Canada’s anti-spam legislation (CASL) came into effect July 1, 2014. It is in place to protect Canadians while ensuring that businesses can continue to compete in the global marketplace.
If you use electronic channels to promote or market your organization, products or services, Canada’s new anti-spam law may affect you. Many people think that the rules only apply to an organization’s bulk email – the stuff marketing sends on a semi-regular basis. This can’t be true, but it is! CASL requires proof of consent for every commercial email sent from an organization, whether it comes from the marketing department, admin or the sales team. So those “one-off” emails the sale people use to cold call are now considered spam in Canada. No proof of consent. No email. No Kidding.
On July 1, 2017, proof of consent became black or white. You can prove it or you cannot. If you cannot, you should remove those names from your email list. Even if it only leaves you with a few names you can prove consent for.
STOP emailing people without proof of consent. You are breaking the law and worse – you are spending money to tick your prospect off! If they did not give you permission, they do not expect to hear from you via email. You can use the phone, write letters, produce direct mail campaigns, advertise on TV or radio or even hire a plane to do some sky-writing, but STOP sending stuff they are not interested in to their inbox.
If you cannot prove:
1. How someone came to be on your email list
2. When that happened (date & time stamped)
3. What your consent relationship is with that individual right now.
Read more about this in an article written by Derek A. Lackey.
Read also about Government of Canada suspending lawsuit provision in anti-spam legislation. The provisions, known as private right of action, would have allowed lawsuits to be filed against individuals and organizations for alleged violations of the legislation.
The provisions were scheduled to come into force on July 1, 2017, but have now been suspended. Click here.