Proceedings of the Standing Senate Committee on
Transport and Communications
Issue 23 - Ninth Report of the Committee
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
The Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications has the honour to present its
NINTH REPORT
Your Committee, to which was referred Bill C-37, An Act to amend the Telecommunications Act, has, in obedience to the Order of Reference of Wednesday, November 2, 2005, examined the said Bill and now reports the same with the following amendments:
1. Page 2, clause 1: Replace line 28 with the following:
"before each House of Parliament on any of the''.
2. Page 5, clause 2: Replace lines 12 to 16 with the following:
"commits the violation is liable
(a) in the case of an individual, to an administrative monetary penalty of up to $1,500; or
(b) in the case of a corporation, to an administrative monetary penalty of up to $15,000.''.
Your Committee has also made certain observations, which are appended to this report.
Respectfully submitted,
JOAN FRASER
Chair
Observations to the Ninth Report of the Standing Senate
Committee on Transport and Communications
Your Committee notes that a three-year review of this legislation will be conducted by Parliament and that the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) will be engaging in wide-ranging consultations in preparation for the implementation of the legislation. As part of this exercise, the CRTC should gather information and prepare recommendations for ways in which the legislation could accommodate calls based on personal relationships, business-to-business calls, and calls based on referrals.
Your Committee further notes that particular attention must be given, in the CRTC regulation-development process, to clarifying what constitutes a "pattern of abuse'' which would be considered a violation of this legislation. This issue was raised by a witness from the CRTC during your Committee's hearings.
Finally, your Committee emphasizes the importance, in preparing for the three-year review, of the CRTC collecting statistics on complaints made under the legislation, including complaints about calls that are exempt.