A private right of action under Canada's Anti-Spam Law
(CASL) was scheduled to become law on July 1, 2017 (see recent
WeirFoulds Newsletter,
Canada's Anti-Spam Law has New Teeth on July 1,
2017). CASL generally provides that commercial
electronic messages cannot be sent by organizations unless express
or implied consent exists. Under the private right of action,
organizations who breach CASL would be exposed to lawsuits for
statutory damages equal to $200 for each breach to a maximum of
$1,000,000 for each day of breach regardless of the amount of
actual damages suffered.
In a News Release dated June 7,
2017, the Government of Canada announced that the implementation of
the private right of action is suspended in response to broad-based
concerns raised by organizations. According to the Government,
"Canadians deserve an effective law that protects them from
spam and other electronic threats that lead to harassment, identify
theft and fraud" but at the same time,
