Canadian consumers who want to stop receiving telemarketing calls may find their biggest problem is getting on the National Do Not Call list.

Starting tomorrow, for the first time in Canada consumers can register to have their phone numbers removed from telemarketers' lists.

Signing up is "simple, quick and free," says the federal agency responsible for the list. Consumers can sign up online at the National Do Not Call list website or by calling the toll-free numbers 1-866-580-DNCL (1-866-580-3625) or 1-88NCL-TTY (1-888-362-5889), according to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.

But with some 64 per cent of Canadians saying they plan to register, it may take time to get through and you must renew your registration every three years.

Not every call will be eliminated because the list contains several major exemptions, including registered charities seeking donations, newspapers looking for subscriptions, political parties and their candidates, and companies with which you have done business in the last 18 months.

Canadians can get off the exempt lists by calling the telemarketer directly.

Firms conducting market research, polls or surveys are not considered telemarketers and can continue contacting consumers.

Once you have signed up with the National Do Not Call list , telemarketers must stop calling you within 31 days.

Also under the new rules, telemarketers must identify themselves and if requested provide you with a fax or phone number where you can speak to someone about the call.

They can't use devices that automatically dial and deliver pre-recorded messages, unless they are the police, fire department, schools, hospitals or reminders for appointments.

Complaints about telemarketing calls can be made through the National Do Not Call list website, or by calling the toll-free numbers 1-866-580-DNCL (1-866-580-3625) or 1-88NCL-TTY (1-888-362-5889).

Meanwhile, the Canadian Marketing Association, which has been running its own "do not contact" registry for several years, is bracing for a rash of calls from consumers who mistakenly believe they are still the main contact point for telemarketing calls.

The CMA list covers not only telemarketing phone calls, but faxes and junk mail.

As of tomorrow, the phone calls portion of the list will be handled by the CRTC, while unwanted faxes and mail will remain with the CMA.
"We're trying to get the public to understand, it's no longer us," said CMA spokesperson Stephanie Quinlan. "We have been running a do not contact list for a few years. As of tomorrow, the telemarketing portion of our do not contact list will be run exclusively by the CRTC."

The CMA will continue to honour any existing names on its do not phone list but will not be adding new ones. Existing names are good for three years from the time of registration