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 (S.C. 2010, c. 23)

Marginal note:Consultation

57 The Commission, the Commissioner of Competition and the Privacy Commissioner must consult with each other to the extent that they consider appropriate to ensure the effective regulation, under this Act, the Competition Act, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act and the Telecommunications Act, of commercial conduct that discourages the use of electronic means to carry out commercial activities, and to coordinate their activities under those Acts as they relate to the regulation of that type of conduct.

Marginal note:Disclosure by Commission

• 58 (1) The Commission may disclose information obtained by it in the performance or exercise of its duties or powers related to any of sections 6 to 9 of this Act and, in respect of conduct carried out by electronic means, to section 41 of the Telecommunications Act,

  • (a) to the Privacy Commissioner, if the Commission believes that the information relates to the performance or exercise of the Privacy Commissioner’s duties or powers under Part 1 of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act in respect of a collection or use described in subsection 7.1(2) or (3) of that Act; and

  • (b) to the Commissioner of Competition, if the Commission believes that the information relates to the performance or exercise of the Commissioner of Competition’s duties or powers related to section 52.01 or 74.011 of the Competition Act or, in respect of conduct carried out by electronic means, to section 52, 52.1, 53, 55, 55.1, 74.01, 74.02, 74.04, 74.05 or 74.06 of that Act.

• Marginal note:Disclosure by Commissioner of Competition

  (2) Despite section 29 of the Competition Act, the Commissioner of Competition may disclose information obtained by him or her in the performance or exercise of his or her duties or powers related to section 52.01 or 74.011 of that Act or, in respect of conduct carried out by electronic means, to section 52, 52.1, 53, 55, 55.1, 74.01, 74.02, 74.04, 74.05 or 74.06 of that Act,

  • (a) to the Privacy Commissioner, if the Commissioner of Competition believes that the information relates to the performance or exercise of the Privacy Commissioner’s duties or powers under Part 1 of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act in respect of a collection or use described in subsection 7.1(2) or (3) of that Act; and

  • (b) to the Commission, if the Commissioner of Competition believes that the information relates to the administration of any of sections 6 to 9 of this Act or, in respect of conduct carried out by electronic means, of section 41 of the Telecommunications Act.

• Marginal note:Disclosure by Privacy Commissioner

  (3) The Privacy Commissioner may disclose information obtained by him or her in the performance or exercise of his or her duties or powers under Part 1 of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act if the information relates to a collection or use described in subsection 7.1(2) or (3) of that Act or to an act alleged in a complaint in respect of which the Privacy Commissioner decides, under subsection 12(2) or 12.2(2) of that Act, to not conduct an investigation or to discontinue an investigation,

  • (a) to the Commissioner of Competition, if the Privacy Commissioner believes that the information relates to the performance or exercise of the Commissioner of Competition’s duties or powers related to section 52.01 or 74.011 of the Competition Act or, in respect of conduct carried out by electronic means, to section 52, 52.1, 53, 55, 55.1, 74.01, 74.02, 74.04, 74.05 or 74.06 of that Act; and

  • (b) to the Commission, if the Privacy Commissioner believes that the information relates to the administration of any of sections 6 to 9 of this Act or, in respect of conduct carried out by electronic means, of section 41 of the Telecommunications Act.

Marginal note:Use of information by Commission

• 59 (1) The Commission may use the information that is disclosed to it under paragraph 58(2)(b) or (3)(b) only for the purpose of the administration of any of sections 6 to 9 of this Act or, in respect of conduct carried out by electronic means, of section 41 of the Telecommunications Act.

• Marginal note:Use of information by Commissioner of Competition

  (2) The Commissioner of Competition may use the information that is disclosed to him or her under paragraph 58(1)(b) or (3)(a) only for the purpose of the performance or exercise of the Commissioner’s duties or powers related to section 52.01 or 74.011 of the Competition Act or, in respect of conduct carried out by electronic means, to section 52, 52.1, 53, 55, 55.1, 74.01, 74.02, 74.04, 74.05 or 74.06 of that Act.

• Marginal note:Use of information by Privacy Commissioner

  (3) The Privacy Commissioner may use the information that is disclosed to him or her under paragraph 58(1)(a) or (2)(a) only for the purpose of performing or exercising his or her duties or powers under Part 1 of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act in respect of a collection or use described in subsection 7.1(2) or (3) of that Act.

Marginal note:Information shared with the government of a foreign state, etc.

• 60 (1) Information may be disclosed under an agreement or arrangement in writing between the Government of Canada, the Commission, the Commissioner of Competition or the Privacy Commissioner and the government of a foreign state, an international organization of states or an international organization established by the governments of states, or any institution of any such government or organization, if the person responsible for disclosing the information believes that

  • (a) the information may be relevant to an investigation or proceeding in respect of a contravention of the laws of a foreign state that address conduct that is substantially similar to

    • (i) conduct prohibited

      • (A) under any of sections 6 to 9, or

      • (B) under section 52.01 of the Competition Act or, in respect of conduct carried out by electronic means, under section 52, 52.1, 53, 55 or 55.1 of that Act,

    • (ii) conduct that contravenes section 5 of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act and that relates to a collection or use described in subsection 7.1(2) or (3) of that Act,

    • (iii) conduct that is reviewable under section 74.011 of the Competition Act or, in respect of conduct carried out by electronic means, under section 74.01, 74.02, 74.04, 74.05 or 74.06 of that Act, or

    • (iv) conduct that contravenes any prohibition or requirement of the Commission, in respect of conduct carried out by electronic means, under section 41 of the Telecommunications Act; or

  • (b) the disclosure is necessary in order to obtain from that foreign state, organization or institution information that may be relevant for any of the following purposes and no more information will be disclosed than is required for that purpose:

    • (i) the administration of any of sections 6 to 9,

    • (ii) the performance or exercise by the Commissioner of Competition of his or her duties or powers related to section 52.01 or 74.011 of the Competition Act or, in respect of conduct carried out by electronic means, to section 52, 52.1, 53, 55, 55.1, 74.01, 74.02, 74.04, 74.05 or 74.06 of that Act,

    • (iii) the performance or exercise by the Privacy Commissioner of his or her duties or powers under Part 1 of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act in respect of a collection or use described in subsection 7.1(2) or (3) of that Act, or

    • (iv) the administration, in respect of conduct carried out by electronic means, of section 41 of the Telecommunications Act.

• Marginal note:Restriction on use

  (2) An agreement or arrangement referred to in subsection (1) must

  • (a) restrict the use of the information to purposes relevant to an investigation or proceeding in respect of a contravention of the laws of the foreign state that address conduct referred to in any of subparagraphs (1)(a)(i) to (iv); and

  • (b) stipulate that the information be treated in a confidential manner and not be further disclosed without the express consent of the person responsible for disclosing the information.

• Marginal note:Restriction — arrangements

  (3) An arrangement referred to in subsection (1) entered into by the Commission or the Privacy Commissioner may be in respect only of contraventions of the laws of a foreign state that have consequences that would not be considered penal under Canadian law.

• Marginal note:Limitation

  (4) The only information that may be disclosed under subsection (1) is information

  • (a) obtained in the course of assisting an investigation or proceeding in respect of a contravention of the laws of a foreign state that address conduct that is substantially similar to conduct referred to in any of subparagraphs (1)(a)(i) to (iv); or

  • (b) obtained in the course of the activities described in any of subparagraphs (1)(b)(i) to (iv).

• Marginal note:Clarification

  (5) For the purposes of this section, an arrangement may be created by the acceptance, by the Government of Canada, the Commission, the Commissioner of Competition or the Privacy Commissioner, of a written request for assistance from the government of a foreign state, an international organization of states or an international organization established by the governments of states, or any institution of any such government or organization, if the request is accompanied by a declaration that the party making the request will provide assistance to the party to whom the request is made on a reciprocal basis.

Marginal note:Reports to Minister of Industry

61 The Commission, the Commissioner of Competition and the Privacy Commissioner must provide the Minister of Industry with any reports that he or she requests for the purpose of coordinating the implementation of sections 6 to 9 of this Act, sections 52.01 and 74.011 of the Competition Act and section 7.1 of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act.

General

Marginal note:Mandate

62 The Commission is responsible for the administration of sections 6 to 46.

Marginal note:Appointment of experts, etc.

• 63 (1) The Commission may, with the approval of the Governor in Council, engage experts or other persons to assist the Commission in any matter.

• Marginal note:Remuneration

  (2) The experts and other persons engaged by the Commission must be paid the remuneration, and are entitled to be paid the travel and living expenses incurred in providing assistance to the Commission, as may be fixed by the Governor in Council.

• Marginal note:Remuneration and expenses payable out of appropriations

  (3) The remuneration and expenses of the experts and other persons engaged by the Commission must be paid out of money appropriated by Parliament to defray the cost of administering this Act.

Marginal note:Regulations — Governor in Council

• 64 (1) The Governor in Council may make regulations

  • (a) specifying the circumstances in which consent is deemed to have been withdrawn for the purposes of section 6;

  • (b) defining “personal relationship” and “family relationship” for the purposes of paragraph 6(5)(a);

  • (c) specifying classes of commercial elec­tronic messages, or circumstances in which such messages are sent, for the purposes of paragraph 6(5)(c);

  • (d) specifying purposes of electronic messages for the purposes of paragraph 6(6)(g);

  • (e) specifying the use that may be made of a consent and the conditions on which a consent may be used for the purposes of paragraph 10(2)(b);

  • (f) specifying functions for the purposes of paragraph 10(5)(g);

  • (g) specifying operations for the purposes of subsection 10(6);

  • (h) specifying programs for the purposes of subparagraph 10(8)(a)(vi);

  • (i) specifying the circumstances mentioned in subsection 10(9) in which consent may be implied;

  • (j) defining “membership”, “club”, “association” and “voluntary organization” for the purposes of subsection 10(13);

  • (k) designating provisions whose contravention constitutes a separate contravention in respect of each day during which it continues;

  • (l) establishing additional factors to be taken into account in determining the amount payable under paragraph 51(1)(b); and

  • (m) generally, for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Act.

• Marginal note:Regulations — Commission

  (2) The Commission may make regulations

  • (a) respecting the form of a request for consent for the purposes of subsections 10(1) and (3);

  • (b) respecting undertakings under subsection 21(1);

  • (c) respecting the service of documents required or authorized to be served under this Act including the manner and proof of service and the circumstances under which documents are to be considered to be served; and

  • (d) prescribing anything that is to be prescribed under this Act.

Marginal note:Review of Act by Parliamentary committee

65 Three years after the day on which this section comes into force, a review of the provisions and operation of this Act must be undertaken by any committee of the Senate, of the House of Commons or of both Houses of Parliament that is designated or established for that purpose.

Transitional Provisions

Marginal note:Existing business or non-business relationships

66 A person’s consent to receiving commercial electronic messages from another person is implied until the person gives notification that they no longer consent to receiving such messages from that other person or until three years after the day on which section 6 comes into force, whichever is earlier, if, when that section comes into force,

• (a) those persons have an existing business relationship or an existing non-business relationship, as defined in subsection 10(10) or (13), respectively, without regard to the period mentioned in that subsection; and

• (b) the relationship includes the communication between them of commercial electronic messages.

Marginal note:Software updates and upgrades

67 If a computer program was installed on a person’s computer system before section 8 comes into force, the person’s consent to the installation of an update or upgrade to the program is implied until the person gives notification that they no longer consent to receiving such an installation or until three years after the day on which section 8 comes into force, whichever is earlier.

Amendment to This Act

68 [Amendment]

Amendment to the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission Act

69 [Amendment]

Amendments to the Competition Act

70 [Amendments]

71 [Amendment]

72 [Amendment]

73 [Amendment]

74 [Amendments]

75 [Amendment]

76 [Amendments]

77 [Amendment]

78 [Amendment]

79 [Amendment]

80 [Amendment]