Mr. Speaker, with respect to the National Do Not Call List, DNCL, that was created to reduce the number of unwanted telemarketing calls received by Canadians, as of March 4, 2010: in response to
a) The total number of administrative monetary penalties, AMPs, imposed is 11.
In response to b) The total value of AMPs that have been imposed is $73 000.
In response to c) The total number of AMPs that have been paid to date is one partial payment.
In response to d) The total value of AMPs that have been paid is $250.
Collection action is pursued on all files where the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, CRTC, has imposed an AMP in relation to violation of the national DNCL rules and payment has not been made. 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, Excise Tax Act or Excise Act, under authority of subsection 164(2) of the Income Tax Act or subsection 155(1) of the Financial Administration Act.
In response to e) Where the CRTC suspects that there has been a breach of the unsolicited telecommunications rules, the CRTC first attempts to work directly with the telemarketer to obtain compliance on a voluntary basis.
Where voluntary compliance efforts fail, the CRTC issues a notice of violation to the telemarketer, which sets out proposed penalties for violations of the Rules.
The CRTC generally does not publish the name of the telemarketer at the notice of violation stage as the telemarketer has not been given the chance to formally contest the allegations. If the telemarketer complies with the requirements of the notice of violation, their names are not published.
However, if the telemarketer contests the notice of violation and the CRTC determines that violations set out in the notice were committed by the telemarketer, the name of the telemarketer, the nature of the violations and the amount of the penalties are published.
Also, if the telemarketer fails to either contest the notice of violation or pay the penalties set out in the notice, the name of the telemarketer, the nature of the violations and the amount of the penalties are published.
In response to f) In general, the CRTC’s proceedings on whether to impose AMPs are conducted entirely in writing and, as such, are not conducted by way of oral hearings. After considering any written representations made by a telemarketer in response to a notice of violation, the CRTC issues a decision on whether to impose any penalties on the telemarketer. The CRTC’s decision is posted on its website and is available to the Canadian public and the media.
Where a telemarketer applies to the CRTC to review and rescind or vary a decision, the telemarketer’s notice of violation and review and vary application are made available to the public on the CRTC’s website. Any interested person may intervene by providing comments they consider appropriate.
In response to g) 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. PhoneBusters is the Canadian Anti-fraud Call Centre, managed on a tripartite basis by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, RCMP, the Ontario Provincial Police and the Competition Bureau. To date, the CRTC has not forwarded information on violation of the national DNCL to the RCMP for further investigation.
Note: The CRTC publishes on its website a monthly national DNCL status report. The report, commencing for the month of July 2009, contains monthly and cumulative information on a number of key variables, including number of telephone or fax numbers registered on the national DNCL; number of complaints; number of new, closed and active investigations; number of notices of violation issued; and number of AMPs issued.
The CRTC’s national DNCL status report also contains a list of the CRTC’s decisions regarding violations of the unsolicited telecommunications rules. The list identifies the companies that were found to be in violation and contains the URL link to each of the decisions. These decisions contain information on the circumstances of the case and the amount of the AMP levied.