OTTAWA-GATINEAU – A five month investigation has resulted in 85 more telemarketing companies, many of them small businesses, caught violating the country’s do not call rules.
The CRTC said Monday that has issued citations to 74 telemarketers who had either failed to register with the national do not call list operator or subscribe to the national do not call list. Notices of violation were issued to an additional 11 companies for what the Commission described as “more significant breaches”, resulting in fines totalling $41,000.
“Today’s announcement should serve as a reminder that registering as a telemarketer is a basic requirement,” said Andrea Rosen, the CRTC’s chief compliance and enforcement officer, in a statement. “Anyone making telemarketing calls to Canadians while not registered and subscribed to the list is strongly encouraged to come into compliance as soon as possible."
According to its enforcement process, the CRTC can issue warnings and citations, conduct inspections and issue notices of violation to telemarketers. To date, the CRTC’s efforts have yielded over $2.1 million in penalties and over $740,000 in payments to post-secondary institutions.
The national do not call list, launched in 2008 to protect Canadians from unsolicited telemarketing calls and faxes, now has 10.6 million numbers currently registered.
