The Canadian Chamber is very concerned about new "anti-spam" rules the federal government announced two weeks ago. Canadian anti-spam legislation and the corresponding regulations have taken a "ban-all" approach to regulating commercial electronic messages (CEMs). All emails, SMS texts, social media sent in a commercial context are captured. The legislation will obligate the sender to obtain consent from the receiver prior to sending a CEM. That consent may not be obtained by sending a CEM. The definitions for consent are quite specific and are more demanding than existing privacy legislation. The legislation also requires an opt-out mechanism in all CEMs which must be backstopped with a database with the details of all business/personal relationships and removals of consent.
The administrative penalties for non-compliance are excessive. The rules would also provide powers for private parties to sue under the legislation. Read More...
About 100 members of CORE Association, including staff and community representatives, celebrated the agency's achievement of the highest accreditation possible from the Alberta Council of Disability Services on January 22. ACDS accreditation and standards manager Clova Lehr praised the organization for its dedication to serving people with developmental disabilities and presented CORE executive director Rita Bessant with Creating Excellence Together certificates for Levels 1 and 2 Accreditation and Complex Behaviour Supports. Read More...
The Medicine Hat & District Chamber of Commerce passed a policy entitled Medicine Hat Air Service in October 2012, which can be viewed here. Through meetings and correspondence with Air Canada representatives, the Chamber has been advocating on your behalf for more competitive air service in our area and has recently been told "Air Canada has spoken to Pricing and Revenue Management specifically about the pricing structure from Medicine Hat to Calgary and Edmonton. They have reviewed the core fare structures and will be making some adjustments that will result in lower entry level fares, and are reviewing the rest of the structure as well for other potential changes". The Chamber will continue to advocate on behalf of our business community for better air service in Medicine Hat in accordance with our policy. Just another example of your local Chamber of Commerce working for you!
