Canadian Lawyer InHouse

25 canadianlaWyermag.com/inhouse june 2014 invitations and advance notice of events. A message might also contain a donation hyperlink that takes the reader to a charity web site that also refers to the sale of goods and services. That could turn a message into a CEM under CASL, he said. But since non-profi ts previously had no need to keep track of this data, many don't have records of opt-in consent (or the technology to track it). And unless they have opt-in consent — and can prove due diligence — they now have to get that consent or purge their databases of those names. If they continue to operate without opt-in consent, technically they would be operating illegally. And, once CASL comes into effect, it will be illegal to send out a message asking people if they want to receive CEMs. "It's a Catch-22," says Sookman. If you want to send a CEM, you won't be able to do it with- out opt-in consent, but you won't be able to send out an e-mail to get that consent. Basi- cally, it means people have to come to you. CASL is going to be a large compliance burden for charities and non-profi ts, says Ryan Prendergast, an associate at Carters Professional Corp. They already have to deal with a complex web of rules such as the Income Tax Act, as well as regulations that vary from province to province, so this adds to that compliance burden. "It's always been ironic to me that one of stated purposes of the legislation is to target activities that increase costs, but the legisla- tion poses additional compliance costs," he says. "There will be initial front-end costs to make sure compliance will be possible for the organization." This might be easier for larger non- profi ts that already have sophisticated com- pliance procedures in place, but smaller organizations made up of volunteers are less likely to have IT people on staff who can set up databases and tools to make sure they are in compliance with the legislation. One major impact of CASL is that it will impose liability on the board of directors or volunteers if there's a compliance breach. So non-profi ts need to make sure their staff is aware of that so they can be protected, says Prendergast. Another impact will be association-to-as- sociation communication, where the non- profi t might not be communicating directly to its own members. The legislation, however, doesn't recognize this ongoing method of communication that takes place in the non-profi t world. "(It's) going to be tricky making sure they are getting consent," says Prendergast. The legislation does encompass cer- tain exemptions, including one specifi cally for soliciting charitable donations (where the primary purpose of the electronic communications is to raise funds), but this only applies to registered charities. And not all non-profi ts are registered. LIVE EVENTS DESIGNED FOR CORPORATE LEGAL DEPARTMENTS Thomson Reuters Legal Executive Institute is the leading provider of CLE events for the legal industry. Below you'll find upcoming live conferences that might be of interest to you and your team. You can register for yourself and any members of your department. Registration can be applied to anyone in your company – a different person could attend each event. Drafting Clearer Contracts September 11 – Boston, MA October 9 – Minneapolis, MN October 30– Washington DC November 6 – New York , NY Decmeber 11 – San Francisco, CA $895 Cloud Computing: A Practical Approach September 17 – New York, NY $795 DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE Individual Discount – Receive 15% off any individual program. Use promo code 15CORPORATE at checkout. Group Discounts – We have great group discounts available for you and your colleagues. The more events you purchase, the more you save: ȕ1VSDIBTFSFHJTUSBUJPOTHFUPGG ȕ1VSDIBTFSFHJTUSBUJPOTHFUPGG Call 1-800-308-1700 for more information or to register. 2014 Corporate Whistleblowing Forum September 30 - New York $595 The 2014 Thomson Reuters Supply Chain Sustainability Summit October 15 – New York , NY $795 ThomsonRueters_IH_June_14.indd 1 14-04-29 3:02 PM

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