WHEREAS unwanted telephone and fax solicitation is a growing nuisance for residents of the Province of British Columbia; AND WHEREAS the proposed regulatory framework for the telemarketing industry attempts to protect consumers against fraud and places regulatory requirements on the telemarketing industry but does not adequately address the issue of unwanted telephone and fax solicitation: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of British Columbia Municipalities be requested to lobby the Ministry of Public Safety Solicitor General, Compliance and Consumer Policy Division, to establish a Do-Not-Call Registry which would provide those consumers who do not wish to receive unwanted telephone and fax solicitation an opportunity to voluntarily remove their telephone and fax numbers from telemarketing call lists; AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that as this is not solely a provincial issue, the UBCM approach the Federation of Canadian Municipalities to jointly lobby the federal government and the CRTC as well.
Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General The Province is licensing telemarketers to protect consumers from telephone fraud and nuisance calls. The new licensing regime came into effect on October 1, 2005, and is overseen by the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Authority. The Telemarketer Licensing Regulation restricts the hours when telemarketers can call consumers and prohibits telemarketers from contacting a consumer more than once in a 30 day period for the same good or service. Consumers can file complaints with the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Authority if a telemarketer fails to comply with the regulation. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission CRTC already requires telemarketers to maintain do not call lists and Bill C-37 proposes to amend the federal Telecommunications Act by allowing the CRTC to maintain a national do not call registry.
CANADIAN RADIO-TELEVISION AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Despite existing CRTC rules, many Canadians are still complaining about unsolicited telemarketing calls and faxes. These complaints focus on the difficulties encountered by consumers in registering their dissatisfaction and preventing continued unwanted contact. Bill C-37, An Act to amend the Telecommunications Act, S.C. 2005, C.50 received royal assent on 25 November 2005. The amendments to the Telecommunications Act the amended Act will rectify some of the difficulties that have been encountered in preventing unwanted telemarketing calls. The amended Act, when proclaimed, will provide the CRTC with the authority to establish a national do not call list and to delegate the administration of that list to a third party. The amended Act will also empower the CRTC to levy administrative monetary penalties for violations of its telemarketing rules. On 20 February 2006, the CRTC initiated a public proceeding Telecom Public Notice CRTC 2006-4 in relation to the creation and operation of a national do not call list as well as the establishment and enforcement of national do not call list rules and other rules related to telemarketing. For more information on the recently initiated public proceeding, please refer to Telecom Public Notice CRTC 2006-4, available online at www.crtc.gc.ca.