Wondering what the new Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) and what it means for you?

The federal government passed the Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL)  to regulate electronic activities of businesses and charities, and the new legislation came into effect on July 1, 2014.

Broadly speaking, CASL is a complex piece of legislation that changes the ways businesses and non-profit organizations can communicate with their clients and supporters, defined by whether the client or supporter has given implied or express consent.

• Implied consent – When sending to those who have given implied consent by making a transaction (donation, purchase, adoption) or who has a relationship with the BC SPCA as a member or volunteer, the BC SPCA may send communications for up to two years from the date of their last transaction, or the end of their relationship; as long as we identify the sender and include an option to unsubscribe.
• Express consent – When sending to those who have given express consent (subscribed) to receive email communications from the BC SPCA we must identify the sender and include an option to unsubscribe.

Emails with the sole purpose of raising funds for animals and newsletters do not require consent, as long as we identify the sender and include an option to unsubscribe.

The BC SPCA team has reviewed all of its communications activities to ensure the organization is compliant with the legislation. You can subscribe to BC SPCA communications on our subscription page.

This legislation also affects sharing emails, direct messages and web pages. Please share with care, if you are planning to share one of our emails or web pages through email or direct messaging on social media, you must comply with CASL. Under CASL you should only share with people you have a personal relationship with, or those who have a publicly listed business email.

For more information about CASL please read the BC SPCA privacy page or visit the Government of Canada’s Fight Spam website.