September 30th, 2008
Groups Want Cabinet Minister for Consumer Protection
The Canadian Consumer Initiative (CCI) called on all federal parties to commit to establishing a Cabinet level position for protecting consumers and to increase funding for consumer organizations. Their demand is backed up by a new poll conducted by Nanos Research for CCI that reveals more than 80% of Canadians believe the appointment of a Minister for consumer protection should be a high or medium priority for the next government.
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September 29th, 2008
Nanos Poll: Canadians Call on Federal Government to Reverse Course on Failed Approach to Food Safety
According to a survey conducted by Nanos Research, commissioned by the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, an overwhelming majority of Canadians are opposed to the Conservative government's plans to cut key food safety programs and to expand industry self-policing.
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September 25th, 2008
Canadian Consumer Groups React to NDP Plan to Create a Minister for Consumer Protection
The New Democratic Party made an announcement on consumer protection today as part of the federal election campaign. In Kelowna, BC, NDP Leader Jack Layton said his party is committed to creating a Minister for Consumer Protection and taking a number of measures to combat gas gouging.
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“Do not call me!”
In order to not receive telemarketing calls, you can register your residential telephone number, your cellular, your fax number and your VOIP service for free on the
National Do-Not-Call Registry (DNCL). It will remain on this list for three years, and maybe re-entered when the 3 years have passed.
From now on, telemarketers will be forbidden from calling numbers on the DNCL, subject to certain exceptions. If you receive a commercial call and your phone number has been registered for more than 31 days, you can
lodge a complaint with the operator of the national DNCL online at www.LNNTE-DNCL.gc.ca or by calling at 1-866 580-DNCL. The companies who do not follow
the rules can receive a penalty of up to $15,000 per infraction.
The DNCL does not cover the following calls from:
- registered charities seeking donations
- political parties
- newspapers looking for subscriptions
- polling firms
- companies that have had a “commercial relationship” with a household within the previous 18 months or companies that the customer contacted for information during the last 6 months
These organizations, not subjected to the DNCL, must hold their own list of exclusion. You can ask the telemarketer to register your phone number on it. Then they will have 31 days to update their list and will have to store this information for 3 years. If you continue to receive nondesired calls, you can file a complaint with the CRTC under the law of unsolicited telecommunications (Part III:
Telemarketing Rules).