Industry Minister Tony Clement has placed an anti-spam bill on the Notice Paper, suggesting that the Government could introduce the bill as early as tomorrow. The bill carries the unwieldly name of "An Act to promote the efficiency and adaptability of the Canadian economy by regulating certain activities that discourage reliance on electronic means of carrying out commercial activities, and to amend the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Act, the Competition Act, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act and the Telecommunications Act." The title obviously indicates that the anti-spam bill will feature a multi-pronged approach to fighting spam with a role for the CRTC, the Competition Bureau, and the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

Michael Geist is a law professor and the Canada Research Chair in Internet and e-commerce law at the University of Ottawa.