In May 2005, the Federal Task Force on Spam submitted a comprehensive report to Minister of Industry David Emerson.
CAUCE Canada Board members participated on many of the working groups that developed the various sections of the report, and CAUCE Chair Neil Schwartzman sat on the Task Force itself.
Board participation was as follows:
Consumer Awareness and Education – Genevieve Reed (also a Task Force member)
Technology & Network Management – Chris Lewis, John Levine, der Mouse
Law and enforcement – Chris Lewis, John Levine
Email Authentication – Lynda Partner, Sylvain Carle
Also, Board member Bernard Brun attended the Task Force's public Spam Roundtable held in Ottawa in December 2004.
The work paid huge dividends.
CAUCE Canada readily signed off on the report and its constituent parts, including
- Recommended Best Practices for Internet Service Providers and Other Network Operators
- Recommended Best Practices for Email Marketing
- Three Key Tips for Combatting Spam
As Task Force member Michael Geist noted: "The report called on the government to introduce tough anti-spam legislation backed by significant new financial penalties."
Minister Emerson welcomed the report; both the politicians and Industry Canada worked very hard to develop the recommended laws until the government fell in November. We hope the work will be renewed with equal vigor after the coming Federal elections.
Geist went on to predict "With spam and spyware an ongoing problem, the new government will introduce anti-spam legislation in the spring. Look for potential repeat of the do-not-call embarrassment as lobbyists move in quickly to water down the tough measures found in the bill."
A link to the report can be found on the Task Force public education sites at http://StopSpamHere.ca and http://Arretezlepourrielici.ca/
