Industry committee  As I mentioned, I recognize the potential for parallels, but I actually don't think that the concern within the Canadian legal system is as great. As I mentioned, there are reasons for that, including the fact that it is tougher to even get a class action status in Canada than it

Industry committee  What I'm saying is that I don't anticipate the flood of lawsuits in Canada, in part because our court system is somewhat different from that of the United States. The fact that Utah was a leader in this regard isn't by accident. There was a very well-known spammer who was Utah-ba

Industry committee  My view is that it is an issue that has evolved. At the time when we were on the spam task force, the Federal Trade Commission spam centre--fridge or freezer or whatever it was called--was seen as a useful tool for investigative purposes, and there was the sense that we ought to

Industry committee  We have even higher numbers.

Industry committee  I can't answer the resourcing question because I don't know how much money has been allocated.

Industry committee  I do know that one of the recommendations that came out of the spam task force was on the resource side. One of the barriers that we consistently encountered was that there were agencies or enforcement agencies that were willing to take action, or said they were willing to take a

Industry committee  I'll give you some views from my perspective and then pass it over. I think we've recognized and been talking for the better part of a decade as well that electronic marketing represents a huge opportunity. It is obviously lower cost. The one thing we have seen happen over the l

Industry committee  I was just going to say that I find it amazing that more than ten years after we introduce private sector privacy legislation we're still acting as if obtaining appropriate consent from their customers is something new for business. I mean, please. PIPEDA, the private sector pri

Industry committee  Well, it's not the only difference; it's one reason there needs to be some action here. But there are other areas too, and in some ways they are related to cost. Think again about the success rates that are needed. Almost any legitimate business, if we're going to talk about busi

Industry committee  I think you asked me the same question when I appeared before you in the ethics committee around the Privacy Act. So it's not always about copyright with me.

Industry committee  In this instance, I really don't think there's a parallel. What we're talking about here is, in some instances, clear criminal activity. It's activity that undermines the confidence in the legitimate market for many Canadians, and the extent to which it arises.... The only copyri

Industry committee  I think that misstates my perspective on copyright. My perspective on copyright—and hopefully we'll have a chance to talk about copyright sometime down the road too—and I think the view of tens of thousands of Canadians who have spoken out on this issue, is that it's not about a

Industry committee  Not at all; if you have an active relationship with your antivirus provider and give them consent—because of course what you want is for them to send you updates every month, so you give them the consent, saying “send me updates every month”—and they do that, this can continue un

Industry committee  With respect to the do-not-call list, you've highlighted a big problem. You're right, the big problem is that Canadians can register their phone number on a Canadian list, but once someone exits the jurisdiction, the ability of the regulator to do very much about it is very limit

Industry committee  You say it's the only difference as if that's a small thing; it's an enormous thing. First off, there is the ability, in some instances, to ask to not receive certain unsolicited “real space” mail as well, although admittedly, lots of it still seems to make it through the door. T