The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has fined Ottawa Centre NDP MP Paul Dewar over robocalls made during the party leadership campaign, the federal regulator announced today.
Dewar co-operated with the CRTC and paid a $7,000 penalty as part of a settlement agreement.
Dewar was issued a notice of violation in regards to a Feb. 8-9, 2012 robocall campaign that sought to solicit NDP members about their preferred choice of a party leader.
“The calls did not specify at the outset that they were being made on behalf of Mr. Dewar’s campaign, nor did they include the call originator’s mailing address or a call back number,” wrote the CRTC.
“We appreciate the co-operation we received during our investigations,” said Andrea Rosen, the CRTC’s chief compliance and cnforcement officer, in the statement. “We expect candidates who are running political campaigns, and telemarketing service providers to put appropriate safeguards in place to ensure compliance with the Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules.”
Dewar has committed to establishing a compliance program to adhere to the Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules – rules the CRTC enforces to reduce unwanted calls to Canadians.
In an unrelated investigation, the firm Strategic Communications Inc. also co-operated with the CRTC and agreed to pay $10,000 for similar violations.