OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Canadians tired of receiving unwanted telemarketing calls will welcome Wednesday’s decision by the CRTC making telephone numbers registered on the national do-not-call list (DNCL) permanent.
Initially, number registrations with the DNCL were for a set amount of time, after which Canadians would have had to re-register their numbers. Canadians can, at any time, check the DNCL to find out if their number is on the list and, if they wish, have it removed.
"The National DNCL was created to respect the wishes of Canadians who do not want to receive any more telemarketing calls”, said CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais, in a statement. “It therefore makes sense that registration be made permanent in order to spare Canadians the inconvenience of having to re-register their number on the List. We are pursuing our efforts to ensure that telemarketers respect the wishes of Canadians.”
The Commission added that it is continuing to enhance its monitoring in order to ensure that all telemarketers follow the rules, and reminded telecommunications companies of the importance of their role in maintaining the integrity of the DNCL.
Over 12 million numbers are currently registered and, on average, 1,200 new numbers are still being added every day. Since the creation of the DNCL in 2008, the CRTC has conducted 1,200 investigations and has imposed almost $4 million in administrative monetary penalties, which are paid to the Receiver General for Canada.
Consumer groups Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) and the Council of Senior Citizens’ Organizations of British Columbia (COSCO) were quick to applaud the move.
“Today's decision is positive for consumers”, said Geoffrey White, counsel to PIAC and COSCO, in a statement. “It ensures that ‘once registered, always registered’ unless the subscriber says otherwise, and eliminates the hassle of periodically having to renew registration, a hassle which the Commission recognized in today's decision.”
– Lesley Hunter
