OTTAWA – The CRTC has turned down a request by Ekos Research subsidiary Probit Inc. to amend the Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules to exempt survey research.
The Commission said Monday that its current regulatory framework governing unsolicited telecommunications includes a broad exemption from the National DNCL Rules and the Telemarketing Rules for unsolicited telecommunications placed for the sole purpose of conducting a survey of members of the public.
“Probit has not established that the requested relief is necessary to comply with Parliament’s intentions regarding the regulation of unsolicited telecommunications”, reads the decision. “Probit’s proposed changes would increase the potential for misuse of…
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TORONTO – The CRTC will get candid with marketers at the Canadian Marketing Association's (CMA) exclusive breakfast event on Tuesday morning.
Held at the Toronto Board of Trade, CRTC chair Jean-Pierre Blais (pictured) will deliver a speech entitled "Protecting Canadians from Unwanted Communications". Attendees will hear about the regulatory and enforcement responsibilities affecting marketers in today's rapidly evolving media landscape, in efforts to better protect Canadians from unsolicited communications.
"CMA's self-regulatory code emphasizes trust, transparency and consumer choice," said CMA VP of government and consumer affairs Wally Hill, in a statement. "The Association is pleased that one of our industry's leading…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has kicked off a show cause proceeding to examine why its consumer safeguards for Canada’s public payphones should not directly apply to competitive payphone service providers (CPSPs).
The safeguards, announced last December, are designed to ensure that Canadians are properly informed about the rates and surcharges associated with making non-cash calls over a payphone. While incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) were directed to make this information available to consumers, the Commission did not, until recently, have the authority to directly impose these conditions on non-carriers, that is, providers other than Canadian carriers that include CPSPs.
“In the…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC estimates that its regulatory costs under section 9(1) of the broadcasting regulations will total $30.33 million for the 2016-2017 fiscal year.
The annual adjustment amount referred to in section 8(2) for the 2014-2015 fiscal year is a credit of $1.719 million. Taking this adjustment into account, the net billing for the Part I licence fee for the 2016-2017 fiscal year is $28.610 million, the Commission said Tuesday.
The broadcasting licence fee regulation provides for the payment of Part I licence fees by specific distributors, as set out in section 9(1) of the Broadcasting License Fee Regulations.
www.crtc.gc.ca
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OTTAWA–GATINEAU – The CRTC has fined three Canadian-based companies and two Indian-based call centers more than $640,000 for making telemarketing calls to Canadians.
The notices of violation, issued Thursday, allege that the five companies failed to respect the unsolicited telecommunications rules by making telemarketing calls to Canadians whose phone numbers are registered on the national Do Not Call List (DNCL), without being registered with the national DNCL operator, and without having purchased a subscription to the list.
The telemarketers were attempting to sell anti-virus software, and falsely identified themselves as representatives of Microsoft Inc., the U.S. Department of Homeland Security or Government…
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TORONTO — Bell Canada and the National Football League are crying foul against the CRTC, claiming the Regulator is trying to push forward with its Super Bowl simultaneous substitution (simsub) ban via a distribution order, before Bell and the National Football League’s appeal of the CRTC’s broadcasting decision makes its way to Federal Court.
When the CRTC announced in January 2015 (in Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2015-25) that Canadian TV distributors would no longer be allowed to perform simsub for the Super Bowl, starting with the February 2017 broadcast of Super Bowl LI, the Commission indicated it would…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has nailed another air duct cleaning company for violating Canada's telemarketing rules.
The Commission said Tuesday that it has imposed $39,000 in administrative monetary penalties (AMPs) to Toronto Breeze Air Duct Cleaning Services Inc. Acting on complaints, the CRTC launched an investigation early last year that determined that the company initiated telemarketing telecommunications on its behalf to consumers whose telecommunications numbers were registered on the National Do Not Call List (DNCL), while it was not a registered subscriber of the national DNCL. In addition, it was not registered with the national DNCL operator, had not…
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GATINEAU – More than five years after the CRTC issued its deferral accounts decision, some 287 rural and remote communities in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec now have access to broadband Internet services.
Under a plan approved by the Commission in 2010, Bell Canada, MTS Allstream and Telus spent $422 million on broadband expansion to rural and remote communities using technologies such as digital subscriber line, fixed wireless and high-speed packet access. Bell connected 112 communities and MTS connected 16 in 2014. Telus finalized its expansion to 159 communities in December 2015.
“We are pleased that three of Canada’s…
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MP fumes his local anchors are now in Toronto
OTTAWA – The ongoing local television struggles were the topic of the day at the Heritage Committee this week as it kicked off its study on the media and local communities (just three short weeks after the CRTC did the exact same thing).
Officials from the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Competition Bureau and the CRTC were at the inaugural meeting to provide MPs with background on the challenges facing the industry.
The nearly two-hour long session was mainly about giving and receiving information on the struggles of local TV, including…
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GATINEAU – The CRTC has unveiled a new online tool designed to help connect Canadians with the phone, mobile, Internet and TV service provider that best meets their needs.
The new Communication Service Providers in Canada online tool, launched just days ahead of the Commission's skinny basic TV deadline of March 1st, allows consumers to search for providers in their area, includes facts about switching providers, and links to third-party websites that rate and compare the quality and value of various communication packages.
Anyone can provide information to help update the Communications Service list by logging onto the web link.
“During our consultations…
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