Co authored by: Carol Anne O'Brien, a sole
practitioner specializing in business law and regulation who works
in association with Torkin Manes LLP on various
matters.
In 2010, Parliament passed Canada's Anti-Spam
Legislation ("CASL"). Its purpose
was to limit the inconvenience and damage of unsolicited e-mails,
or "spam". In general, CASL prohibits sending
"commercial electronic messages"
("CEMs") unless the recipient has
provided his/her prior consent and the CEM satisfies certain
requirements for form and content, including an
"unsubscribe" mechanism. In December 2013, the federal
government released long-awaited regulations and announced that
most of CASL would come into force on July 1, 2014.