Philip Jong

Much like junk mails or spam emails, unsolicited calls from telemarketers have become both a pesky nuisance and an unwanted disruption for many Canadians. Last month, the long-awaited National Do Not Call List (DNCL) finally came into effect in Canada, nearly four years after the legislation (Bill C-37) that would enact the DNCL was first introduced. To many Canadians, the DNCL represents an unprecedented urgency to protect the rights and privacy of consumers. In practice, however, the DNCL is a much needed effort to introduce new responsibilities to Canada’s telemarketers, so that legitimate businesses may still be conducted over the phone with potential customers. The establishment of the DNCL is not without controversy, and many consumers (including I) feel that exemptions to the DNCL are still too board and vague to avert circumvention. Still, I applaud the effort of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission on enforcing this legislation for the benefits of Canadian consumers and businesses alike, even when the legislation itself is a few years too late in the making!