Bill S-23

This enactment provides for initiatives to control spam on the Internet.

It requires the Minister of Industry to initiate international consultation with other governments and report annually to Parliament on progress.

It allows the Minister to establish an Internet Consumer Protection Council or designate an existing body to fulfill the role of the Council. The Council will set standards for its members and for procedures to be used to reduce spam. No person may operate an Internet service provider business without being a member of the Council. If the Minister is not satisfied with the Council’s operation, the Minister may appoint directors and pass by-laws to administer it.

Any person may give a notice, to the Minister or the body to which the Minister delegates the responsibility, that they wish to be on a “no-spam list”, and persons sending spam must first check to see if the address is on the “no-spam list”. The list will not be a public document and the Minister will provide only negative information from it, for example, that an address is not on the list.

Wherever a message is initiated, if it is received by a person in Canada it is deemed to have been sent to that person, and the act of sending it is deemed to have been carried out in Canada.

The enactment provides for offences and punishments that are more severe in respect of messages that involve pornography, explicit sexual activity or attempted fraud or that target children as receivers.

It establishes a cause of civil action in nuisance for sending excessive spam and deems damage to have been caused if the volume is sufficient to cause inconvenience.