Under Canada’s anti-spam law, or CASL, new provisions were to come into force on July 1 that would expose non-CASL compliant organizations to lawsuits brought by affected individuals in response to violations. But in a cabinet order dated June 2, 2017, Parliament has halted this this process indefinitely, effectively suspending the private right of action. This decision has been met with mixed reactions.
Lawyer Barry Sookman welcomes the news:
CASL in its present form was a big mistake. The private right of action (PRA) which was scheduled to come into effect July 1, 2017 would have compounded the adverse effects of this flawed, overly-broad, indefensible, and likely unconstitutional law. […]The Government strongly signaled today that it is prepared to fix or at least mitigate some of the excessive elements of the CASL regime. This is something that every sector of the Canadian public including charities, not-for profit and educational institutions, private individuals, small, medium and large businesses, retailers, publishers, financial institutions, technology and telecom companies had been asking for even before CASL came into force.
Canadian Bar Association – Mariane Gravelle – June 8, 2017.
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