CanadaTelecommunications Act, Security Orders for Telecommunications Service Providers
Telecommunications Act (S.C. 1993, c. 38), ss. 15.1, 15.2, 72.131 and 73(3.1)
In force since .
A sector security regimes rule binding private bodies.
- Instrument type
- an act of a legislature
- Obligation class
- Security, Prohibition
As of .
What it requires
- This binds a telecommunications service provider, and only once the Governor in Council or the Minister has made an order under section 15.1 or 15.2 that names you or your products or services (reached by declaring that you provide telecommunications services). Neither order power reaches a manufacturer as such.
- Comply with an order of the Governor in Council under section 15.1 that prohibits you from using the products and services of a specified person in your telecommunications network or facilities, or directs you to remove the products of a specified person (section 15.1(1)).
- Comply with an order of the Minister under section 15.2 that prohibits you from providing any service to a specified person, or directs you to suspend providing a service to a specified person for a specified period (section 15.2(1)).
- Comply with an order of the Minister under section 15.2(2) that prohibits you from using a specified product or service in your network or facilities, directs you to remove a specified product, or imposes conditions on your use of a product or service.
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text, as of .
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Criminal exposure note
Contravening an order made under section 15.1 or 15.2 is an offence punishable on summary conviction under section 73(3.1) of the Act; an individual is liable to a fine in the court's discretion or imprisonment for up to two years less a day, or both, and a corporation to a fine in the court's discretion.
Penalty structure
Section 72.131 caps the administrative monetary penalty at $10,000,000 for a contravention by a person other than an individual and at $15,000,000 for a subsequent contravention, and at $25,000 and $50,000 for an individual. A violation continued on more than one day is a separate violation for each day (section 72.132).
- Rule
- Fixed only
- As of
- Currency
- CAD
- Fixed cap
- 15,000,000
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
The Minister and the Governor in Council make the orders, and the administrative monetary penalty scheme in sections 72.131 to 72.1393 of the Act enforces a contravention of an order.
Settledness
- As of
- Open questions
- Has any order been made under section 15.1 or 15.2, given that the Act allows an order to prohibit disclosure of its existence?
What this law does
Section 15.1(1) of the Telecommunications Act allows the Governor in Council, by order, to prohibit a telecommunications service provider from using all products and services provided by a specified person in its telecommunications network or facilities or to direct it to remove all products provided by a specified person.
Section 15.2(1) of the Act allows the Minister, by order, to prohibit a telecommunications service provider from providing any service to a specified person and to direct it to suspend providing a service to a specified person for a specified period. Section 15.2(2) of the Act allows the Minister, by order, to prohibit a telecommunications service provider from using any specified product or service in its network or facilities and to direct it to remove any specified product.
Section 72.131 of the Act makes every contravention of a provision of an order made under section 15.1 or 15.2 a violation carrying an administrative monetary penalty of up to $10,000,000, or $15,000,000 for a subsequent contravention, for a person other than an individual. Section 73(3.1) of the Act makes it an offence punishable on summary conviction to contravene an order made under section 15.1 or 15.2. The consolidation of the Act is current to and was last amended on .
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app provides telecom services.