Peter Nowak
@peternowak.bsky.social
Founder and publisher of Do Not Pass Go, the first and only journalism venture in Canada dedicated to competition and monopoly issues. I also eat burgers. donotpassgo.ca
Think you're safe from monopolies when you sleep? Think again. Somnigroup dominates the mattress biz, with Sleep Country close behind. Indie retailer Nate Cangemi joins the Do Not Pass Go podcast to discuss how this duopoly is leading to worse sleep for consumers: www.donotpassgo.ca/p/losing-sle...
Journalist and author Tara Henley is on the Do Not Pass Go podcast this week to talk about her new book, which is all about how the news media lost the public's trust (and how they can get it back). Listen here: www.donotpassgo.ca/p/the-news-m...
StubHub is beset by investigations and class-actions from its questionable business practices, the worst of which are its dealings with mass scalpers. @daveseglins.bsky.social takes us behind the scenes of his revelatory reporting on the Do Not Pass Go podcast: www.donotpassgo.ca/p/inside-stu...
The cost of pet care is through the roof thanks to private equity and corporatization. Novel co-founder Emma Harris discusses how consolidation is driving up costs for owners and how indie clinics like hers are working to restore affordability. 🎧 Full podcast: www.donotpassgo.ca/p/what-every...
Earlier this year, Ubisoft closed its Halifax studio rather than let it unionize. Lead programmer and organizer @straighthogglin.bsky.social takes us behind the scenes of the industry-wide labour movement on this week's Do Not Pass Go podcast. 🎧 Listen here: www.donotpassgo.ca/p/inside-the...
I really enjoyed my chat with Jon as well, legitimately one of my favourite podcast interviews yet. Super smart guy who taught me a lot about how the games business is changing.
Jon Huffman@straighthogglin.bsky.social · 4w agoI thoroughly enjoyed my chat with @peternowak.bsky.social. It was great to dig into the larger trend of closures and layoffs in the video games industry. It's a challenging time but video games aren't going anywhere. However it's looking like it may be time to re-evaluate how they're made.
For your weekend listening pleasure, Ontario NDP leader @maritstilesndp.bsky.social joins the Do Not Pass Go podcast to talk competition. Affordability has firmly trumped sovereignty - pun intended? - in the minds of Canadians, she says. 🎧 Full podcast here: www.donotpassgo.ca/p/food-rent-...
The NDP is trying to reinvent itself by attaching to voters' top issue: #affordability. Ontario leader @maritstilesndp.bsky.social joins Do Not Pass Go to discuss grocery prices, right to repair and the dire need for more competition in Canada. 🎧 Listen here: www.donotpassgo.ca/p/food-rent-...
Ottawa planning social media ban for children under 16, source says. Platforms that meet new safety standards could be exempt from the ban, by Marie Woolf www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/art... via @theglobeandmail.com
Ottawa planning social media ban for children under 16, source says
Platforms that meet new safety standards could be exempt from the ban
theglobeandmail.com
The latest from @doctorow.pluralistic.net: "When it comes to championing working Canadians while royally screwing them, Carney is the only Canadian politician capable of out-Trudeauing Trudeau." pluralistic.net/2026/05/30/r...
Pluralistic: Carneyism without Carney (30 May 2026) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow
pluralistic.net
Payouts from the Great Bread Price-Fixing Scandal have started to go out, but as @keldonb.bsky.social from the Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project explains, the secretive case is ongoing and far from over:
Why is your elevator broken for so long? It's because Canada and the U.S. have the most expensive elevators on earth thanks to a four-company oligopoly that is about to shrink to three. Stephen Smith of the Center for Building North America explains, link to the full podcast is below:
Canada has some of the most expensive elevators in the world thanks to an oligopoly that's getting even smaller with Kone's $34 billion takeover of TK. Stephen Smith of the Centre for Building explains why Canada needs to move away from the U.S. and look to how Europe does elevators. Link below:
How do shopping malls in Canada end up being the same three stores in a trenchcoat? Blame the big grocery chains and their restrictive real-estate deals, says Jacob Filipp, who unearths and tracks those contracts:
How are grocery chains using restrictive real-estate contracts to kill competition? Jacob Filipp, who unearths and tracks these covenants, explains how it works in rural and urban environments. Link to the full podcast in the first comment below:
A lawsuit against Lucky Strike Entertainment by regular customers from across the U.S. says the company has built a bowling monopoly and is responsible for “the veritable destruction of the decades-old pastime of bowling in America.”
Lawsuit Accuses Lucky Strike of Building a Bowling Monopoly
The suit, filed by bowlers from several states, accuses Lucky Strike Entertainment of driving up prices and diminishing customers’ experiences across the country.
nyti.ms
Canada's Competition Act turns 40 next month. Lawson Hunter, the man who wrote it, takes us back to what motivated him. It wasn't so much about worrying about the Americans as it was about defining Canada. Check out the full Do Not Pass Go podcast episode, link in the first comment below.
Canada's Competition Act turns 40 next month. Its chief architect Lawson Hunter joins the Do Not Pass Go podcast to talk about how "antitrust hipsters" have infected it with social fairness issues and government intervention. 🎧 Listen here: www.donotpassgo.ca/p/the-compet...
The Competition Act Turns 40: What Canada Has Right – and Wrong
Enforcement has been inconsistent and "antitrust hipsters" have too much influence now, says the law's chief architect Lawson Hunter
donotpassgo.ca
Is Mark Carney actually getting serious about competition? This week's economic update promises a plan to infuse it as a priority into every aspect of government, echoing Joe Biden's 2021 Executive Order on Competition. It's in this week's competition news roundup - link in the first comment below.
Big Tech is trying to domesticate music with algorithms and AI, but it's not working, says award-winning rapper @cadenceweapon.bsky.social. He talks about the growing movement back toward real music and how his just-released album Forager is part of it on this week's Do Not Pass Go podcast.
Customer complaints at Rogers are skyrocketing and the company is cutting jobs and network spending. It all seems to run counter to the "legally binding commitments" imposed by the federal government when it allowed the company to buy Shaw in 2023. Full story here: www.donotpassgo.ca/p/rogers-bec...
Rogers Becomes a Tire Fire Through Customer Complaints and Job Cuts
Explosion in ombudsman issues plus employee and capital reductions puts spotlight on federal government's "legally binding" merger commitments
donotpassgo.ca
Musicians are afraid to speak out against Live Nation, says Rollie Pemberton aka @cadenceweapon.bsky.social. The award-winning rapper and former poet laureate discusses music biz problems and his new album Forager on this week's Do Not Pass Go podcast: www.donotpassgo.ca/p/theyre-try...
Rogers Communications offering buyouts to half its work force www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...
Rogers Communications offering buyouts to half its work force
It’s the telecom sector’s largest round of buyouts in recent years amid slowing growth
theglobeandmail.com
I’m putting on a vintage market today at Standard Time in Toronto to celebrate the release of my new album Forager! There will be vintage clothing, Buck 65 will be selling records, Lo Fi Bagels will be there, it’s gonna be a blast. It’s all starting at 11 am!
SiriusXM is said to be in early-stage discussions to acquire iHeartMedia, a deal that would create a sprawling audio giant.
SiriusXM Said to Be in Early Talks to Acquire iHeartMedia
A deal, which was described by two people familiar with the discussions, would unite two major providers of traditional and satellite radio.
nyti.ms
The CRTC puts "an end" to meaningful internet competition in Canada. Plus, indie movie theatres urge a thorough review of the Paramount-WB merger over how it could put the screws to them. Your weekly competition news roundup: www.donotpassgo.ca/p/roundup-cr...
Roundup: CRTC Puts An 'End' To Internet Competition
Plus: Indie theatres urge Competition Bureau action on Paramount-Warner Bros. and scalping for profit is now illegal in Ontario
donotpassgo.ca
