CanadaCanada's Anti-Spam Legislation
Officially Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation, Unsolicited Commercial Electronic Messages
Also known as CASL.
S.C. 2010, c. 23, ss. 6, 9 to 11
A citation is an address, not a summary. The first part names the law; what follows narrows it to the exact section, article or paragraph.
What follows is LexLint's own research summary of this law, not legal advice.
In force since .
A commercial messages rule binding public and private bodies.
As of .
What it requires
- Get the recipient's prior consent, express or implied, before sending a commercial electronic message (a term broad enough to reach email, SMS and other electronic messages) to an electronic address, unless an exemption applies.
- Every commercial electronic message must identify who sent it (and who it was sent on behalf of, if different), give the recipient information letting them readily contact that person, and include an unsubscribe mechanism using the same electronic means the message was sent by, or another electronic means if that is not practicable; the prescribed content and form of that information is set out in the Electronic Commerce Protection Regulations (CRTC), SOR/2012-36.
- Keep the contact information and the unsubscribe address or web page valid for at least 60 days after the message is sent, and give effect to an unsubscribe request without delay and no later than 10 business days after it is sent, with no further action required of the recipient.
- Treat consent as implied, without asking for it, only where you have an existing business relationship (a purchase, lease, barter, written contract, or gaming or investment opportunity within the last two years, or an inquiry or application within the last six months) or an existing non-business relationship (a donation, volunteer work, or membership with a registered charity, political party or candidate within the last two years), or where the recipient conspicuously published or gave you their address without saying they did not want unsolicited messages and the message is relevant to their business, role or duties.
- A request for express consent must clearly and simply set out the purpose for which consent is sought and identify who is seeking it (and on whose behalf, if different).
- A message that does nothing more than give a quote the recipient asked for, complete or confirm a transaction they agreed to, give warranty, recall, safety or factual account or subscription-status information, relate to an existing employment relationship, or deliver something they are already entitled to does not need consent, but it must still identify the sender, give contact information and carry the unsubscribe mechanism.
- None of these rules applies to a message sent by an individual to another individual with whom they have a personal or family relationship, or to a message to a business that consists solely of an inquiry or application about its commercial activity.
- Do not aid, induce, procure or cause to be procured the sending of a commercial electronic message in violation of these rules on someone else's behalf.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureNo
Private right of actionNo
Penalty structure
The maximum administrative monetary penalty a person is liable to for a single violation of sections 6 to 9 is $1,000,000 in the case of an individual and $10,000,000 in the case of any other person (including a corporation). Every contravention of sections 6 to 9 is its own violation, so a campaign of multiple non-compliant messages or installations can draw the maximum for each one; regulations may also designate a provision whose contravention constitutes a separate violation for each day it continues.
- Rule
- Per violation only
- As of
- Currency
- CAD
- Per violation unit
- Violation
- Per violation amount
- 10,000,000
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
Administrative monetary penalties are imposed by a person designated under the Act following an investigation, subject to review by the Commission and appeal to the Federal Court of Appeal; the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission administers this scheme.
What it reaches
Obligation class
Consent, Disclosure, Prohibition
What this law does
Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.
Section 6 prohibits sending, or causing or permitting to be sent, a commercial electronic message to an electronic address unless the recipient has consented, expressly or impliedly, and the message identifies who sent it (and on whose behalf, if different), gives the recipient a way to readily contact that person, and carries an unsubscribe mechanism valid for at least 60 days.
Section 11 requires that mechanism to work through the same electronic means the message was sent by where practicable and requires effect to be given to an unsubscribe request without delay and no later than 10 business days after it is sent.
Consent is implied under section 10 only where the sender has an existing business relationship (a purchase, lease, barter or written contract within the last two years, or an inquiry within the last six months) or an existing non-business relationship such as a donation, volunteer work or membership with a registered charity, political party or candidate within the last two years, or where the recipient conspicuously published their address without stating they did not want unsolicited messages and the message concerns their business, role or duties.
Section 9 separately prohibits aiding, inducing or procuring the sending of a message contrary to these rules on someone else's behalf.
A message that solely gives a quote the recipient requested, completes or confirms a transaction the recipient already agreed to, gives warranty, recall or safety information about a product the recipient uses, provides factual account or subscription status information, relates to an existing employment relationship, or delivers something the recipient is already entitled to receive is exempt from the consent requirement but not from the identification and unsubscribe requirements, and section 6 does not apply at all to a message between individuals with a personal or family relationship or to a message to a business that consists solely of an inquiry or application about its commercial activity.
Every contravention of sections 6 to 9 is a violation carrying an administrative monetary penalty, and the private right of action Parliament enacted alongside this section, sections 47 to 51, was repealed before it was ever brought into force.
When LexLint raises it
automated_outreach
Read the law
Every line above is drawn from the primary source linked here, read on the date shown. This is a research summary, not legal advice.