OTTAWA-GATINEAU — Two duct-cleaning services companies that were notified previously in February of being in violation of Canada’s unsolicited telecommunications rules have still not paid the monetary penalties imposed by the CRTC.
The CRTC issued on Friday compliance and enforcement decisions against the two duct-cleaners who the Commission had previously determined had arranged for a telemarketer to make unsolicited telemarketing calls on their behalf, while they were not registered with or a paid subscriber of the National Do Not Call List (DNCL).
The two companies — N. Bro Transport Inc. and Goodlife Home Services Inc. — are listed as being located at the same address in Mississauga, Ont. In the case of N. Bro Transport, the CRTC found the duct-cleaning company had committed 14 violations of the Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules between January 1, 2012 and January 22, 2013. In the case of Goodlife Home Services, the duct-cleaner had committed 16 violations between January 23, 2013 and December 31, 2013, the CRTC determined.
The CRTC issued separate notices of violation on February 11, 2015 to the two companies, setting monetary penalties of $14,000 and $16,000 for N. Bro Transport and Goodlife Home Services, respectively. Subsequently, the CRTC received representations on March 9 from the two companies, who did not pay the imposed fines set out in the notices of violation.
After reviewing the companies’ representations, in which they requested the CRTC attribute the violations to the telemarketer they hired to make the calls, the CRTC has reiterated its position that the two companies were “being held vicariously liable for the conduct of the telemarketer” as per section 72.16 of the Telecommunications Act.
“A person is liable for a violation that is committed by an employee of the person acting in the course of the employee’s employment, or by an agent or mandatary of the person acting within the scope of the agent’s or mandatary’s authority, whether or not the employee or agent or mandatary who actually committed the violation is identified or proceeded against,” the CRTC wrote in its two compliance and enforcement decisions (CRTC 2015-360 and CRTC 2015-361), issued August 7.
N. Bro Transport and Goodlife Home Services now have until September 8 to pay their fines, after which time “the Commission intends to take measures to collect the amount owing, which may include certifying the unpaid amount and registering the certificate with the Federal Court,” the CRTC said.
