Minister Clement Commends CRTC Enforcement of National Do Not Call List

Ottawa, December 20, 2010 — The Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Industry, today made the following statement:

"The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) announced today that it has received a $1.3-million penalty from Bell Canada for telemarketing violations under the rules of Canada's Do Not Call List (DNCL). In addition to the fine, Bell Canada has made a charitable donation of $266,000 to Concordia University's Institute for Information Systems Engineering. I am pleased to announce that this is the highest penalty since the DNCL was introduced in 2008. This settlement underscores the success of our government's Do Not Call List and demonstrates that Canadians are being protected.

"This announcement follows the news on Friday that the CRTC had reached a $500,000 settlement with Xentel DM Inc. Xentel had been making calls to Canadians registered on the DNCL on behalf of not-for-profit organizations that were not registered charities.

"Our government is committed to working with the CRTC on the enforcement of the rules of the program. In imposing these penalties, the Harper Government is proving that we are prepared to take serious and decisive steps to protect Canadians from the intrusiveness of unsolicited telemarketing calls. Canadians have enough to worry about at this time of the year."

For further information (media only), please contact:

Lynn Meahan
Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Tony Clement
Minister of Industry
613-995-9001

Media Relations
Industry Canada
613-943-2502