CRTC pursuing $57,000 in do-not-call fines through Federal Court

As calls mounted this week for increased powers for the CRTC to collect fines, commission information shows the agency is seeking do-not-call list fines from nine organizations, totaling $57,000, through the Federal Court. The national do-not-call list, launched in the fall of 2008, contains phone numbers of individuals who have registered to not receive calls from telemarketers. Survey companies, political parties, charities and newspapers are exempt from the list, so that consumers must ask them directly to stop calling. The issue of enforcing the do-not-call list arose this week when Liberal Senator Percy Downe, through a written request, found that the CRTC imposed $73,000 in fines on telemarketers who, since March 1, 2010, had called individuals on the do-not-call list. Of those fines, the commission has only collected $250, Downe discovered. “When I asked the question about the fines, I assumed they were all collected, but I thought I would ask just as well,” Downe told The Wire Report. “To see that only $250 was collected is an indication that the system is not being enforced at all.” Since the existence of the do-not-call list, the CRTC has collected a total of only $3,000 in fines—and faces an outstanding balance of $72,000. But section 72.09 of the Telecommunications Act allows the CRTC to pursue unpaid fines through the Federal Court. Through the court, organizations or individuals can be found in contempt if they refuse to pay their debts. Ultimately, a sheriff can seize their assets. The CRTC has released information to The Wire Report showing the commission is seeking fines totaling $57,000 through the Federal Court. A commission communications officer said none of the cases has yet reached the point of a court ordered seizure of assets. But Downe is calling on Industry Minister Tony Clement to take the issue to cabinet and find a way to give the CRTC increased powers and resources to collect fines. He said the CRTC should be able to collect money in ways similar to that of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) or the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). Revenue Canada, for example, has a criminal investigations program to handle cases of tax fraud and evasion. The agency can refer cases of tax evasion to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC), a federal organization that prosecutes offences under more than 50 federal statutes. Revenue Canada’s referrals to the PPSC resulted in 257 convictions for tax evasion or fraud in 2008 and 2009. During those years, the courts imposed $19.8 million in fines and 63.67 years of jail sentences, and the Canada Revenue Agency obtained convictions in 98 per cent of prosecuted cases, according to its website. The CBSA has had an administrative monetary penalty system in place since 2002 to ensure compliance with agency rules. Infringers can be fined up to $25,000, and the agency can refer the fines of those who refuse to pay to the Canada Revenue Agency for collection. CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein said at a conference in June that the do-not-call list is one of the few areas in which the commission can impose monetary penalties. But, overall, he added, the commission is lacking an administrative monetary penalty regime. “There’s no mechanism for enforcement. There are no administrative monetary penalties. We basically have to take people to court and say ‘You didn’t comply,’ and get an injunction to stop them from doing something,” he said. Downe said the CRTC’s do-not-call list “is the only situation I’ve ever heard of where the government is levying fines and not collecting.” Legislative changes to implement criminal fines may be necessary, Downe said. “The minister has to intervene here to give the resources, or it may be a simple legislative change … What I’m doing is trying to put pressure on the minister to intervene and fix this, and he can do that rather quickly if he has the interest in it.” He added: “People who break the law should be charged.” Downe said, according to his records, the commission has received 300,000 complaints related to the do-not-call list since it launched in 2008. The Telecommunications Act, which regulates the do-not-call list, allows the CRTC to fine offending corporations as much as $15,000 and individuals up to $1,500 for calling numbers on the list. Enforcement of the list can be problematic because many of the offenders may not be based in Canada and are less concerned about breaking Canadian law. “The people who are ‘spamming’ to that extent on the phone system don’t have much regard for anything, so they’re not going to pay anything,” John Lawford, counsel with the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), told The Wire Report. Lawford said the CRTC has not given out enough fines to begin with. “The honest truth is that if people are willing to call, despite the do-not-call list, a lot of them are going to be uncollectable anyway,” Lawford said. He added that there will be a review of the do-not-call list in five years, and said a separate and independent enforcement agency, with the power to lay criminal charges, may be necessary. The nine organizations or people from which the commission is seeking fines through the court are: · Rob Sugar, with monetary penalties totaling $4,000; · Roofing by Peerless Mason Ltd., with penalties totaling $10,000; · Waterproofing by Peerless Mason Inc., with penalties totaling $10,000; · Best Price Movers Ltd., with penalties totaling $2,500; · McTavish Logistics Ltd., with penalties totaling $5,000; · Mouldaway Canada Inc., with penalties totaling $4,500; · YYZ Logistics Ltd., with penalties totaling $5,000; · Groupe CC, with penalties totaling $9,000; and · All Points Solutions Inc., with penalties totaling $7,000. jmigneault@thewirereport.ca

CRTC pursuing $57,000 in do-not-call fines through Federal Court

News | July 8, 2010

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