Telecommunications Act (S.C. 1993, c. 38)

Provision of Information

Marginal note:Information requirements

• 37 (1) The Commission may require a Canadian carrier

  • (a) to adopt any method of identifying the costs of providing telecommunications services and to adopt any accounting method or system of accounts for the purposes of the administration of this Act; or

  • (b) to submit to the Commission, in periodic reports or in such other form and manner as the Commission specifies, any information that the Commission considers necessary for the administration of this Act or any special Act.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (2) Where the Commission believes that a person other than a Canadian carrier is in possession of information that the Commission considers necessary for the administration of this Act or any special Act, the Commission may require that person to submit the information to the Commission in periodic reports or in such other form and manner as the Commission specifies, unless the information is a confidence of the executive council of a province.

• Marginal note:Transmittal

  (3) The Commission shall, on request, provide the Minister or the Chief Statistician of Canada with any information submitted to the Commission.

Marginal note:Access to information

38 Subject to section 39, the Commission shall make available for public inspection any information submitted to the Commission in the course of proceedings before it.

Marginal note:Designation of information

• 39 (1) For the purposes of this section, a person who submits any of the following information to the Commission may designate it as confidential:

  • (a) information that is a trade secret;

  • (b) financial, commercial, scientific or technical information that is confidential and that is treated consistently in a confidential manner by the person who submitted it; or

  • (c) information the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected

    • (i) to result in material financial loss or gain to any person,

    • (ii) to prejudice the competitive position of any person, or

    • (iii) to affect contractual or other negotiations of any person.

• Marginal note:Information not to be disclosed

  (2) Subject to subsections (4), (5), (5.1) and (6), where a person designates information as confidential and the designation is not withdrawn by that person, no person described in subsection (3) shall knowingly disclose the information, or knowingly allow it to be disclosed, to any other person in any manner that is calculated or likely to make it available for the use of any person who may benefit from the information or use the information to the detriment of any person to whose business or affairs the information relates.

• Marginal note:Persons who shall not disclose information

  (3) Subsection (2) applies to any person referred to in any of the following paragraphs who comes into possession of designated information while holding the office or employment described in that paragraph, whether or not the person has ceased to hold that office or be so employed:

  • (a) a member of, or person employed by, the Commission;

  • (b) in respect of information disclosed under paragraph 4(b) or 5(b), the Commissioner of Competition appointed under the Competition Act or a person whose duties involve the carrying out of that Act and who is referred to in section 25 of that Act;

  • (c) in respect of information provided under subsection 37(3), the Minister, the Chief Statistician of Canada, an agent of or a person employed in the federal public administration.

• Marginal note:Disclosure of information submitted in proceedings

  (4) If designated information is submitted in the course of proceedings before the Commission, the Commission may

  • (a) disclose or require its disclosure if it determines, after considering any representations from interested persons, that the disclosure is in the public interest; and

  • (b) disclose or require its disclosure to the Commissioner of Competition on the Commissioner’s request if it determines that the information is relevant to competition issues being considered in the proceedings.

• Marginal note:Disclosure of other information

  (5) If designated information is submitted to the Commission otherwise than in the course of proceedings before it, the Commission may

  • (a) disclose or require its disclosure if, after considering any representations from interested persons, it considers that the information is relevant to the determination of a matter before it and determines that the disclosure is in the public interest; and

  • (b) disclose or require its disclosure to the Commissioner of Competition on the Commissioner’s request if it considers that the information is relevant to competition issues being raised in the matter before it.

• Marginal note:Use of information disclosed to Commissioner of Competition

  (5.01) Neither the Commissioner of Competition nor any person whose duties involve the administration and enforcement of the Competition Act and who is referred to in section 25 of that Act shall use information that is disclosed

  • (a) under paragraph (4)(b) other than to facilitate the Commissioner’s participation in proceedings referred to in subsection (4); or

  • (b) under paragraph (5)(b) other than to facilitate the Commissioner’s participation in a matter referred to in subsection (5).

• Marginal note:Disclosure

  (5.1) The Commission may disclose designated information obtained by it in the performance or exercise of its duties or powers related to section 41, in respect of conduct carried out by electronic means, in accordance with subsection 58(1) or 60(1) of 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.

• Marginal note:Information inadmissible

  (6) Designated information that is not disclosed or required to be disclosed under this section is not admissible in evidence in any judicial proceedings except proceedings for failure to submit information required to be submitted under this Act or any special Act or for forgery, perjury or false declaration in relation to the submission of the information.

Connection of Facilities

Marginal note:Order for connection

• 40 (1) The Commission may order a Canadian carrier to connect any of the carrier’s telecommunications facilities to any other telecommunications facilities.

• Marginal note:Conditions of order

  (2) An order may require the connection to be made at or within such time, and subject to such conditions, if any, as to compensation or otherwise, as the Commission determines to be just and expedient.

Unsolicited Telecommunications

Marginal note:Prohibition or regulation by Commission

• 41 (1) The Commission may, by order, prohibit or regulate the use by any person of the telecommunications facilities of a Canadian carrier for the provision of unsolicited telecommunications to the extent that the Commission considers it necessary to prevent undue inconvenience or nuisance, giving due regard to freedom of expression.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (2) Despite subsection (1), the Commission may not prohibit or regulate the use by any person of the telecommunications facilities of a Canadian carrier for the provision of unsolicited telecommunications, if the telecommunication is

  • (a) a commercial electronic message to which section 6 of 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 applies; or

  • (b) a commercial electronic message referred to in subsection 6(5) of that Act, except to the extent that it is one referred to in subsection 6(8) of that Act.

Marginal note:Do not call list

41.1 Sections 41.2 to 41.7 create a legislative framework for a national do not call list.

Marginal note:Administration by Commission

41.2 The Commission may, for the purposes of section 41,

• (a) administer databases or information, administrative or operational systems;

• (b) determine any matter, and make any order, with respect to the databases or the information, administrative or operational systems; and

• (c) conduct investigations to determine whether there has been a contravention of any order made under that section.

Marginal note:Fees

• 41.21 (1) The Commission may make regulations prescribing fees, and respecting their calculation and payment, to be paid by any person who acquires information from the databases or the information, administrative or operational systems referred to in section 41.2 for the purpose of recovering all or a portion of the costs that the Commission determines to be attributable to its responsibilities under that section and that are not recovered under any regulation made under section 68.

• Marginal note:Debt due to Her Majesty

  (2) Fees required to be paid under this section constitute a debt due to Her Majesty in right of Canada and may be recovered in a court of competent jurisdiction.

• Marginal note:Prepublication of regulations

  (3) The Commission shall publish any regulations that it proposes to make under subsection (1) and shall give interested persons a reasonable opportunity to make representations to the Commission with respect to the proposed regulations.

• Marginal note:Modification after publication

  (4) Proposed regulations that are modified after publication need not be published again under subsection (3).

Marginal note:Delegation of powers

• 41.3 (1) The Commission may, in writing and on specified terms, delegate to any person, including any body created by the Commission for that purpose, any of its powers under section 41.2 and the power to collect fees that it prescribes under subsection 41.21(1).

• Marginal note:Decision of delegate

  (2) For the purposes of sections 62 and 63, a decision of a delegate is deemed to be a decision of the Commission.

• Marginal note:Decision of Commission

  (3) For greater certainty, a delegation of powers is a decision of the Commission.

• Marginal note:Revocation of delegation

  (4) The Commission may, in writing, revoke a delegation of powers. A revocation is deemed not to be a decision of the Commission.

Marginal note:Rates

• 41.4 (1) A delegate may charge rates for exercising delegated powers.

• (2) [Repealed, 2012, c. 19, s. 599]

Marginal note:Financial Administration Act does not apply

• 41.41 (1) Despite the Financial Administration Act, money collected by a delegate is deemed not to be public money.

• Marginal note:Exception — fees

  (2) However, any fees that are prescribed under subsection 41.21(1) and collected by the delegate are public money when they are paid to the Receiver General.

Marginal note:Regulation of rates and delegated powers

41.5 The Commission may regulate the rates charged by a delegate, whether by requiring pre-approval of the rates or otherwise, and the manner in which the delegate exercises any of the delegated powers.

Marginal note:Report to Minister

• 41.6 (1) The Commission shall, within six months after the end of each fiscal year, deliver a report to the Minister on the operation of the national do not call list in that fiscal year.

• Marginal note:Content of report

  (2) The report shall set out any costs or expenditures related to the list, the number of Canadians using the list, the number of telemarketers accessing the list, any incon­sistencies in the prohibitions or requirements of the Commission under section 41 that are applicable to the operation of the list, and an analysis of the effectiveness of the list.

• Marginal note:Tabling of report

  (3) The Minister shall cause a copy of the report referred to in subsection (1) to be laid before each House of Parliament on any of the first fifteen days on which that House is sitting after the Minister receives the report.

Marginal note:Exemptions

• 41.7 (1) An order made by the Commission that imposes a prohibition or requirement under section 41 that relates to information contained in any database or any information, administrative or operational system administered under section 41.2 for the purpose of a national do not call list does not apply in respect of a telecommunication

  • (a) made by or on behalf of a registered charity within the meaning of subsection 248(1) of theIncome Tax Act;

  • (b) made to a person

    • (i) with whom the person making the telecommunication, or the person or or­ganization on whose behalf the telecommunication is made, has an existing business relationship, and

    • (ii) who has not made a do not call request in respect of the person or organization on whose behalf the telecommunication is made;

  • (c) made by or on behalf of a political party that is a registered party as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Canada Elections Act or that is registered under provincial law for the purposes of a provincial or municipal election;

  • (d) made by or on behalf of a nomination contestant, leadership contestant or candidate of a political party described in paragraph (c) or by or on behalf of the official campaign of such a contestant or candidate;

  • (e) made by or on behalf of an association of members of a political party described in paragraph (c) for an electoral district;

  • (f) made for the sole purpose of collecting information for a survey of members of the public; or

  • (g) made for the sole purpose of soliciting a subscription for a newspaper of general circulation.

• Marginal note:Definitions

  (2) The following definitions apply in subsection (1).

  candidate

  candidate means a candidate as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Canada Elections Act or a candidate whose nomination has been confirmed, for the purposes of a provincial or municipal election, by a political party that is registered under provincial law. (candidat)

  existing business relationship

  existing business relationship means a business relationship that has been formed by a voluntary two-way communication between the person making the telecommunication and the person to whom the telecommunication is made, arising from

  • (a) the purchase of services or the purchase, lease or rental of products, within the eighteen-month period immediately preceding the date of the telecommunication, by the person to whom the telecommunication is made from the person or organization on whose behalf the telecommunication is made;

  • (b) an inquiry or application, within the six-month period immediately preceding the date of the telecommunication, by the person to whom the telecommunication is made in respect of a product or service offered by the person or organization on whose behalf the telecommunication is made; or

  • (c) any other written contract between the person to whom the telecommunication is made and the person or organization on whose behalf the telecommunication is made that is currently in existence or that expired within the eighteen-month period immediately preceding the date of the telecommunication. (relation d’affaires en cours)

  leadership contestant

  leadership contestant means a leadership contestant as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Canada Elections Act or a contestant for the leadership of a political party that is registered under provincial law. (candidat à la direction)

  nomination contestant

  nomination contestant means a nomination contestant as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Canada Elections Act or a contestant for nomination by a political party that is registered under provincial law as its candidate in a provincial or municipal election. (candidat à l’investiture)

• Marginal note:Identification of purpose

  (3) Any person making a telecommunication referred to in subsection (1) must, at the beginning of the telecommunication, identify the purpose of the telecommunication and the person or organization on whose behalf the telecommunication is made.

• Marginal note:Distinct do not call lists

  (4) Every person or organization that, by virtue of subsection (1), is exempt from the application of an order made by the Commission that imposes a prohibition or requirement under section 41 shall maintain their own do not call list and shall ensure that no telecommunication is made on their behalf to any person who has requested that they receive no telecommunication made on behalf of that person or organization.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (5) Subsections (3) and (4) do not apply in respect of a person making a telecommunication referred to in paragraph (1)(f).