract, or if a phone was purchased outright, the carrier that sold you the phone must by law (upon your request) unlock the phone for you free of charge. If this is correct it means FREE UNLOCKS FOR EVERYONE and I would say its about time. If we buy a phone outright or gradually over time it belongs to us and we should be allowed to use it as we so please.

All I know is I have 2 phones from previous contracts, 2 pay-as-you-go phones from rogers and 2 phones on the way under contract and Im gonna put this to the test, as they could be going to good use with family members through the right service providers.

HERE IS THE LINK
LINK (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIM_lock)

EXCERPT:
On June 17, 2010, Member of Parliament Bruce Hyer (Thunder Bay-Superior North) introduced Private Member's Bill C-560,[14] called the Cell Phone Freedom Act, which would prohibit carriers from selling SIM locked phones in Canada without first informing the consumer of the existence of such a lock. Bill C-560 additionally mandates that phone companies selling new phones must unlock customer phones, without charge, at the end of contract or upon purchase of the phone outright, when requested by the customer.


i'm pretty sure bell(agents on the phone) have no idea how to do this.. can someone pls try this and let us know?

[Laserheart]

Hmm... the bill was introduced, but has the bill passed? Aren't they two separate things?

If so, how do we confirm it's been passed?

[nsx]

:!:

Moved from "Freebies" to "Computers & Electronics > Cell Phones."

[bigben-]

the theory is nice but you have to make a decision......


hire a lawyer at $300/hour or pay 4 bucks on ebay to get an unlock code

:lol:

[XxXSnake23XxX]

Hmm... the bill was introduced, but has the bill passed? Aren't they two separate things?

If so, how do we confirm it's been passed?

No where in the article says is was passed. It just says "presented" so as of right now cell phone providers don't have to do any sort of unlocking by law.

If any law was passed the community would have known about it. Something like this would have not been kept under wraps, especially with so many locked iPhones in the marketspace

[ceredon]

To the best of my knowledge, the bill was never passed. The minority Conservative government had their own bill they wanted passed, which was sort of a Canadian DMCA, though I don't recall the bill number. I don't think it was introduced prior to the last election, but with their majority win, I expect they will at some point. It was nowhere near as positive for consumers as c-560 was, but it did have some provisions for unlocking out of contract phones.

I actually wrote my conservative MP at the time the NDP backbench bill was out, asking for him to support it. He kindly declined and explained the gist of their alternative legislation. I responded that I didn't feel their bill offered any real change or protection for consumers, but I never heard back, other than another polite 'thanks'.

[pbxphone]

This issue needs to be publicly addressed and in a big way. We have the right to "own" the "phone" without any strings attached. In fact there should be a legislation in place that forces carriers to automatically push the unlock code at the end of the last day of the contract !!

Just like the 30day charge, even after porting, is a rip off....this issue needs to go to CCTS ! RIGHT NOW !!!

[FunSave22]

Private member bills rarely get passed.




Of the 1,142 private member’s bills tabled since 1993, only 18, or 1.5 per cent of them, received Royal Assent
http://www.hillwatch.com/Media/Hill_Times.aspx

[mobifree]

Since the bill never passed into law, Canadian carriers charge $50 for their unlock codes (and you have to qualify).

[Laserheart]

How do you determine if it passed or not? Isn't there an online database of this stuff?

[andrewatprivahost]

I just contacted my phone company by email and heres what they said:

Private Member's Bill C-560was actually tabled in 2010 and raised in November or so of 2011 under a new Private Member’s Bill. It’s currently on the floor at commons, so we’ll see what happens! As of right now, it still costs to unlock your device in Canada. Who knows what the future will bring, though!

Hope that helps you all!

[mtrump]

The bill that you quoted in Wikipedia died when the election was called. Hyers then re-introduced bill under the current parliament session can be found as follows:

http://www.parl.gc.ca/LegisInfo/BillDetails.aspx?Language=E&Mode=1&Bill=C343&Parl=41&Ses=1

Personally, I doubt that this bill (as a private member's bill from an opposition party) will go anywhere.

For those in Ontario, David Orazietti's "Wireless Phone, Smart Phone and Data Service Transparency Act, 2011" is much closer to reality than Hyer's bill.

http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/bills/bills_detail.do?locale=en&Intranet=&BillID=2538

It passed 2nd reading, but still there are no guarantees that it will become law - particularly when it's minority when the government can fall at any time (so will any outstanding bills). Right now everyone's focus is on the spring budget; everything else is secondary.

[ceredon]

I hate the mcguinty gov, but I love that bill. Sure hope it passes. Rogers must hate it, but I guess that's why they tried to get out in front of the new laws so it looks like they actually made these decisions. The only other clause I'd like added to these laws is the abolition of 3 year contract. Surely some politician must have the common sense and courage to wonder why they only exist in Canada.

[Gee]

the abolition of 3 year contract. Surely some politician must have the common sense and courage to wonder why they only exist in Canada.

Would a two year contract be any better? That is what AT&T offers in the US

[ceredon]

Would a two year contract be any better? That is what AT&T offers in the US
Yes. 1/3 better.

[mtrump]

Today the government tabled the "No More Cell Shock" legislation. While it covers most of what Orazietti had proposed in his original bill, one major piece was missing - the mandatory handset unlocking provision (after completion of the contract or purchase of a device at full price).

Please write to your local MPP, McGuinty and Margarett Best (Minister of Consumer Services) to put the unlocking provision back in the bill.

[michty6]

Has this ever been challenged in the courts (like under the Sale of Goods or Trade Descriptions Act)? I am pretty sure these unlocking charges would not stand up in court... Once they lost one case they wouldn't even bother fighting them...

[mkjr]

Has this ever been challenged in the courts (like under the Sale of Goods or Trade Descriptions Act)? I am pretty sure these unlocking charges would not stand up in court... Once they lost one case they wouldn't even bother fighting them...

i am looking to get a factory unlock for three iphone 3g phones and came across this thread. has anyone pushed this issue in small claims? namely, that once the term ends, it is an implied term of the contract that the phones would be unlocked at no additional cost when said term ends?