DMA Politically Direct (Summer 2008): Canada's Do Not Call Registry Launches Sept. 30

August 27, 2008 — Do you or your company make telemarketing calls to Canada? With the Canadian National Do Not Call List (DNCL) set to launch September 30, 2008, you may need to adjust your business practices to remain in compliance.

Canada’s National DNCL, like the Do Not Call Registry in the United States, will reduce the number of unsolicited marketing calls that a consumer will receive, and will prohibit calls to a consumer without prior consent or an existing business relationship.

Like US’s Do Not Call Registry, the National DNCL will be paid for though subscription fees charged to telemarketers to access the National DNCL, and will be free for consumers.

However, unlike the American registry, on which numbers remain permanently unless abandoned or taken off the registry, the Canadian National DNCL honors registration for three years. By automatically removing numbers after three years, the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), the regulatory body charged with managing the DNCL’s implementation, will be able to avoid potential list hygiene problems such as having numbers that should not be registered remain on the list.

In order to further avoid hygiene issues on its registry, the Canadian government will not remove phone numbers that have been abandoned by consumers (for example consumers that have moved). The Canadians believe that the removal system in place in the US has not worked well.

DMA hosted a members-only virtual briefing on June 25 that featured representatives from both the CRTC and the Canadian Marketing Association to help members avoid the penalties associated with violations — up to $1,500 for an individual or $15,000 for a corporation for each violation. A recording of this briefing is available to DMA members at www.the-dma.org/government.

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