OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC announced Friday it has issued two notices of violation totalling $17,000 in penalties as part of a wide-ranging investigation into the use of robocalls by political parties, elected officials and telemarketers.
Paul Dewar, an M.P. for Ottawa Centre and the NDP’s foreign affairs critic, entered into a settlement agreement with the CRTC and paid a $7,000 penalty for violating the Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules (UTR). In an unrelated investigation, Strategic Communications Inc. also cooperated, agreed to settle and paid a penalty of $10,000 for similar violations.
“We appreciate the cooperation we received during our investigations,” said Andrea Rosen, the CRTC’s chief compliance and enforcement officer, in a release. “We expect candidates who are running political campaigns, and telemarketing service providers to put appropriate safeguards in place to ensure compliance with the Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules.”
In addition to paying the fines, both parties have agreed to put in place a number of compliance programs. They include:
- an acknowledgement of all applicable Rules and a commitment to comply fully with them
- the appointment of a compliance officer to ensure ongoing adherence with the Rules
- an education and training program for volunteers and employees and appropriate compliance measures when making calls
- appropriate record keeping, and promotion of better awareness of the UTR.
To date, the CRTC has issued more than $3 million in penalties, which are remitted to the Receiver General for Canada, and has made over $740,000 in payments to post-secondary institutions.
