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Compliance and Enforcement Notice of Consultation CRTC 2026-132

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Gatineau, 11 June 2026

Public record: 1011-NOC2026-0132

Call for comments – Review of the Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules

Deadline for submission of interventions: 27 July 2026

Deadline for submission of replies: 11 August 2026

[Submit an intervention or view related documents]

Summary

Through its work under the Telecommunications Act, the Commission has a role to play to help ensure Canadians have access to safe and reliable telecommunications services. As part of its role, the Commission promotes compliance with the Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules (UTRs) to help prevent Canadians from receiving unwanted calls that do not comply with those rules.

The Commission introduced the UTRs framework in 2007. The framework sets out rules related to the National Do Not Call List (DNCL), telemarketing, and automatically dialed calls, known as robocalls. Under the framework, Canadians can help reduce the number of unwanted calls they receive by registering their home phone, cellphone, voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), or facsimile (fax) numbers on the National DNCL. Numbers registered on the National DNCL should not be contacted by telemarketers without people’s consent. Telemarketers must follow the UTRs and are required to register and subscribe to the National DNCL when making non-exempt calls to Canadians (i.e., calls to sell or promote a product or service).

Since the UTRs framework was introduced, the Commission has conducted over 3,500 investigations into telemarketer compliance with the rules. Many of these investigations concluded with an enforcement action in cases of non-compliance and an administrative monetary penalty to help prevent non-compliance in the future. Over the years, these investigations and the Commission’s monitoring have provided the Commission with insight into the technologies and business models used in the telemarketing industry. Accordingly, the Commission has periodically updated the framework in response to evolving technologies and business models. These periodic updates have supported telemarketers in understanding their responsibilities by clarifying the rules, thereby helping to increase compliance with the framework.

The Commission is launching this consultation to review and modernize the UTRs so that it can continue to help make the framework easier to understand and increase compliance by simplifying some rules. By making it easier for telemarketers to comply with the UTRs, the Commission intends to help reduce the number of unwanted calls Canadians receive that do not comply with the rules. The Commission also aims to reduce regulatory burden on companies by finding ways to simplify and streamline the framework.

Background

  1. The Commission regulates unsolicited telecommunications under sections 41 to 41.7 and 72.01 to 72.2 of the Telecommunications Act (the Act). Section 41 of the Act specifies that:

    The Commission may, by order, prohibit or regulate the use by any person of the telecommunications facilities of a Canadian carrier for the provision of unsolicited telecommunications to the extent that the Commission considers it necessary to prevent undue inconvenience or nuisance, giving due regard to freedom of expression.

  2. The Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules (UTRs) include the following sections:

    • Part I: Definitions
    • Part II: National DNCL [Do Not Call List] Rules
    • Part III: Telemarketing Rules
    • Part IV: Automatic Dialing-Announcing Device (ADAD) Rules
    • Part V: Express Consent
    • Part VI: Record Keeping
    • Part VII: Liability
  3. The National DNCL Rules and the Telemarketing Rules apply only to telemarketing. The ADAD Rules are broader in scope because they include restrictions even in circumstances where there is no attempt to sell or promote a product or service (i.e., to solicit).

  4. The Commission has updated the UTRs in response to evolving technologies and business models. As per Compliance and Enforcement Regulatory Policy 2014-155, these updates relate to, among other things:

    • restricting which consumer telephone numbers telemarketers can call for solicitation purposes;
    • restricting calling hours;
    • setting out the information that must be disclosed by telemarketers;
    • restricting the use of ADADs (devices that make robocalls);Footnote 1 and
    • imposing record-keeping requirements on telemarketers.
  5. In Telecom Regulatory Policy 2009-200, the Commission modified the UTRs to (i) exempt non-party election candidates from the National DNCL Rules, (ii) extend the duration of a consumer’s number registration on the National DNCL from three years to five years (registration on the National DNCL was made permanent in Compliance and Enforcement Regulatory Policy 2014-341), and (iii) indicate that the relevant provincial legislation with respect to calling hours applies to ADAD calls.
  6. In Compliance and Enforcement Regulatory Policy 2014-155, the Commission made changes to the UTRs, including (i) expanding the mailing address requirement to include either a postal or email address, (ii) reducing the grace period for processing an internal do not call list request from 31 days to 14 days, and (iii) establishing a 60-day validity period for telemarketer contact numbers.
  7. The National DNCL went live in September 2008 and now contains more than 15.2 million numbers. The Commission has also received more than 944,000 complaints about alleged violations of the UTRs since that time (an average of 1,029 per week), which have led to enforcement actions resulting in over $17.6 million in administrative monetary penalties and other payments.

Why we are launching this proceeding

  1. The last changes to the UTRs took place in 2014, and since then, the telecommunications landscape has evolved with new and emerging technologies. The UTRs need to be updated to address the new ways organizations are telemarketing. Furthermore, the Commission aims to provide greater clarity and transparency to the industry by simplifying aspects of the UTRs. In doing so, the Commission aims to improve compliance and reduce regulatory burden on the industry.
  2. The Commission aims to review processes and regulations and take action to reduce regulatory burden, simplify processes, and speed up publication of decisions.Footnote 2
  3. The Commission is therefore launching this proceeding to review the UTRs and gather views on various parts of the framework.

Call for comments

  1. The Commission calls for comments on the questions set out below. The Commission will accept interventions that it receives on or before 27 July 2026. Only parties to the proceeding can participate in later stages of the proceeding. The deadline for parties to file replies to matters raised during the intervention phase is 11 August 2026.
  2. The Commission asks each party to set out in a single document separate responses for each question that it chooses to address, repeating each question to introduce each response. Parties should provide detailed answers, including all necessary rationale and supporting evidence.

What we are examining in this proceeding

  1. In this proceeding, the Commission will examine the following issues:

    • Definitions in the UTRs
    • Exemptions
    • Clarifications
  2. The Commission also intends to make a number of administrative changes and revisions to the UTRs and to remove outdated and redundant terms and provisions. These changes are set out below at paragraph 35.

Definitions in the UTRs

  1. The UTRs do not have definitions for the terms “business consumer,” “emergency line,” “healthcare facility,” and “sequential dialing.” Defining these terms could help clarify certain key requirements or prohibitions.

    Q1. Should these terms be defined in the UTRs?

    (a) If yes, please comment on the proposed definitions below. If you do not agree with the proposed definitions, please provide an alternative definition.

    • “Business consumer” means a person that is primarily or substantially engaged in the selling or promoting of products or services.
    • “Emergency line” means any telephone number that allows a person to contact emergency services for assistance.
    • “Healthcare facility” means any location where medical care and treatment for anything related to physical, mental, or emotional well-being is provided. A healthcare facility can range from small clinics and doctors’ offices to urgent care and large hospitals.Footnote 3
    • “Sequential dialing” means the process whereby a person calls telephone numbers in a telephone exchange in a patterned, mathematical, or sequenced manner.Footnote 4

  2. The current definition of ADAD in the UTRs is as follows:

    “ADAD” means any automatic equipment incorporating the capability of storing or producing telecommunications numbers used alone or in conjunction with other equipment to convey a pre-recorded or synthesized voice message to a telecommunications number.

    Q2. With today’s technology and available applications, is the definition sufficient to capture software, applications, or technologies that use synthesized voices, recordings, artificial intelligence, or other methods of non-human generated voice messages?

    (a) If the current definition of ADAD needs to be updated, how should it be adjusted?

Aligning definitions in the UTRs with Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation

  1. The definitions of “telemarketing” and “solicitation” in the UTRs are as follows:

    “Telemarketing” means the use of telecommunications facilities to make unsolicited telecommunications for the purpose of solicitation.

    “Solicitation” means the selling or promoting of a product or service, or the soliciting of money or money’s worth, whether directly or indirectly and whether on behalf of another person. This includes solicitation of donations by or on behalf of charitable organizations.

  2. Under Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL), a commercial electronic message is defined as follows:

    …an electronic message that, having regard to the content of the message, the hyperlinks in the message to content on a website or other database, or the contact information contained in the message, it would be reasonable to conclude has as its purpose, or one of its purposes, to encourage participation in a commercial activity, including an electronic message that

    (a) offers to purchase, sell, barter or lease a product, goods, a service, land or an interest or right in land;

    (b) offers to provide a business, investment or gaming opportunity;

    (c) advertises or promotes anything referred to in paragraph (a) or (b); or

    (d) promotes a person, including the public image of a person, as being a person who does anything referred to in any of paragraphs (a) to (c), or who intends to do so.

  3. The definition of “commercial activity” in CASL is as follows:

    “commercial activity” means any particular transaction, act or conduct or any regular course of conduct that is of a commercial character, whether or not the person who carries it out does so in the expectation of profit, other than any transaction, act or conduct that is carried out for the purposes of law enforcement, public safety, the protection of Canada, the conduct of international affairs or the defence of Canada.

  4. Although the UTRs and CASL are two distinct regulatory regimes,Footnote 5 they both regulate various forms of commercial activity.

    Q3. Should the Commission align the definitions found in the UTRs with those in CASL? In particular, should the definition of “telemarketing” be adjusted so it reflects the definition of “commercial electronic message” found in CASL so that the definitions in both regimes are more similar?

Exemptions

  1. The Act exempts certain types of telecommunications from the application of orders made for the purpose of a national do not call list. However, subsections 41.7(3) and (4) set requirements that still apply to those exempt telecommunications, including the maintenance of a distinct do not call list. These requirements for exempt telecommunications are not found in the UTRs. However, since they are found in the Act, they are still applicable requirements.

    Q4. Should the UTRs include the requirements of subsections 41.7(3) and (4) of the Act?

  2. The National DNCL Rules do not apply to telemarketing telecommunications made by or on behalf of a candidate, as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Canada Elections Act, or a candidate under provincial law for the purposes of a provincial or municipal election, or by or on behalf of the official campaign of such a candidate (see Part II, section 3.1 of the UTRs).

    Q5. To improve clarity, should these exemptions include school board elections (which are elections for public office, selected by a general electorate, that are provincially regulated and municipally administered, but not strictly a provincial or municipal election) and elections such as territorial assembly elections?

Clarifications

  1. Certain rules do not apply to voice mail broadcasting.Footnote 6 Users of this method of telecommunication must subscribe to the National DNCL as per Part II of the UTRs but are not required to register as per Part III, creating a disparity in the applicability of the UTRs. To date, there has not been any enforcement action related to voice mail broadcasting.

    Q6. Should Part II of the UTRs continue to apply to voice mail broadcasting, or should it be excluded from application, thereby making voice mail broadcasting unregulated by the UTRs?

  2. There have been instances where telemarketers and clients of telemarketers have misunderstood their obligations. For example, telemarketers have purchased one National DNCL subscription under their name to use on behalf of many clients.

    Q7. Should the UTRs clarify that when a telemarketer is initiating a telecommunication on behalf of a client, each client must purchase a DNCL subscription and register with, and provide information to, the National DNCL operator?

  3. Various sections of the UTRs have similar requirements on both telemarketers and clients of telemarketers (Part II, sections 6 and 7; Part III, sections 2 and 3; Part III, sections 8 and 9; Part III, sections 11 and 12; and Part III, sections 14 and 15). Telemarketers and clients of telemarketers have raised questions as to which provisions apply to them.

    Q8. To provide greater clarity with respect to obligations and to simplify the UTRs, should provisions that impose similar requirements on a telemarketer and a client of a telemarketer be combined?

  4. Calling records have been an important way for companies to demonstrate compliance with the UTRs and are a key component of due diligence.

    Q9. Should the UTRs require telemarketers to maintain calling records/calling logs for a minimum period of time when making telemarketing telecommunications? If yes, how long should that period be?

  5. With evolving technology and the emergence of chat bots and artificial voice technologies, calls using these types of technologies can be used for a variety of purposes.

    Q10. Should the identification requirements be expanded to require telemarketers to tell consumers that the call is using this sort of technology (i.e., it is not a live person making the call and speaking with the consumer at the start of the call)?

  6. If it is determined that the definition of ADAD captures software, applications, or technologies that use synthesized voices, recordings, artificial intelligence, or other methods of non-human generated voice messages (see also paragraph 16 of this notice), clarification will be sought regarding whether the UTRs should continue to regulate the use of ADAD technology for non-solicitation purposes. An example of this situation would be an individual using these technologies to call a health care facility to make an appointment or to call a restaurant to make a reservation.

    Q11. Should the UTRs apply to instances where individuals initiate telecommunications strictly for personal use? Please provide proposed wording to support your position on the application of the UTRs to these types of ADAD telecommunications that are strictly personal in nature.

  7. A person using an ADAD to make unsolicited telecommunications where there is no attempt to solicit must comply with the following conditions (Part IV, section 4.d of the UTRs):

    “Such telecommunications shall begin with a clear message identifying the person on whose behalf the telecommunication is made and a brief description of the purpose of the telecommunication. This identification message shall include an electronic mail address or postal mailing address and a local or toll-free telecommunications number at which a representative of the originator of the message can be reached. In the event that the actual message relayed exceeds sixty (60) seconds, the identification message shall be repeated at the end of the telecommunication” (emphasis added in bold).

    Q12. Should the contact information requirements in bold above be adjusted so that only one element is required?

    Q13. With a variety of stakeholders using ADADs, should the requirement include both the calling service provider and the client in the identification?

    Q14. Should there be additional requirements on the form and content of the message such as:

    (a) needing to start within 10 seconds of the recipient answering the call; and/or

    (b) not requiring the recipient to interact in any way, such as key press or voice prompt for the information to be provided?

  8. The forms of express consent to receive telemarketing telecommunications are listed in Part V of the UTRs and include multiple ways to demonstrate express consent, such as written consent, oral consent, and electronic consent.

    Q15. With the evolution of technology, should the acceptable forms of express consent be modified in any way? If so, how?

  9. A telemarketer must provide the name or a fictitious name of the individual making the telecommunication. Using a fictious name may be an important measure to safeguard a telemarketer’s privacy. However, if such a name is used without the ability to directly link back to an individual, it may be more difficult to hold a telemarketer accountable if they make a call that does not comply with the UTRs.

    Q16. Should the UTRs require that fictitious names may only be used when the telemarketer can determine the identity of the individual making the telecommunication, if requested to do so?

  10. Under the UTRs, telemarketers or their clients must return a voice mail message left by a consumer within three business days. Currently, the rules are only enforceable if a second complaint is filed regarding a telemarketer or client of a telemarketer exceeding the time limit or not responding, which poses further inconvenience to the consumer.

    Q17. How can these rules be amended to ensure that they are clear and lead to compliance?

    Q18. Should there be record-keeping requirements associated with these rules, such as requiring records of when a voice message was left by a consumer and when it was returned?

  11. When it comes to any potential undue nuisance or inconvenience caused to a person when they receive an unsolicited telecommunication, the impact of such calls does not appear to depend on whether the telemarketer uses sequential or random dialing. Rather, it arises from the fact that the person receives an unsolicited telecommunication at all.

    Q19. Are the rules regarding sequential and random dialing still necessary? Please explain your response.

  12. Telemarketers and clients of telemarketers are required to keep various records under the UTRs. They may keep these records in any form and must do so in the same manner and format as they keep records in the ordinary course of business. This section of the UTRs may create ambiguity as to what the record-keeping requirements are with respect to form, manner, and format.

    Q20. Should the manner and format of records that telemarketers must keep be clarified? If so, how?

Administrative changes and revisions, and removal of outdated and redundant terms and provisions

  1. The Commission intends to make the following changes to the UTRs:

    • modifying the UTRs to require persons with a registration to the National DNCL to use an address that is in a format that can be used for service of documents (this would prohibit the use of post office boxes);
    • modifying Part II, sections 9, 10 and 12 of the UTRs, which prohibit telemarketers, clients of telemarketers, and any other subscriber of the National DNCL from inappropriately disclosing the National DNCL, to refer to these entities as “a person with a subscription to the National DNCL”;
    • consolidating rules regarding express consent in one place for ease of reference and greater transparency, given that they are currently found in separate places (Part II, section 5; Part IV, section 3; and Part V of the UTRs);
    • consolidating rules regarding record-keeping in one place for ease of reference and greater transparency, since they are currently found in separate places (Part II, section 8; Part III, sections 5 and 30; and Part VI of the UTRs);
    • deleting sections regarding record-keeping requirements (Part II, section 8; and Part III, section 5 of the UTRs) that only relate to registration and subscription documents, which are also kept by the Commission and the National DNCL Operator. It is not necessary for telemarketers to keep these documents since the Commission has already access to them;
    • deleting Part III, section 6 of the UTRs, which establishes that Part III does not apply in respect of unsolicited telecommunications made for purposes other than solicitation. The terms “telemarketer” and “telemarketing” are already defined in Part I and include the concept of solicitation in their definitions, making the clarification in Part III, section 6 redundant.
    • deleting Part III, section 27 of the UTRs, which permits random dialing to all numbers except numbers that are (i) registered on the National DNCL and/or the telemarketer’s or client’s internal do not call list, (ii) emergency lines, or (iii) associated with healthcare facilities. These prohibitions are redundant with other provisions in the UTRs, which already prohibit contacting numbers in these categories.
    • inserting in Part IV of the UTRs a statement that Part IV applies regardless of whether a telemarketing telecommunication is captured by Part III, to clarify that the application of Part IV is independent from the application of Part III. Part IV currently states that the ADAD Rules apply regardless of whether a telemarketing telecommunication is exempt from Part II. It does not, however, state that the ADAD rules apply regardless of whether a telemarketing telecommunication is captured by Part III.
    • including the term “an Internal Do Not Call List (Internal DNCL)” in Part III, sections 8 to 15 of the UTRs, for clarification in each instance where the organization’s own do not call list is referenced. These sections impose obligations on both telemarketers and their clients to maintain their own do not call list separate from the National DNCL. These requirements are at times misunderstood. The term “internal DNCL” is often used by industry.

  2. The Commission also intends to make the following changes to the UTRs to remove terminology that is no longer applicable due to changes in the Commission’s processes and commonly used technology:

    • removing all references to “complaints investigator delegate” and “Centrex services”;
    • removing section 19 of the UTRs (specific rules related to faxes) and instead incorporating the identification and contact information rules related to faxes more broadly in Part III; and
    • removing granular clarifications regarding telecommunications initiated by ADAD contained in Part IV, section 2 of the UTRs that refer to charities, requesting a consumer to hold until a telemarketer is available, radio station promotions, and referring consumers to 900 or 976 service numbers.
  3. This notice of consultation outlines the changes to the UTRs that the Commission is considering. However, it is open to parties to provide comments on any other revisions that they consider appropriate.

What you need to know to participate in this proceeding

Procedure

  1. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Rules of Practice and Procedure (the Rules of Procedure) apply to the present proceeding. Accordingly, the procedure set out below must be read in conjunction with the Rules of Procedure and related documents, which can be found on the Commission’s website under Statutes and Regulations. The guidelines set out in Broadcasting and Telecom Information Bulletin 2010-959 provide information to help interested persons and parties understand the Rules of Procedure so that they can more effectively participate in Commission proceedings.

Submitting comments

  1. The Commission invites comments that address the issues and questions set out above. The Commission will accept interventions that it receives on or before 27 July 2026. Only parties to the proceeding can participate in later stages of the proceeding. The deadline for parties to file replies to matters raised during the intervention phase is 11 August 2026.
  2. Any interested persons can request accommodations to participate in this Commission proceeding. This could be related to disability, or to other reasons, like religious observance, or to a combination of reasons. If you wish to request accommodations in filing your comments, you are encouraged to make your request within the first 15 days after this notice of consultation is posted on the Commission’s website.
  3. Interested persons who require assistance submitting comments can contact the Commission’s Hearings & Public Proceedings group at hearing@crtc.gc.ca.
  4. For more information on accessibility and accommodations in Commission proceedings, see Broadcasting and Telecom Information Bulletin 2025-95.
  5. Pursuant to Broadcasting and Telecom Information Bulletin 2015-242, the Commission expects incorporated entities and associations and encourages all interested persons to file submissions for Commission proceedings in accessible formats (for example, text-based file formats that allow text to be enlarged or modified, or read by screen readers). To provide assistance in this regard, the Commission has posted on its website guidelines for preparing documents in accessible formats.
  6. Interested persons are permitted to coordinate, organize, and file, in a single submission, interventions by other interested persons or parties who share their position. Information on how to file this type of submission, known as a joint supporting intervention, as well as a template for the covering letter to be filed by the parties, can be found in Telecom Information Bulletin 2011-693.
  7. Submissions longer than five pages should include a summary. Each paragraph of all submissions should be numbered, and the line ***End of document*** should follow the last paragraph. This will help the Commission verify that the document has not been damaged during electronic transmission.
  8. All documents required to be served on parties to the proceeding must be served using the contact information contained in the interventions.
  9. The Commission encourages interested persons to monitor the record of the proceeding, available on the Commission’s website, for additional information that they may find useful when preparing their submissions.

  10. Submissions must be filed by sending them to the Secretary General of the Commission using only one of the following means:

    by completing the
    [Intervention/comment/answer form]

    or

    by mail to
    CRTC, Gatineau, Quebec K1A 0N2

    or

    by fax at
    819-994-0218

  11. In accordance with the Rules of Procedure, a document must be received by the Commission and all relevant parties by 5 p.m. Vancouver time (8 p.m. Gatineau time) on the date it is due. Parties are responsible for ensuring the timely delivery of their submissions and will not be notified if their submissions are received after the deadline. Late submissions, including those due to postal delays, will not be considered by the Commission and will not be made part of the public record.
  12. The Commission will not formally acknowledge submissions. It will, however, fully consider all submissions, which will form part of the public record of the proceeding, provided that the procedure for filing set out above has been followed.
  13. Parties who send documents electronically must ensure that they will be able to prove, upon Commission request, that filing, or where required, service of a particular document was completed. Accordingly, parties must keep proof of the sending and receipt of each document for 180 days after the date on which the document is filed or served. The Commission advises parties who file or serve documents by electronic means to exercise caution when using email for the service of documents, as it may be difficult to establish that service has occurred.

Confidentiality notice

  1. The Commission’s proceedings are designed to allow members of the public to provide input so that it can make better, more informed decisions. As a result, the general rule is that all information filed with the Commission is placed on the public record and can be reviewed by all parties and members of the public.
  2. However, the Commission also often needs detailed information from the companies it regulates and supervises to make an informed decision. This information can be commercially sensitive, especially as the environment in which the companies operate becomes more competitive. The Commission will therefore accept certain information as confidential.
  3. Parties can designate information as confidential under subsection 39(1) of the Act and provide a detailed rationale as to why that information should be considered confidential. The Commission reminds parties that when a document is filed with confidential information, an abridged version must also be filed so that it can be included in the public record.

Privacy notice

  1. Please note the following:

    • Documents will be posted on the Commission’s website exactly as received, in the official language and format in which they are received. This includes any personal information contained in them, such as full names, email addresses, postal/street addresses, and telephone and fax numbers.
    • All personal information parties provide as part of this public proceeding, except information designated as confidential, will be posted on the Commission’s website and can be accessed by others.
    • However, the information parties provide can only be accessed from the web page of this particular proceeding. As a result, a general search of the Commission’s website using either its search engine or a third-party search engine will not provide access to the information that was provided as part of this public proceeding.
    • The personal information that parties provide will be used and may be disclosed for the purpose for which the information was obtained or compiled by the Commission or for a use consistent with that purpose.

Availability of documents

  1. Links to interventions, as well as other documents referred to in this notice, are available on the Commission’s “Consultations and hearings: have your say” page.
  2. Interested persons can find electronic versions of the documents by clicking on “[Submit an intervention or view related documents]” at the top of this notice.

  3. Documents are available upon request during normal business hours by contacting:

    Documentation Centre
    Examinationroom@crtc.gc.ca

    Client Services
    Toll-free telephone: 1-877-249-2782
    Toll-free TTY: 1-877-909-2782

Secretary General

Related documents

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