OTTAWA–GATINEAU – The CRTC has issued 10 citation letters for alleged violations under the Voter Contact Registry during the 2015 federal election.
The registry, which came in to force in August 2015, is intended to protect Canadian voters from rogue and misleading telephone calls during federal elections, and to help to ensure that anyone who contacts voters during an election does so transparently. The CRTC can send warning letters, issue citations or impose penalties of up to $1,500 per violation per day for individuals and up to $15,000 per violation per day for a corporation.
The citations, made public Monday, are for failing to file a registration notice. Three calling service providers (Touchlogic, Servicom LLC and Telepoll Market Research) received a citation letter, as did the following persons or groups representing political candidates during their campaign: Sabin Gaudreault (Bloc Québécois), Chandra Arya (Liberal Party of Canada) and James Cumming, Rob Clarke, Ninder Thind, John Barlow and Alex Nuttall (Conservative Party of Canada).
The Commission said that it received 1,460 registrations for last fall’s federal election, including 554 from calling service providers and 906 from other persons or groups.
"During the 2015 federal election, our objective was to ensure those making calls followed the new requirements under the Voter Contact Registry”, said CRTC chief compliance and enforcement officer Manon Bombardier, in a statement. “The citations inform recipients that it is alleged that a violation was committed. We expect that they will take the necessary measures to comply fully with the registry should they want to call voters during a future federal election or by-election."
