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NEWSFLASH: In a letter to The Standing Committee currently reviewing bill C-27, CAIP Chairman Tom Copeland again reiterated his association's support for The Electronic Commerce Protection Act, and came out strongly in favour of Opt-in being preserved as part of the bill.
"the Canadian Marketing Association and the Canadian Bankers Association are seeking amendments to the Bill which CAIP feels will weaken the proposed legislation and create loop holes not intended."
Copeland, a member of the Federal task Force on Spam, along with CAUCE's Neil Schwartzman (and the active contributory participation of John Levine, Matt Vernhout, Chris Lewis, and numerous other CAUCE members) made note that opt-in was a basic principle agreed to by the task force, which also included the CMA, Bell Canada, and Rogers.
Copeland went on to say:
"Opt-in, however, should not mean that business-to-business communication or business-to-consumer communication is prohibited. Indeed, implied consent is a very functional form of opt-in and is one that has been used for years by legitimate e-marketers, CMA members included.
The Bill is not perfect but opt-in vs. opt-out is not the weak point in CAIP's opinion. While the Bill could be strengthened, replacing opt-in with opt-out will, in our opinion, weaken the legislation not improve it.
I encourage you to deal with Bill C-27 on its merits, not on "what-ifs". Strengthen the intent where necessary but do not weaken it for the sake of clarity or simplicity. Provide Canadian users of email the trust and confidence in electronic commerce that they desire, not the expansion of the nuisance we all hate in our inboxes."
