As a result of their deliberations, committees may make recommendations which they include in their reports for the consideration of the House of Commons or the Government. Recommendations related to this study are listed below.

RECOMMENDATION 1

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada amend An Act to promote the efficiency and adaptability of the Canadian economy by regulating certain activities that discourage reliance on electronic means of carrying out commercial activities, and to amend the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Act, the Competition Act, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act and the Telecommunications Act (the Act) in order to adopt “Electronic Commerce Protection Act” as its short title.

RECOMMENDATION 2

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada clarify the definition of “commercial electronic message” to ensure that the provisions as enacted in the Act and its regulations are clear and understandable for parties subject to the legislation and do not create unintended cost of compliance. In particular, the status of administrative and transactional messages should be clarified.

RECOMMENDATION 3

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada clarify the provisions pertaining to “implied consent” and “express consent” to ensure that the provisions as enacted in the Act and its regulations are clear and understandable for parties subject to the legislation and do not create unintended cost of compliance.

RECOMMENDATION 4

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada clarify the definition of “electronic address” to ensure that the provisions as enacted in the Act are clear and understandable for parties subject to the legislation and do not create unintended cost of compliance.

RECOMMENDATION 5

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada clarify whether business-to-business electronic messages fall under the definition of “commercial electronic message.”

RECOMMENDATION 6

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada clarify whether electronic messages listed under section 6(6) of the Act fall under the definition of “commercial electronic message.”

RECOMMENDATION 7

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada consider how to best incorporate messages sent on behalf of an authorized person with regards to section 6(2)(a) of the Act.

RECOMMENDATION 8

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada clarify the application of the Act and its regulations to charities and non-profit organizations to ensure that the legislation is clear and understandable for these organizations and do not create unintended cost of compliance.

RECOMMENDATION 9

The Committee recommends that the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission increase efforts to educate Canadians, especially small businesses, with the goal of improving awareness and understanding of the Act and its regulations as well as increasing awareness of the technological tools available to assist in complying with the legislation.

RECOMMENDATION 10

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada further investigate the impact of implementing the private right of action, once changes and clarifications have been implemented to the Act and its regulations. At the same time, it could consider if an award of damages should be based on proof of tangible harm.

RECOMMENDATION 11

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada consider how the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission can share information relative to the enforcement of the Act with domestic law enforcement agencies, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Department of Public Safety, and cybersecurity partners.

RECOMMENDATION 12

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada investigate with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission how to be more transparent in the methods, investigations, and determinations of penalties, as well as on the collection and dissemination of data on consumer complaints and spamming trends.

RECOMMENDATION 13

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, the Competition Bureau and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada replace the phrase “Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation” by the short title “Electronic Commerce Protection Act” and the acronym “CASL” by the acronym “ECPA” in all guidance and enforcement materials as well as other publications on every support, including fightspam.gc.ca.