February 6, 2013 – The Cornwall & Area Chamber of Commerce is raising the alarm about new ‘anti-spam’ regulations the federal government has recently announced.  The alarm comes as a result of a bulletin issued by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

“This legislation has taken a ‘ban-all’ approach to regulating commercial electronic messages (CEM’s)”, states Kevin Hargreaves, Chamber President. “It will have a serious effect on all e-mails, and other social media messaging that businesses send in a commercial context.”

Under the legislation, all commercial enterprises will need to obtain permission from their intended receiver to send an e-mail. But, that business may not get that permission by sending an e-mail and will be forced to set up a database that proves it has permission to send a CEM.

According to reports received by the Chamber, the legislation affects every single business, association, club, charitable organization and foundation that conducts activities in Canada. It will impede commercial speech, an essential ingredient of market competitiveness and could lead to reduced competition and higher prices.

Administrative penalties for non-compliance can be high — up to $1 million for individuals and up to $10 million for corporations. It will also be expensive for businesses, especially the smaller ones, to comply. Close to 70% of small businesses do not have a web site and under this legislation, that will have to change. The legislation has the potential to cause economic hardship on both business and not-for-profit agencies with the resulting negative impact on entire communities.

The Chamber plans to lobby the region’s MP and Industry Canada as part of a country-wide campaign involving the Canadian Chamber and chambers of commerce across Canada.

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For more information, contact:

Lezlie Strasser, Executive Manager

T.    613-933-4004
E.    strasser@cornwallchamber.com