As readers of The Cassels Brock Report will recall, we have previously written on the progress of Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL). The articles can be found here: Article #1 and Article #2. In March of this year the CRTC issued the final version of the Electronic Commerce Protection Regulations (CRTC). These Regulations clarified and streamlined the information required in a "commercial electronic message", replaced the "two click" unsubscribe requirement with the requirement that the unsubscribe mechanism "be able to be readily performed" and confirmed that requests for consent could be obtained orally. Unfortunately, it did not go so far as to state that "in writing" requests for consent could include electronic requests such as may be available on a website for subscription to an email feed. Industry Canada has not yet published its revised regulations and interestingly, in a speech given on April 24, 2012, the Minister of Industry remarked that the anti-spam legislation is expected "to take effect next year". Clearly the government is attempting to address the many concerns expressed by stakeholders about this new law, which provides for significant administrative monetary penalties and a private right of action. We will continue to monitor the progress of CASL and alert our readers as and when significant new developments occur.
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