OTTAWA – The CRTC has finally been gifted with the power to issue monetary penalties, something that has been on the wish list of many of its past chairs, particularly that of Konrad von Finckenstein.
With Bill C-43, the Economic Action Plan Act, No. 2, receiving Royal Assent, monetary penalties may be issued to any company or person that violates the Telecommunications Act as well as related CRTC decisions or regulations, current CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais said in a statement Wednesday.
“Monetary penalties are an addition to our toolkit. They will promote compliance with telecommunications laws and regulations”, Blais said. “Monetary penalties also give the CRTC greater flexibility to tailor its enforcement approach to each situation and to the facts before it. We will be providing further guidance in the coming weeks on how and when the CRTC intends to use this new power.”
Changes to the Telecommunications Act and Broadcasting Act, under Bill C-43, also prohibit communication service providers from charging customers a fee to receive paper bills for their wireless, Internet, telephone and television services. This includes undertakings that the CRTC has exempted from holding a broadcasting licence.
“We are, however, conscious that some service providers may need to update their billing systems to automatically remove these charges”, Blais continued. “In the meantime, the Commission will consider operators to be in compliance if they manually make adjustments to customer bills in the earliest available billing cycle, through rebates or otherwise, thus reversing charges for paper bills. We encourage providers to work proactively with their customers to ensure the most efficient transition to implement this new legislative requirement.”
