CRTC Issues Call For Comments On Enforcement Practices

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) wears a number regulatory hats: it regulates telecommunications and broadcasting, and also has certain enforcement powers including under Canada's Anti-Spam Law (CASL) and the Elections Act. Current proposed legislation would expand these powers with new or expanded authority over online platforms and cybersecurity of Canadian telecommunications networks.

The CRTC has formal Rules of Practice and Procedure for most regulatory proceedings under the Telecommunications Act and Broadcasting Act. However, these rules do not apply to (and generally do not address) its enforcement powers. To date, the CRTC has not adopted formal rules for enforcement proceedings. It is now considering changing this.