Knock, Knock. Who's There? The CRTC

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has announced that it has executed an inspection warrant to enter and inspect an unidentified property in Brampton, Ontario, as part of an ongoing investigation of what the Commission has characterized as a significant telemarketing operation.

The company under investigation is alleged to be making unauthorized calls to numbers registered on the National Do Not Call List (DNCL) for the purpose of selling anti-virus software.

The announcement is noteworthy for two reasons.  First, this is the first such warrant executed by the CRTC under its authority to regulate telemarketing in Canada.  The warrant was issued by an Ontario Justice of the Peace, and carried out with the help of local police.