Mr. Speaker, with regard to Canada’s national do not call list, DNCL, and with regard to a) As of September 30, 2010, the total number of fines, more appropriately referred to as administrative monetary penalties, AMPs, imposed is 25. These AMPs have been imposed on 23 separate entities.
With regard to b) The total value of AMPs that have been imposed to date is $176,000.
With regard to c) Partial payments have been received on 5 of the imposed AMPs. These 5 entities have made payment arrangements on $26,500 owing.
With regard to d) The total value of AMPs that have been paid as of September 30, 2010, is $9,129.
Collection action continues to be pursued on all files where the CRTC has imposed an AMP in relation to violation of the national DNCL rules. The CRTC is utilizing all means of collection available for outstanding accounts. This includes, but is not limited to, actions such as referral of outstanding accounts to collection agencies or the Canada Revenue Agency, CRA, for refund set-off of funds otherwise payable by the CRA under the Income Tax Act, the Excise Tax Act or the Excise Act; under authority of subsection 164(2) of the Income Tax Act; or under authority of subsection 155(1) of the Financial Administration Act.
With regard to e) During an investigation, if the information uncovered suggests that the telemarketer might be engaged in criminal activities, the CRTC notifies agencies that are empowered to pursue such activities. This includes the Competition Bureau and PhoneBusters, which is the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, managed on a tripartite basis by the RCMP, the Ontario Provincial Police and the Competition Bureau. To date, the CRTC has not forwarded information on violations of the national DNCL to the RCMP for further investigation.
Note: On its website, the CRTC publishes a monthly national do not call list status report. The report, published since July 2009, contains monthly and cumulative information on a number of key variables, including the number of telephone or fax numbers registered on the national DNCL; the number of complaints; the number of new, closed and active investigations; the number of notices of violation issued; and the number of AMPs issued.
The CRTC’s national do not call list status report also contains a list of CRTC decisions regarding violations of the unsolicited telecommunications rules. The list identifies the companies that were found to be in violation of the rules, and includes the URL link to each of the decisions. These decisions contain information on the circumstances of the case as well as the amount of the AMP levied.