$90,000 Wildrose fine for robocalls

Party broke CRTC rules in last election

Canada’s telecommunications regulator has hit the Wildrose party with a $90,000 penalty for breaking federal rules with phone calls to Alberta households in 2011 and 2012.

Wildrose party president David Yager said Thursday the party learned in April the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission was investigating whether a series of automated phone calls on behalf of the party complied with rules related to unsolicited phone calls.

The party, which became the Official Opposition in Alberta after the 2012 provincial election, was notified of the CRTC’s decision late last week. It paid the $90,000 penalty Wednesday.

“There’s no happiness in Wildrose land after this event,” Yager said. “However, we’ve done what we think is the right thing to do. We’ve co-operated, we disclosed and all we’re asking is all the other political organizations in Alberta and Canada be treated the same way.”

Wildrose officials said the CRTC investigation related to the information the party provided in automated calls, often referred to as robocalls. The rules regulating unsolicited phone calls say automated calls must start with a clear message telling the listener who paid for the call. That message must state the name of the sponsor, their mailing address and a local or toll-free number where the person or group can be reached.

If the message lasts more than 60 seconds, it must be repeated at the end of the call.

Yager said the party had been assured by those placing the calls that the content fulfilled CRTC regulations, though he refused to identify the vendors, saying the responsibility ultimately fell with the party as the sponsor of the calls.

He said the party co-operated with the CRTC as soon as they found out the phone calls were under investigation, supplying scripts and other information that the CRTC officials reviewing the case asked for. The party decided not to appeal the ruling.

“This is highly regrettable. This is not something we knew we were doing,” he said. “This was not something malicious here.”

Rules around robocalls have come under increasing scrutiny since the 2011 federal election and been the source of major political controversies.

Last summer, the CRTC fined Guelph Liberal MP Frank Valeriote’s riding association $4,900 for a message that attacked his Conservative opponent without saying who sponsored the call or how to reach them.

Justice Minister Jonathan Denis, a Progressive Conservative MLA, said he has no issues with political parties using automated calls, as long as federal and provincial rules are followed. Everyone has to abide by those same rules, he said.

“The rules the CRTC set out are very clear,” said Denis, who represents Calgary-Acadia. “They are spelled out, they are publicly available on the website and I would suggest that a lot of Albertans likely aren’t going to be satisfied with the explanation they heard from the Wildrose party today.”

Everyone has to abide by those same rules, said Denis, who was co-founder and president of 3D Contact Inc., a polling and consulting firm.

CRTC officials could not be reached for comment Thursday night.