On June 7, 2017, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada announced that the Government of Canada is suspending the coming into force of sections 47 to 51 and 55 of Canada's anti-spam legislation (CASL).
These sections, known as the private right of action, give people the ability to bring a lawsuit where it is alleged they have been affected by contraventions of CASL's anti-spam and anti-malware provisions (ss. 6-9) as well certain provisions of the Personal Information and Protection of Electronic Documents Act and the Competition Act.
These sections had been scheduled to come into force on July 1, 2017.
The announcement states their suspension is in response to "broad-based concerns raised by business, charities, and the not-for-profit sector".
The Government will be asking a parliamentary committee to review CASL with a view to balancing the protection of consumer interests and "eliminating any unintended consequences for organizations that have legitimate reasons for communicating electronically with Canadians".
In the meantime, the CRTC will continue to have primary enforcement responsibility for CASL violations.
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