U of Toronto University Professor Emeritus Stephen A. Cook won NSERC $1 million Herzberg Medal – with interview by Kempton

Congratulations to University of Toronto Computer Science professor Stephen Cook, best known for formulating the P v. NP problem, for winning the $1M 2012 Gerhard Herzberg medal!

After all these years, I still remember the thrill in taking my first year UT Comp. Sci class in 1987 with prof. Cook! And it remains an honour (and bragging right) to have taken the famous third year CSC364 Computability and Complexity class with prof. Cook and seeing him proved to us 3-satisfiability and taught us P v. NP, etc. I am truly excited for prof. Cook!

Check out my 15 minutes interview with Prof. Cook this morning: Interview with Dr. Stephen A. Cook, 2012 Winner of NSERC’s $1m Herzberg Medal

By the way, as prof. cook mentioned in the interview, he came to the idea of the NP complete problem about 6 months after he came to Toronto in 1970. If you read the detailed & insightful oral history interview with Stephen Cook (courtesy of University of Minnesota), you will realize professor Cook could have easily stayed at UC Berkeley (if they had not denied him tenure) instead of joining us at University of Toronto! Lucky us!

Last week, I asked prof. Kelly Gotlieb “Father of Computing in Canada” for his thoughts about some giants in computer science, here is what Kelly has to say about Steve (video clip).

Here is “NSERC Presents 2 Minutes With Stephen Cook“

Here is an excerpt from a great Q&A from U of Toronto.

“What drew you to this field – and to this particular focus?
I enrolled as a mathematics graduate student at Harvard in 1961, thinking I’d concentrate in algebra. Computer Science did not yet exist as a discipline. After taking a course in `logic and computation’ from Hao Wang, my future advisor, I switched fields. My PhD thesis was inspired by a question posed by a pioneer in the field named Alan Cobham: Is multiplication (of large numbers) intrinsically harder than addition? Part of the challenge was to formulate this as a precise mathematical question.

Why U of T?
I joined the faculty of the computer science department at U of T in 1970. This was one of the world’s first CS departments, and Tom Hull, the department chair, had a powerful vision for its future. He already had recruited some aspiring young faculty, including my close colleague Allan Borodin, who continues to be a pillar of the department. It helped that Toronto is a good sailing venue on Lake Ontario, and sailing was (and is) a major hobby for my wife and me.

What advice would you give to a student just starting out in this field?
You’ve made a good choice. The possibilities are boundless.“

Via this UT page, see more media coverage about the 2012 Herzberg Prize at these links below:

“- Globe & Mail

- Canada.com

- Calgary Herald

- CBC News“

eps02 chat with “Father of Computing in Canada” Prof. Kelly Gotlieb

This is the second (eps 02) of a series of extensive chats with Professor Emeritus C.C. Kelly Gotlieb, (Wikipedia) “Father of Computing in Canada”, Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto. In this video episode (as oppose to audio recording only in episode #1), we further discussed Google Driverless Cars and Google Glasses in a bit more details, and a few other topics. (I will try to provide a time code key when I have time later or if someone can help me with providing a time code key to the interview.)

eps02 chat with “Father of Computing in Canada” Prof. Kelly Gotlieb

P.S. Incidentally, I am happy to claim credit for suggesting Kelly to setup a Google+ account and then also helped him to setup his computer this morning so that we were able to conduct a successful Live Broadcast using the Google+ Hangout On Air technologies using its YouTube engine! It puts a smile on my face in helping the man who helped bought the second electronic computer (a Ferranti machine for $300,000) in the world in 1951 to use Google’s cutting edge technologies to broadcast live from his and my home!

Interview with “Father of Computing in Canada” re Google Car, Google Glasses, Alan Turing

Interview with “Father of Computing in Canada” Prof Gotlieb re Google Car, Google Glasses, Alan Turing

This is an extensive interview with Professor Emeritus C.C. Kelly Gotlieb, (Wikipedia) “Father of Computing in Canada”, Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto, Feb 2013 interviewed by Independent reporter Kempton Lam
KL: Kempton Lam
KG: Professor Emeritus C.C. Kelly Gotlieb
Table of content (with time codes):
0:00 KL: Introducing Professor Emeritus C.C. (Kelly) Gotlieb, “Father of Computing in Canada”, University of Toronto
0:29 KL: My question about Google Driverless Cars. Three US states already has law permitting testing of Google Driverless Cars. Talking about California governor signed the bill, “SB-1298 Vehicles: autonomous vehicles: safety and performance requirements” into law.
2:07 KL: Bill SB-1298 allows Google to test the Google Driverless Car provided Google pays a $5 million insurance, and provided there is a driver in the car.
2:21 KG: “That’s what I expected.”
2:35 KL: My concerns were concerns raised by Kelly in an earlier speech of his.
2:47 KG: listing some of the concerns he has with concepts like Google Driverless Cars. “United States is a very litigious society.”
3:12 KG: Google Driverless Car gets into an accident, whose to blame? And who can you sue? The person who wrote the program? Google who authorize the car? Car manufacture? The person who is in the car? Or all of the above? […] Lots of questions to be asked when failure happen.

Interview with Yasmin Nakhuda, owner of Darwin (IKEA) Monkey, re upcoming court case

Late last night, I interviewed Ms. Yasmin Nakhuda, owner of Darwin (IKEA) Monkey over the phone. Have a listen to the extensive phone interview first before you leave any comments. If your comment don’t show you have actually listened to the interview, I reserve the right to not approve it. I have seen way too many comments on articles/posts about this issue that have gone totally out of control elsewhere (CBC and other media outlet) and I won’t let it happen here. So please keep your comments brief, to the point, and don’t make any personal insults or groundless attacks. Disagreement is fine, strong critique is ok, but pointless insults are decidedly NOT!

As the issue of Darwin (IKEA) Monkey is in front of a court (case is scheduled to appear in front of a judge on Jan 31, 2013) and hotly discussed/debated amongst Canadians, all the readers comments will be heavily screened & monitored me. We are civilized people and many of us are Canadians so we are better than those people who cannot ground their arguments in facts and reasons. Former Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau got it wrong with his so call “Reason before Passion (La Raison Avant la Passion)“, in our social media age where anyone and everyone can have their worldwide platform and LIVE video broadcast channel, we must aspire to have “Reason alongside Passion“.

Have a listen to my extensive phone interview Ms. Yasmin Nakhuda, owner of Darwin (IKEA) Monkey

Research & reading materials

1) Have a read of Toronto’s animal control by-law.
- Toronto-by-law 1184_349

2) Can anyone help me here? I like to find the court filings by Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary online. Have the Sanctuary or its lawyer posted these documents online? If you know where to find them, please leave a note in the comment as I would like to read them.

3) I found the court filings by Ms. Yasmin Nakhuda online here at her lawyer’s website and I found them useful to read. I suggest you read them to understand what were said under oath by Officiers Joseph Florillo and David Behan describing what exactly happened during the own process of them taking Darwin.

- Highlighted Transcript of Officer Joseph Fiorillo Jan 17 2013
– Summary of Transcript of Officer Joseph FiorilloJan17 2013

- Highlighted Transcript of Officer David Behan Jan17 2013
– Summary of Transcript of David Behan Jan17 2013

Concluding thoughts and Personal notes

After interviewing Yasmin for over 40 minutes last night, I cannot disagree more with people who hear or know about the case from reading a headline here and there and watching a minute or two of news clips and then went on to insult Yasmin, her family, and even her children. Lets ground our discussion and look at the facts and situation surround this specific case of the lovely Darwin (IKEA) Monkey.

On a very personal note, I hope and wish for wisdom in the judge for this case and that the best outcome for Darwin will be delivered. Yes, may be I’ve watched way too many episodes of Judge John Deed (especially loving the earlier seasons 4, 1, and 2), I hope the judge for this case is as wise or wiser than Judge Deed!

P.S. Thanks again to Yasmin for her time to be interviewed by me. And special thanks to Calgary Public Library for stocking great TV DVDs like Judge Deed. Not unlike pure mathematics, we sometimes learn a lot more about justice from a fictional drama than real life court cases that can be very messy at times.

P.P.S. I wrote a light hearted “funny” piece about Darwin “Top 10 Reasons why Monkey Darwin shops at Ikea & No charges by T.O. police!” on Dec 10th, 2012. Even it was meant to be a funny piece, I do insist on my thinking and comments to be solidly grounded. Compare to that time, I think my positions and views have now definitely changed given the new information I have come to learn about this case.

Twitter Patrol – Toronto Police Const. Scott Mills

My friend +Toronto Police Service Constable +Scott Mills was featured in this insightful +CBC News The National video piece Twitter patrol “Paul Hunter speaks with a Toronto police officer who uses social media to combat gang violence.” Check out Twitter patrol.

P.S. It is too early to tell but I haven’t heard of any advance warning signs for the tragic event unfolded last night (“Colorado theater shooting: a deadly attack delivered with brutal precision“). On a day like today, I want and try to think positive and hope that some future tragedies can be avoided by police departments getting more involved in social media.

Malcolm Gladwell in conversation with CBC’s Eleanor Wachtel at Toronto Public Library (May 2012) and more …

“Malcolm Gladwell, bestselling author of Blink and Outliers celebrates 50 years of Jamaica’s independence. In conversation with CBC’s Eleanor Wachtel. Malcolm Gladwell’s books including his latest, Blink are available at Toronto Public Library.”

Pay special attention to Part 3 where Malcolm gives insightful (and some may argue harsh) assessment of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.

Update: Bonus Malcolm clips. I found the following clips and I thought I might as well include them here.

Use of Social Media tool in Police Services – Interview with Toronto Police Constable Scott Mills

I am in the process of writing an in-depth article about how Police Services in Canada and around the world use social media tools. Average readers may not know but police services are now using social media tools to help communicate with citizens, report crimes, and, in some cases, even prevent crimes. Think for a moment, “prevent crimes” amazing right?! Watch the video and see for yourself and you will realize it is dedicated and good policing assisted by new social media tools.

I’ve started collecting research materials for the article. The following is my first video interview. The interview was actually conducted and broadcasted LIVE this morning using Google+ and YouTube technologies (two of the social media tools used in Toronto).

I want to thank Toronto Police Constable Scott Mills (@GraffitiBMXCop) for his time in sharing his insights. Have a watch of the video. Stay tuned for more interviews (I am planning a few more) and the in-depth article to be posted later.

Interview with Toronto Police Constable Social Media guru Scott Mills @GraffitiBMXCop

“Computational Thinking” by Professor Jeannette Wing, CMU Comp Sci Department Head

Highly recommending an insightful Feb 7, 2012 “Computational Thinking“ presentation at U of Toronto by professor Jeannette M. Wing (President’s Professor of Computer Science and Department Head, Computer Science Department, Carnegie Mellon University).

Exclusive: Bank of Canada found only one poor-quality counterfeit new polymer $100 note, analyzed by RCMP

In a followup interview with Nish Vairavanathan, a Bank of Canada currency analyst, this reporter has confirmed that (as far as Vairavanathan was aware) there is only one known case of counterfeit new polymer $100 banknote. (Note: The new polymer $100 was launched a few months ago in November 2011.) As reported yesterday (also mirrored in an article here), the counterfeit new polymer $100 bill was of very poor quality. For example, the counterfeit new polymer $100 bill did not have the transparent window in the middle of the banknote, one of the most obvious and easily verifiable security feature.

Readers of this article should not be alarmed by the existence of this one known case of counterfeit new polymer $100 banknote, what you can do is arm yourself with the knowledge of the new polymer banknote’s security features. You can start by watching a video of me handling and inspecting a new $100 banknote for its security features up close. Also watch this informative PSA video from Bank of Canada: The New $100 Note. I’ve been informed the single counterfeit new polymer $100 banknote is with the RCMP National Anti-Counterfeit Bureau being analyzed. I asked if a picture of it is available to the media but was told that information like how it looks, where it was found, etc are not being shared (I presume for security or police investigation reasons).

What should Canadians do when we come across suspected counterfeit banknotes?

Any Canadians handling cash, especially those in the front line handling cash as a cashier or merchant, etc, should familiarize ourselves with the new polymer banknotes’ security features. When we see any cash that doesn’t look real, then we can and should refuse it and simply politely ask for another form of payment.

For our safety, don’t confront the payer as it may put ourselves in danger, contact local police instead. Plus the person with the “counterfeit-looking” banknote may be truly innocent and not aware the banknote is potentially a counterfeit. You may be interested to know, Bank of Canada discovered $2.6 million dollars worth of Canadian Journey series counterfeit banknotes last year, 48% are $20 bills and 37% are $100 bills.

Curious readers may be interested to know, the old Canadian Journey series banknote costs 10 cents each to print compare to the new polymer banknote costing 19 cents each to print but will last 2.5 times longer make the polymer banknotes more cost effective in the long term according to Bank of Canada.

Note: This news is marked “Exclusive” because at press time, as far as I can find or search, no news media has reported or picked on the existence of the one poor-quality counterfeit new polymer $100 note and the fact that the RCMP National Anti-Counterfeit Bureau has it under analysis.

(Article is cross-posted to Examiner.com)

Bank of Canada confirms poor-quality counterfeit polymer $100 notes as it launches 4 new PSAs to help educate public to prevent financial crimes

Yesterday, Bank of Canada unveiled four public service announcements (PSAs) at Toronto Police Service headquarters.

“The Bank of Canada takes counterfeiting very seriously and responds by researching and developing new notes with innovative security features that are both easy to check and hard to counterfeit. The Bank of Canada will be unveiling four new public service announcements to help educate the public and assist in the prevention of Financial Crimes.“

During the post-press conference Q&A, Bank of Canada representative confirmed with this reporter that since the launch of the new polymer $100 notes in November 2011, there have been attempts to counterfeit the polymer $100 notes and the counterfeit $100s were in circulation. Fortunately, according to the Bank representative, the quality of these counterfeit C$100 notes were of very poor quality, for example, these counterfeit notes didn’t even have the transparent windows, one of the most obvious and easily verifiable security features. Which is why the Bank is emphasizing the importance of educating the public to detect counterfeit polymer notes. You can watch my questions and the Bank representative’s answers at the 20:00 mark of this YouTube video.

Full press conference video: Fighting Fraud On The Front Lines ~ Bank of Canada & Toronto Police Financial Crimes Unit

Bank Note Counterfeiting – from Bank of Canada

A good way to check bank notes is FLP (Feel, Look, and Flip) as explained here at the 3:20 mark.

Some readers may remember I’ve previously written about polymer banknotes since Bank of Canada first announced (in March 2011) that it would launch polymer notes in Canada. The following are my in-depth research articles based on information known or found at the time.

March 2011, “Secrets of Bank of Canada’s new plastic money: An advance look of 12 possible security features“

March 2011, “Bank of Canada’s new polymer banknote – Patents & technologies by Securency International“

June, 2011, “Canada New Polymer $100 Notes in Nov 2011 – Now your money is smooth & will bounce!“

November, 2011, “Canada polymer $100 banknote hands-on look finally! (with video)“

Note: See also this 660 News article reporting about the BoC press conference, “Bank of Canada launches fraud prevention campaign“.

Note: article is cross-posted to examiner.com

Finding Jan Wong Out of the Blue – The ugly sides of Globe and Mail & Manulife

As a long time reader (and fan) of Jan Wong‘s (website, twitter) newspaper articles and “Lunch with” columns, it came to me as a total shock when I belatedly discovered the real reason of why Jan is no longer working for the Canadian newspaper Globe and Mail (she was fired from the fallout of one article) and why Jan, a successful books author and highly skilled writer, has to self-publish her memoir Out of the Blue (Amazon) (this is a story in itself).

Check out this video “For my review of Jan Wong’s “Out of The Blue” & news report” and the following insightful articles and interviews.

* CBC News, “Q&A: Jan Wong’s long march from depression to reinvention”

* CBC Books Radio interview, “Michael Enright’s interview with journalist Jan Wong about her latest book”

* 2012, May 11, TVO Allan Gregg video interview, “Jan Wong On Her Battle With Depression“

* TorStar Apr 27, “Toronto author Jan Wong’s book on workplace depression an instant classic“

* Ottawa Citizen, Jan Wong’s blues – “Journalist chronicles her controversial descent into workplace depression“

* Now, “Jan Wong wronged? The Bestselling journalist wound up self-publishing her memoir?“

* Now Book review, “Out of The Blue – Wilful Wong“

* backofthe book.ca “Jan Wong’s Globe and Mail blues“

* The Chronicle Herald “Old China hand explores Canada’s mysterious East“

* Quill & Quire Book review, “Out of the Blue: A Memoir of Workplace Depression, Recovery, Redemption and, Yes, Happiness”

Ref: 2006 Sept article from Premier Jean Charest.

Disclosure: I own shares of Manulife and I am shocked and angry of Manulife’s unacceptable business practices. Setting personal feelings aside, it is just bad business to deal with legitimate insurance clients like it did with Jan. These kind of unacceptable behaviours can rightfully drive potential future clients away. I may write a separate article about this. Will see.

LIVE broadcast of Ceremony of Remembrance @ Queen’s Park Ontario Police Memorial (May 6th, 2012)

The LIVE broadcast of the Ceremony of Remembrance @ Queen’s Park Ontario Police Memorial this morning (May 6th, 2012) went really smoothly, the following are the recorded videos. (Facebook page for Ontario Police Memorial Foundation) Here is an informal detailed writeup from Toronto Police Constable Scott Mills.

Video pre-Ceremony of Remembrance at Queen’s Park Ontario Police Memorial (reading of the names of 251 police officers killed in the line of duty in Ontario)

Video of Ceremony of Remembrance at Queen’s Park Ontario Police Memorial

Video of March Past: Ceremony of Remembrance at Queen’s Park Ontario Police Memorial

Debrief of the LIVE broadcast at Ceremony of Remembrance (includes interviews with all of the major contributors on the ground in Toronto… including Glen Russell, the father of Scott’s friend Ryan Russell who died in the line of duty in Toronto in 2011)

Pre-Ceremony intro for Queen’s Park Ontario Police Memorial this Sunday (May 6th)

It was my honour to work with Toronto Police Constable +Scott Mills this afternoon in preparation for this Sunday (May 6th, 10:30am EST) Queen’s Park Ontario Police Memorial LIVE broadcast. More info here.

Watch the video to see the site for yourself.

I especially love this last screen capture where a beautiful butterfly lands next to the broadcast equipment.

Toronto Police Constable Scott Mills talks about LIVE broadcasting Ontario Police Memorial (Sunday May 6th, 2012)

Toronto Police Constable Scott Mills talks about live broadcasting Ontario Police Memorial (Facebook) this Sunday May 6th, 2012. It is my honour to help Scott broadcast this live to people who really want to but can’t attend in person.

Kevin Roberts, CEO worldwide Saatchi and Saatchi keynotes nextMEDIA Toronto Dec 6th, 2011

You see, I am a big fan of Kevin Roberts‘s ideas (KR Connect). How big a fan? Well, five years ago in 2006, I read and reviewed his two books Lovemarks: The Future Beyond Brands and The Lovemarks Effect: Winning in the Consumer Revolution. I even spent the time to research and create the initial Wikipedia pages for Kevin and Lovemarks! I was so proud and excited when a friend asked my help on his marketing assignment which involved class lectures in, you guessed it, Lovemarks!

So it is very cool to see Kevin coming to Canada to share his insights even, sadly, I can’t be in Toronto to attend in person. So if you are in Toronto next week, register for Dec 6th one day pass to hear Kevin (or better, attend both 5th & 6th for the full conference experience)!

The following is from the nextMEDIA Toronto 2011 (Dec 5 – 6) press release.

“CEO worldwide for creative agency Saatchi & Saatchi, Kevin Roberts is a marketing pioneer with a heart for nostalgia and has been bringing popular brands to market and straight into consumers’hearts since the early 1970s. Roberts has worked with large-scale international clients such as Carlsberg, TMobile, General Mills, Procter & Gamble, Sony Ericsson, JCPenney, Toyota and VISA Europe among others.

Roberts is the author of a number of best-selling books, including Lovemarks: The Future Beyond Brands, in which he describes the emotional connections we create with the brands we’ve grown to love.

So, here’s the real question: How does your brand achieve Lovemark status? Well, fear not, Roberts is heading to nextMEDIA Toronto this year to help you solve that very problem.

Named one of the top ten ideas of the decade in 2010 by advertising and marketing news website AdAge, Lovemarks transcend brands, leaving their iconic symbols emblazoned in the hearts and memories of consumers worldwide.

Join Kevin Roberts at nextMEDIA Toronto 2011 for an informative keynote session about hisLovemarks theory, offering crucial insight into the future of marketing and an analysis of the way we identify with our favourite brands.”

Dan Eisner, True North Mortgage

In 2007, I was impressed by Dan Eisner‘s mortgage brokerage business, True North Mortgage, when he described how lucrative and profitable it was when I met him at the Calgary Dragons’ Den audition.

By chance I met Dan again today, and he said he now has 7, yes SEVEN, officies across Canada (2 in Calgary, 2 in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, and Halifax).

I am happy for Dan. Have a watch of my video interview with Dan Eisner in 2007.

TIFF 2011 Red Carpet videos

Have a watch. [HT Baylea]

* “‘A Dangerous Method’ – Viggo Mortensen at the TIFF 2011“

* “‘Eye of the Storm’ – Geoffrey Rush at Toronto Film Festival 2011“

More Red Carpet Videos here.

A Dangerous Method – David Cronenberg

Some news articles for the record,

* The Province, “David Cronenberg goes into the mind for his new movie about psychiatry“

* Globe & Mail, “Cronenberg on switching gears for ‘A Dangerous Method’“

* Toronto Sun, “Cronenberg talks about runaway actors“

* EW, “Toronto: Viggo Mortensen and Michael Fassbender are sensational as Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung in ‘A Dangerous Method.’“

U2 documentary “From the Sky Down” – a film that is “for anyone who is interested in how songs get written.”

Sept 8, 2011, LA Times, “Toronto 2011: U2′s Bono shows ‘em how it’s done“

Sept 8, 2011, LA Times, “Toronto Film Festival: Director talks opening night U2 doc“

Bono on the red carpet at the Toronto International Film Festival

The business of selling and buying movies at TIFF.

TIFF Double Ticketing, Consumer Protection, Criminal Provision of Competition Act, 2011 Toronto International Film Festival

This article is about consumer protection against TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival). Thanks to Canada’s Competition Act, it is easy to determine the legal price you should pay for goods in certain cases. Hint: Lowest price will be a good guess.

*******

Sept 1st update: The problem has been resolved. See below for more.

*******

Over the last few years my Toronto friend, I call her my “TIFF Fairy”, has shipped many souvenirs Toronto International Film Festival programs, t-shirts, bags, etc to me in Calgary because she knows I love films and I call myself a documentarian. To thank her for her thoughtfulness, I have taken photos of the souvenirs and wrote about them in the past (see 2010 souvenirs and 2009 souvenirs). This year, unfortunately, the experience is not cool at all.

Bad TIFF 2011 Experiences

Last week she ran into some unexpected bad experience with TIFF when she tried to buy 2011 souvenirs for me.

First, the usual box office had only TIFF programs but not t-shirts, etc. She was then sent to another store where she was told would have all the 2011 TIFF souvenirs in stock for purchase. Unfortunately, that store didn’t have the 2011 t-shirts! Unable to buy the t-shirts, she decided to buy some bags for me. When she tried to pay for the two $9.95 TIFF bags (see photo above, as indicated on the tags of the bags), a TIFF sales lady and her supervisor insisted the price was $13 (posted on a sign near the bags) instead of the price of $9.95 as tagged on the bags. Since she was in a rush, she bought the bags and left. (update: see below for further points of clarifications from my friend after she read this article.)

“Double Ticketing” at 2011 TIFF

In Canada, consumers are protected by the Competition Act (PDF). Suppliers of goods are prohibited by law to sell goods to consumers at “a price that exceeds the lowest of two or more prices clearly expressed in respect of the product“. In the words of Competition Bureau (emphasis added),

“Double Ticketing

Section 54 of the Competition Act is a criminal provision. It prohibits the supply of a product at a price that exceeds the lowest of two or more prices clearly expressed in respect of the product.

Any person who contravenes section 54, is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine of up to $10,000 and/or imprisonment up to one year on summary conviction.”

You see, Double Ticketing is actually a section 54 criminal offence under Competition Act (PDF). Yes, section 54 is a Criminal Provision that carries a potential penalty of “imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year”. Here are the easy to read official legal wordings from C-34 Competition Act (emphasis added),

“Double ticketing
54. (1) No person shall supply a product at a price that exceeds the lowest of two or more prices clearly expressed by him or on his behalf, in respect of the product in the quantity in which it is so supplied and at the time at which it is so supplied,
(a) on the product, its wrapper or container;
(b) on anything attached to, inserted in or accompanying the product, its wrapper or container or anything on which the product is mounted for display or sale; or
(c) on an in-store or other point-of-purchase display or advertisement.

Offence and punishment
(2) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both.”

I hope TIFF will understand the seriousness of Double ticketing and properly train their employees to do the legal thing in the future. Secondly, I have tried to reach out to TIFF and hope TIFF will do the right for the troubles my friend and I have to go through in this case. Sure, I enjoy writing this article and sharing my knowledge about Double Ticketing and Competition Act with other Canadians, but my time and energy can be better used in other areas if Toronto International Film Festival had actually done the legal and proper thing in the first place.

On top of this article, I have tweeted and raised my concerns directly to @TIFF_NET and @cameron_tiff. Will see what happen, stay tune.

*** Update with further points of clarifications from my Toronto friend:

“- Due to my past experiences that the first day might not have all the souvenir products ready, I called TIFF on Aug 23 morning first to inquire about the availability of the TIFF 2011 souvenirs.  The person on the phone put me on a hold and after a short wait, I was told that the TIFF 2011 souvenirs would be set up / ready by 4 pm that day (i,e, Aug 23).

So on the next day, Aug 24, I went to the Festival Box Office (225 King Street West) and found out that that location only had the Programme Book, not souvenirs.  (In the previous years, I always bought the Programme Book and the souvenirs in the same place; no more one-stop shopping this year.)  I then walked to the gift shop – TIFF Bell Lightbox Office (350 King Street West).  * Note you will see that this location closes on Aug 22 on the website* Fortunately this was a 2-block walk of short distance.  Tho it was raining lightly, the walk was not a big problem.

- the “supervisor” (with the Sales) may not really be an actual supervisor of the TIFF souvenir shop, but one could argue that she was playing a “supervising” role, or, the sales seeked her advice and let her see my receipt and let her explain to me that “the price on the tag doesn’t matter; there is a price list for the recycle bag” and basically “dismissed” my questioning when I noticed the price difference on the tag vs my bill.”

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Sept 1st update: I am glad to report that Jeff Patterson, TIFF Director of Patron Services, got back to me on Tue Aug 30th after @Cameron_TIFF forwarded him my article. I reemphasized to Jeff that, based on my understanding, the price tag, even though labeled as MSRP, is not a loophole for TIFF as the Competition Act is pretty unambiguous. I am happy to hear that Jeff told me he had talked to the TIFF store staffs and instructed the double ticketed price tags be removed. Finally, to Jeff’s credit, he promised to send my friend and me two complementary t-shirts to ease the troubles we experienced.

If there is one lesson here, I think it is important for us Canadian consumers to know our rights and protection under Competition Act. And for stores to clearly know their responsibilities and what are required of them by law.

Sept 8th, 2011 update: The t-shirts arrived today. I appreciate what TIFF did to ease the troubles we experienced.