OTTAWA–GATINEAU – With a federal election looming, the CRTC laid out the ground rules for entities who call voters, or that engage others to do so.
As part of recent amendments to the Canada Elections Act and the Telecommunications Act, the Commission is responsible for establishing and maintaining a Voter Contact Registry during federal elections. Persons, corporations, or groups that engage in voter contact calls in relation to an election will be required to file registration notices and identifying information with the Commission for inclusion in the Voter Contact Registry.
Political entities, including candidates and political parties, corporations, trade associations and other persons or groups using calling service providers to make voter contact calls, either live or through an automatic dialing and announcing device (often referred to as robocalls), will need to register with the CRTC within 48 hours of making the first call, the Commission said Friday.
In addition, anyone using their own internal services to make voter contact calls using an automatic dialing and announcing device will have to register with the CRTC within 48 hours of making the first call. With the exception of third parties who are corporations or groups, those who make live voter contact calls using their own internal services will not have to register.
The Commission also said that registrants will need to provide a copy of identification issued from a federal, provincial or territorial government, or international equivalent that includes the registrant’s name and photo, such as a driver’s licence, provincial health card, permanent residency card, or valid Canadian or foreign passport. The ID must also be accompanied by an attestation from a notary.
Registrants will also have to provide a copy of a piece of identification to a calling service provider before entering into an agreement for voter contact calling services, and again when authorizing the first call to be made under the agreement. Although calling service providers will need to register with the CRTC, they do not need to provide a copy of a piece of identification when filing their Registration Notice.
“Once the Voter Contact Registry is up and running, our objective will be to promote compliance with the new rules to help protect Canadians from rogue or misleading telephone calls during a federal election”, said CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais, in a statement. “The information we have made available today will help those intending to make calls to prepare.”
The Commission can impose monetary penalties that range from a maximum of $1,500 for individuals to $15,000 for corporations for each violation, and said that factors that will help determine the amount of a penalty could include:
– the nature and scope of the violation;
– any benefit that the person obtained from the commission of the violation;
– the person’s or group’s ability to pay the penalty; and
– whether the person or group has a history of previous violations.
