The federal government gets back into full swing today with the fall sitting of Parliament. While rumours persist about the possibility of a fall election, several regulatory issues are on the docket that could have a major impact on the marketing community if left unchallenged. These include:

The Electronic Commerce Protection Act
Behavioural advertising
Mobile marketing
Privacy agenda – breach notification and cross-border data flow
Advertising to children
Telemarketing
The green movement.
Key Issues for Marketers

The Electronic Commerce Protection Act (Bill C-27) was introduced in the House of Commons earlier this year. In June, CMA was asked to present its position to the parliamentary committee reviewing the bill. While CMA has supported the general intent of the bill, we made several recommendations to make the bill more effective including: improved terms and definitions, increased consistency with the U.S. CAN-SPAM Act and the removal of sections related to the National Do Not Call List. Committee hearings will resume this week and CMA anticipates that a series of government-sponsored amendments will be tabled prior to final reading and passage in Parliament this fall.
Responding to regulatory threats, CMA is playing a lead role with a coalition of marketing and advertising associations that is developing a self-regulatory framework for behavioural advertising relevant to the Canadian marketplace. Results will be delivered in early 2010.
The expanding market for mobile devices and their functionality is driving consumer concerns about privacy, choice and who bears the cost of marketing communications in this environment. CMA is establishing a working group to evaluate these issues and develop self-regulatory guidelines to support Canadian marketers in this field.
Identity theft and similar fraudulent activity continues to drive the privacy agenda, with implications for how organizations collect, use and transfer personal information. CMA has worked hard with regulators to develop appropriate changes to Canada’s federal privacy law (including breach notification rules) which are anticipated for the fall legislative session. CMA’s submission can be downloaded here.
The federal government has solicited CMA’s input to the Trilateral Committee on Cross-Border Data Flows within the North American Free Trade zone. CMA has been active in this process by representing marketers’ views on matters of privacy and data protection, and calling for reasonable and compatible regulatory regimes among the three member countries. It is encouraging that Mexican officials have announced plans for a national privacy framework similar to Canada’s federal privacy law. Canada’s Privacy Commissioner has also issued guidelines on cross-border data transfers.
Political interests are fuelling debate about privacy protections and an outright ban on marketing to children and teenagers. CMA is actively involved on this important file and is working with both government and a variety of stakeholders to ensure strong and effective representation to regulators.
With new powers delivered through the 2009 federal budget, the Competition Bureau is ramping up its activities on both enforcement, and in developing and issuing advisory guidelines for industry. CMA is actively engaged in this process through its participation on an industry advisory group set up by the bureau. Look for a CMA webinar on the Competition Bureau’s consumer rebate program guidelines this fall.
In response to calls from special interest groups to abandon the government-run National Do Not Call List program for more stringent regulations, CMA has provided senior government officials with credible evidence and strong arguments to demonstrate that the NDNCL is working for Canadian consumers. For legitimate marketing activities, CMA has also aggressively asserted its view that the investigation and enforcement regime associated with the NDNCL should be fair and reasonable. As a result, the CRTC has made some important changes to the program that reduce the burden on business.
While the environment has faded somewhat as a political issue during the current economic downturn, the issue continues to have relevance in terms of matters like “greenwashing”, packaged goods and environmental waste. In 2008, the Competition Bureau released industry guidelines which the bureau uses to evaluate false and misleading environmental claims. Address accuracy also remains an important marketing issue with Canada Post and CMA scheduled to release a whitepaper and to hold a webinar on the subject in mid-October. As well, CMA is continually updating the case studies on the Green Tips for Marketers section of the CMA website. These reports span a range of activities, including formal environmental policies, involvement in community initiatives, using products that are recycled or recyclable and adopting environmentally sound work processes.
CMA Action

The fall legislative session will continue to see increased potential for harm through the barrage of “populist” agenda issues gaining traction in Parliament. For CMA and our members, this volatility in Ottawa makes it increasingly critical for us to advance our policy positions to all four political parties. Regular updates will be provided through CMA Member Bulletins, the Association’s Weekly Watching Brief and our ongoing series of CMA webinars on public affairs issues that impact marketers.