CRTC Issues A Compliance And Enforcement Regulatory Policy For Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunication Commission (CRTC) regulates telemarketing and administers the National Do Not Call List (NDNCL) which gives Canadians a choice about receiving telemarketing calls. Canadians can chose to register their residential, wireless, facsimile or VoIP telephone number on the List. If the number is listed, telemarketers, with a few exceptions, are prohibited from calling that number. If a telemarketing call is received on a registered number, one can complain to the CRTC, which has the power to enforce the prohibition and levy monetary penalties against violators.

Recently, the CRTC denied an application by the Canadian Marketing Association to use an automatic dialing-announcing device (ADAD) for telemarketing when there is an existing business relationship between the telemarketer or client of the telemarketer and the party being called. See Compliance and Enforcement Regulatory Policy CRTC 2014-155. The CRTC had previously