Newspaper telemarketers slam CRTC for overriding Parliament

A CRTC decision requiring all organizations engaged in telemarketing activities, including those exempted under legislation, to fund the telemarketing complaints investigation process has ruffled the feathers of at least one of those exempted groups. The Canadian Newspaper Association (CNA) is disappointed and believes the CRTC missed the boat in its January 28 ruling. "There are a number of issues here," David Gollob, VP of public affairs at the CNA tells Network Letter. "But the main issue is that newspapers were exempted and if that was the will of Parliament , with respect, where does the CRTC get is authority to override that exemption?" Gollob says the association is now considering its options as a result of the decision, but wouldn't go as far to say that an appeal is in the picture. Requiring exempt organizations to fund investigations sends the wrong message, according to Gollob, particularly for groups that adhere to ethical telemarketing standards. "We're not selling swamp land in Florida," he says. "Parliament understood that. Our concern is that the CRTC did not." The CNA is also concerned that the complaints investigator will be driven by the almighty dollar. "If we're not careful it could turn into a huge self-generating revenue earner for yet another government agency that didn't exist yesterday and need not exist today," he adds. "I think the danger here is of setting in motion a system that will be self perpetuating and whose reason to exist will be its constant need to keep the complaints coming." The Canadian Marketing Association (CMA) is also unhappy with the decision because it believes, and has long argued, that funding for complaints investigation and enforcement should come from the government's coffers. Wally Hill, VP of public affairs at the CMA, does see some good things in the decision, however,"The positive thing about it was that they're not loading it on to the do-not-call operator. It's going to be separate entity and they're not requiring the do-not-call operator to raise additional funds within the subscription rate to pay for investigations and enforcement," he tells NL. Hill says it was the right decision to require all organizations engaged in telemarketing activities to fund complaints, pointing out that the complaints investigator will have a much broader mandate than just dealing with complaints relating to the do-not-call list. Do-not-call violations will get lumped in with all other complaints regarding the larger telemarketing rules, such as calling hours, he adds. Future of CMA Do-Not-Call listOnce the National Do-Not-Call List (DNCL) becomes operational at the end of this September, the CMA will begin the process of phasing out its own DNCL. Hill expects that it will take three years to do so because that's the duration of a registration. CMA members will still be required to use the list for at least the next 18 months and perhaps even the full three years. Hill says this will avoid any potential problems with people thinking they're registered on the National DNCL when in fact they are only registered on CMA's list.

Newspaper telemarketers slam CRTC for overriding Parliament

News | 02/07/2008 7:21 pm EST

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