Anti-Spam Commitment

INTRODUCTION

Montreal Comiccon is committed to providing transparency to outside parties with respect to the compliance of the organization’s electronic communication with Canada’ Anti-Spam Legislation, in effect as of July 1^st, 2014, and its relevant rules and regulations (hereinafter “CASL”). To that end, the Montreal Comiccon Anti-Spam Commitment is a formal statement of rights and obligations which is made available to outside parties. It is intended to inform outside parties of the type of responsible and transparent practices adopted by Montreal Comiccon when electronically communicating with outside parties, inform outside parties who they may contact at Montreal Comiccon for any concern pertaining to electronic communications, and inform such outside parties of where and how they may unsubscribe to any electronic communications from Montreal Comiccon. This document also includes a series of answers to questions about spam and Montreal Comiccon’s practices that are frequently asked by outside parties that Montreal Comiccon may communicate with.

APPLICATION AND SCOPE

This Anti-Spam Commitment generally applies to any electronic communications sent by Montreal Comiccon to outside parties and is protected by a range of business procedures, processes and policies to ensure that such communications are done in compliance with CASL. Montreal Comiccon, in its electronic communications with outside parties, has to comply with the rules established by CASL and enforced by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, the Competition Bureau and the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. CASL regulates all commercial electronic messages (“CEM”), which are messages that include among their purposes, the encouragement of participation in a commercial activity.

WHAT IS MONTREAL COMICCON DOING TO COMPLY WITH CASL

Montreal Comiccon has undertaken various initiatives in order to make sure that it is compliant with CASL. It has adopted this Anti-Spam Commitment to provide transparency to outside parties with respect to the compliance of the organization’s electronic communication practices with CASL, as well as undertaken the following initiatives:

·       Montreal Comiccon has implemented CASL compliant consent forms

The consent of outside parties is necessary in order for Montreal Comiccon to send a CEM. This consent typically must be “express”, but in certain circumstances consent can be “implied” and in others, messages are specifically exempt from consent requirements. Montreal Comiccon has modified certain consent forms in order to ensure that the express consent obtained from recipients is in compliance with CASL.

·       Montreal Comiccon has modified its email footers

Montreal Comiccon has modified its email footers to manage CASL’s consent requirements. Under CASL, all CEM sent must include certain prescribed content. For example, Montreal Comiccon must clearly identify Montreal Comiccon as the party sending the CEM; provide a method where the recipient can readily contact Montreal Comiccon, such as a mailing address and one of (i) a telephone number with active response voicemail, (ii) an email address, or (iii) a Web address; and provide a working unsubscribe mechanism. In consequence, CASL compliant email footers have been updated on all CEM sent from Montreal Comiccon, in order to ensure compliance with CASL.

·       Montreal Comiccon has incorporated an Unsubscribe Mechanism

Montreal Comiccon has incorporated an unsubscribe mechanism into all CEM, in order to manage CASL’s consent requirements. Under CASL, each CEM must provide a working unsubscribe mechanism (functional for 60 days), which must be processed without delay, within a maximum of 10 business days. In consequence, Montreal Comiccon has set up a uniform process in order to ensure that all unsubscribe requests will be complied with. You may at any time unsubscribe from receiving CEM from Montreal Comiccon by following the process laid out in the electronic message you receive, or by contacting us.

WHY ARE YOU RECEIVING AN ELECTRONIC MESSAGE FROM MONTREAL COMICCON?

The types of CEM Montreal Comiccon may send from time to time could include the following:

•       CEM sent to Montreal Comiccon’s contacts who have opted-in to receiving our e-newsletter.

•       CEM sent to Montreal Comiccon’s current or potential service providers by various Montreal Comiccon business units. For example, Montreal Comiccon may outsource part of its activities to a third party (such as a maintenance company, a translation service provider, etc.) or, Montreal Comiccon’s HR department may contact potential employees electronically for recruitment purposes.

•       CEM sent to Montreal Comiccon’s current or potential business partners.

If you have received a CEM from Montreal Comiccon and you believe that you should not have, please assess as to whether you have provided implied or express consent to receive CEMs, or if an exemption applies.

·       Express Consent: You have provided your express consent if you have signed up to receiving our newsletters via our website or through an in-person sign-up at a previous edition of Montreal Comiccon or at an event which you attended in the past and where Montreal Comiccon had an exhibit booth.

·       Implied Consent: Montreal Comiccon may infer your implied consent if:

o   Montreal Comiccon has an existing business relationship with you or has a former business relationship with you which terminated less than two years ago (for instance, you are a former client);

o   Montreal Comiccon received an inquiry from you within the last 6 months;

o   You disclosed your electronic address to a Montreal Comiccon employee (for example you provided your business card to a Montreal Comiccon employee) or you conspicuously published your electronic address (for example, via a corporate website or in a brochure) and the CEM sent is in connection with your business role and function.

When is an electronic message exempt under CASL?

If you are receiving an electronic communication from Montreal Comiccon, it may be a message that is exempt under CASL. This would be the case if the message is one the following:

·       You have a personal relationship with the Montreal Comiccon employee who contacted you, meaning that you have previously had a direct, voluntary, two-way communication.

·       You have a family relationship with the Montreal Comiccon employee who contacted you.

·       The CEM is sent within Montreal Comiccon (between employees of Montreal Comiccon).

·       The CEM is sent between Montreal Comiccon and another business, where there is an ongoing relationship between Montreal Comiccon and this other business.

·       The CEM was sent by Montreal Comiccon to you, in order to respond to your request or inquiry.

·       The CEM was sent by Montreal Comiccon to you, in order to enforce a legal right or obligation (for instance, if you have an outstanding debt, or breached a contract that you have with Montreal Comiccon, etc.).

In certain situations, your consent is not required for certain types of messages sent by Montreal Comiccon, although you may still unsubscribe from future transmission of similar messages. The type of messages where Montreal Comiccon does not need your consent is an electronic message that:

·       is sent once, following a referral by a current Montreal Comiccon client, service provider, business partner or employee who also has a personal or business relationship with you;

·       only provides you with a request for a quote or an estimate;

·       only facilitates or confirms a transaction;

·       only provides Montreal Comiccon warranty, product recall, safety or security information;

·       only provides information about:

o   your ongoing use of Montreal Comiccon services or products or ongoing purchases;

o   a Montreal Comiccon product, good, or service purchased (including updates and upgrades).

If you have received a CEM, and you believe that you should not have, please contact us immediately and we will promptly remove your address from our list (within 10 business days).

SOCIAL MEDIA

You may be contacted by a Montreal Comiccon employee via social media, such as LinkedIn, if you are connected on the social network with the Montreal Comiccon employee, or if you have indicated through your preference settings the fact that you are open to receiving messages about new business opportunities or ventures. You may also be contacted if you have conspicuously published your electronic address (for instance, on a social media website), have not indicated that you did not wish to receive CEM, and the CEM sent is in connection with your business role and function.

WHAT TO YOU DO IF YOU NO LONGER WISH TO RECEIVE CEM FROM MONTREAL COMICCON

At Montreal Comiccon, we take the respect of laws very seriously. You may unsubscribe at any time from receiving CEM, by contacting us and we will remove you from our list within ten (10) business days.

AMENDEMENT OF THIS ANTI-SPAM POLICY AND GUIDELINES

From time to time, Montreal Comiccon will review and update this Anti-Spam Commitment as required to keep current with rules and regulations, new technologies, standards, our business practices and outside parties’ concerns. We will post any Anti-Spam Commitment changes on this page and, if the changes are significant, we will provide a more prominent notice (including, as the case may be, email notification of Anti-Spam Commitment changes). We will also keep prior versions of this Anti-Spam Commitment in an archive for your review.

QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS ABOUT THIS ANTI-SPAM COMMITMENT?

If you need further assistance, please contact the Montreal Comiccon Privacy Department either by mail at 320-55, Louvain W., Montréal (Québec)  H2N 1A4, or by email.

Revised July, 2023

Please note that both the English and French versions of our Anti-Spam Commitment have equal legal value.