Many specialty crop growers and agricultural organisations distribute regular email updates and newsletters to generate new business or to update members on events.

On July 1, 2014, Canada’s new Anti-Spam Legislation will come into force regulating the distribution of emails, also known as  Commercial Electronic Messages (CEM’s), for commercial use and for marketing and promotions.  The legislation will apply to growers and agricultural organisations who send emails for these purposes.  So, how does one comply with the new legislation?

The federal government has outlined three general rules when distributing CEM’s:

• Sender must have consent (expressed or implied)
• Sender must identify themselves or on whose behalf the message is being sent
• Every message must contain a method to unsubscribe from the email list

For more detailed information on the new anti-spam legislation, please visit the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s website at: http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/casl-lcap.htm