Check out the statement at http://www.whois.ca:

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NEW CENTRAL REGISTRY CALLS FOR RE-REGISTRATION OF ALL .CA DOMAINS
All existing domain owners must register a second time to keep their domain.
The current registry database for all .ca domains is being discontinued.

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What a bunch of idiots, can't they import all of them into the new database or something? This is one of the most ridiculous things i've ever seen.

Yep,

as of December 1st if you didn't pre-register your domain (meaning you must register your already existing domain with the new registrar) you will lose your domain name. After December 1st it's a free for all.

I am not proud to be Canadian today!

To make it worst, since the de-regulation of .ca domains hundreds of fly-by-night companies have sprung up to be a registrar for these domains, AND it now costs over $30/year to register them, when it used to cost $0.

Sad, sad, joke.

The cheapest I cound was $32.95 a year Canadian. Tucows has the contract to administer the registry and all the little companies are resellers, just like opensrs resellers. I don't know how much the resellers are charged for domains, but it would be interesting to know.

The only good thing about it is that is is easier for a Canadian to get a .ca domain. The rules are much more relaxed.

actually, i think they're handling it fairly decently...

i dont' think they gave people enough notice (around 4 months) but dealing with the situation they had, i think it was decent...

UBC used to run the show, and i can but hazard that the system they used to run the .ca was not as efficient as one might have liked... i dont' think it was a matter of just importing databases, unfortunately... and also they are giving people the option of re-registering a regional name (.bc.ca, .ab.ca) which were your ONLY options if you were provincial, as a full .ca name, so i think it was necessary to ask for re-registration...

$29 CDN is the lowest price i believe, and that's not a bad deal comparing with other ccTLD's out there...

and come on... 30 bucks, it ain't going to kill you if you need a domain... just don't do laundry for a week a month... :)

Originally posted by i am a
$29 CDN is the lowest price i believe, and that's not a bad deal comparing with other ccTLD's out there...

Who is offering them for $29? I only found two at $32. I must have missed someone.

The price has nothing to do with my disappointment. There is no reason they can't move all the entries from one database to another themselves, manually, or otherwise, but instead, they pass the buck and make everyone else have to re-register.


Would you still say it's no big deal if InterNic said that everyone had to re-register all the domains or they are given up to someone else? Just because they are moving everything to a better database??!!
What would you think then?


And when John in UBC was handling it all, he gave them away free!

i recognize that it's an inconvenience, but you're switching two different registration systems...

one from anyone gets a free provincial (or federal, if you're federally incorporated) name, to one where any canadian can register...

it's not about moving to a better database... if all they were doing is switching control, of course i'd be a little annoyed... but because they are trying to establish a new system, you have to weed out things somehow...

and like everyone, of course i'd rather not pay, but let's be realistic... $30 CDN is not that much to pay, if you still had them for free you'd have idiots stealing up all the names...

and i hate to break it to you, but there is a reason they can't move all entries from one database to another, themselves, manually... because it costs money to pay people to do that... where do you think they make some of that money?

racing rob: i can't quite remember where i saw it, i think one day out of boredom i leafed through the entire list of CIRA registrars... :)