An Act to promote the efficiency and adaptability of the Canadian economy by regulating certain activities that discourage reliance on electronic means of carrying out commercial activities, and to amend the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Act, the Competition Act, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act and the Telecommunications Act (S.C. 2010, c. 23)

Marginal note:Reports to Minister of Industry

61 The Commission, the Commissioner of Competition and the Privacy Commissioner must provide the Minister of Industry with any reports that he or she requests for the purpose of coordinating the implementation of sections 6 to 9 of this Act, sections 52.01 and 74.011 of the Competition Act and section 7.1 of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act.

General

Marginal note:Mandate

62 The Commission is responsible for the administration of sections 6 to 46.

Marginal note:Appointment of experts, etc.

• 63 (1) The Commission may, with the approval of the Governor in Council, engage experts or other persons to assist the Commission in any matter.

• Marginal note:Remuneration

  (2) The experts and other persons engaged by the Commission must be paid the remuneration, and are entitled to be paid the travel and living expenses incurred in providing assistance to the Commission, as may be fixed by the Governor in Council.

• Marginal note:Remuneration and expenses payable out of appropriations

  (3) The remuneration and expenses of the experts and other persons engaged by the Commission must be paid out of money appropriated by Parliament to defray the cost of administering this Act.

Marginal note:Regulations — Governor in Council

• 64 (1) The Governor in Council may make regulations

  • (a) specifying the circumstances in which consent is deemed to have been withdrawn for the purposes of section 6;

  • (b) defining “personal relationship” and “family relationship” for the purposes of paragraph 6(5)(a);

  • (c) specifying classes of commercial elec­tronic messages, or circumstances in which such messages are sent, for the purposes of paragraph 6(5)(c);

  • (d) specifying purposes of electronic messages for the purposes of paragraph 6(6)(g);

  • (e) specifying the use that may be made of a consent and the conditions on which a consent may be used for the purposes of paragraph 10(2)(b);

  • (f) specifying functions for the purposes of paragraph 10(5)(g);

  • (g) specifying operations for the purposes of subsection 10(6);

  • (h) specifying programs for the purposes of subparagraph 10(8)(a)(vi);

  • (i) specifying the circumstances mentioned in subsection 10(9) in which consent may be implied;

  • (j) defining “membership”, “club”, “association” and “voluntary organization” for the purposes of subsection 10(13);

  • (k) designating provisions whose contravention constitutes a separate contravention in respect of each day during which it continues;

  • (l) establishing additional factors to be taken into account in determining the amount payable under paragraph 51(1)(b); and

  • (m) generally, for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Act.

• Marginal note:Regulations — Commission

  (2) The Commission may make regulations

  • (a) respecting the form of a request for consent for the purposes of subsections 10(1) and (3);

  • (b) respecting undertakings under subsection 21(1);

  • (c) respecting the service of documents required or authorized to be served under this Act including the manner and proof of service and the circumstances under which documents are to be considered to be served; and

  • (d) prescribing anything that is to be prescribed under this Act.

Marginal note:Review of Act by Parliamentary committee

65 Three years after the day on which this section comes into force, a review of the provisions and operation of this Act must be undertaken by any committee of the Senate, of the House of Commons or of both Houses of Parliament that is designated or established for that purpose.

Transitional Provisions

Marginal note:Existing business or non-business relationships

66 A person’s consent to receiving commercial electronic messages from another person is implied until the person gives notification that they no longer consent to receiving such messages from that other person or until three years after the day on which section 6 comes into force, whichever is earlier, if, when that section comes into force,

• (a) those persons have an existing business relationship or an existing non-business relationship, as defined in subsection 10(10) or (13), respectively, without regard to the period mentioned in that subsection; and

• (b) the relationship includes the communication between them of commercial electronic messages.

Marginal note:Software updates and upgrades

67 If a computer program was installed on a person’s computer system before section 8 comes into force, the person’s consent to the installation of an update or upgrade to the program is implied until the person gives notification that they no longer consent to receiving such an installation or until three years after the day on which section 8 comes into force, whichever is earlier.

Amendment to This Act

68 [Amendment]

Amendment to the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission Act

69 [Amendment]

Amendments to the Competition Act

70 [Amendments]

71 [Amendment]

72 [Amendment]

73 [Amendment]

74 [Amendments]

75 [Amendment]

76 [Amendments]

77 [Amendment]

78 [Amendment]

79 [Amendment]

80 [Amendment]

81 [Amendment]

Amendments to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act

82 [Amendment]

83 [Amendment]

84 [Amendment]

85 [Amendment]

86 [Amendments]

87 [Amendment]

Amendments to the Telecommunications Act

88 [Amendments]

89 [Amendments]

90 [Amendment]

Coming into Force

Marginal note:Order in council

Footnote ^*91 The provisions of this Act come into force on a day or days to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council.

• Return to footnote ^*[Note: Subsections 12(1), (3) and (4), section 12.1 and subsections 12.2(1) and (3), as enacted by section 83, sections 84 and 85, subsection 86(1) and section 87 in force April 1, 2011, see SI/2011-22; sections 1 to 7, 9 to 46, 52 to 54, 56 to 67 and 69 to 82, subsections 12(2) and 12.2(2), as enacted by section 83, subsection 86(2), section 88 and subsection 89(1) in force July 1, 2014, section 8 in force January 15, 2015, see SI/2013-127.]