Anti-spam legislation coming

The age of spam, spam, spam may be coming to an end on July 1, if Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) has anything to say about it.

The legislation, which goes into effect on Canada Day, prohibits the sending of commercial electronic messages without the consent of the recipient and holds out the potential for stiff penalties in the event of non-compliance.

“CASL is very complicated,” says an explanatory note from the Secretariat & Office of General Counsel. “This means that there are many challenges of interpretation, and no one is perfectly sure what CASL will mean in practice.”

One thing that is clear, however, is that universities are not generally exempted from this legislation. The Secretariat & Office of General Counsel has been advising campus communicators and academic support units about CASL in the run-up to the date that the legislation goes in force.

So, what is a commercial electronic message? Here’s a working definition: “an electronic message that, having regard to the content of the message, the hyperlinks in the message to content on a website or other database, or the contact information contained in the message, has as its purpose, or one of its purposes, to encourage participation in a commercial activity.”

“While the university’s activities, generally speaking, are not commercial in character, it is not clear at the moment whether or not messages sent by or on behalf of the university that otherwise meet the definition will be considered as commercial electronic messages for the purposes of CASL,” is the official word.

So consent may be required for the sending of commercial electronic messages, and that consent can be obtained from the intended recipient either expressly or impliedly. Express consent can be obtained by asking. Your inboxes may have been bombarded recently by such messages from all sorts of email senders.

Implied consent, on the other hand, arises in a number of circumstances, such as one where the sender and receiver have an existing business relationship, or an existing non-business relationship, or if the receiver has disclosed their email address to the sender and there are no indications that commercial messages are unwelcome.

Messages between faculty and staff related to university activities are exempt from the legislation.  Messages from faculty or staff to existing students are probably exempt as well, although this isn’t clear.  At the very least, the university has implied consent from its students.

Also, commercial electronic messages that are sent by or on behalf of registered charities, such as the University of Waterloo, where the primary purpose of the message is raising funds for the charity, is exempt from CASL and can be sent without express or implied consent.

Though the consequences for non-compliance are potentially severe, including penalties that can range from $1,000,000 to $10,000,000 and a future right of private action (meaning that senders can be sued), the Secretariat & Office of General Counsel has noted that employees of the University have their individual liabilities protected by the University, so long as the employee is not reckless and is otherwise performing their job in the best interests of the University. Nobody doing the University’s work in good faith will lose their house if they happen to be found in violation.

For a detailed FAQ document about CASL and its effects, visit the Secretariat & Office of General Counsel’s website, or contact the University Secretary & General Counsel Logan Atkinson if you have questions about an email you are intending to send.

One tip though: don’t put the word “Spam” in your email title, or it might be routed to a junk folder and ignored.

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Applied Health Sciences dean stepping down

"Further to my memo of 7 April 2014 this is to inform you that the nominating committee is beginning the process of finding a successor to Dean Susan Elliott, who has decided for personal reasons to no longer stand for reappointment and to resign from the deanship effective 1 July 2014," says a memo from Vice-President, Academic & Provost Geoff McBoyle circulated to Applied Health Sciences this week.

Elliott became Dean of Applied Health Sciences in 2010. She is a professor in the School of Public Health and Health Systems who is cross-appointed with the Department of Geography and Environmental Management.

"The nominating committee will now refocus its attention toward the search for a successor who will be appointed to the position on a permanent basis."

The nominating committee members are:

• Geoff McBoyle, vice-president, academic & provost
  
• Jack Callaghan, kinesiology
• Clark Dickerson, kinesiology
  
• Rebecca Lockley, undergraduate student
• Heather Mair, recreation and leisure studies
  
• Meredith McGinnis, staff member
  
• John Mielke, School of Public Health and Health Systems
• Marina Mourtzakis, kinesiology
• André Roy, dean of environment
• Bryan Smale, recreation and leisure studies
  
• Lana Vanderlee, graduate student
  
• Katy Wong-Francq, staff member
  

"She will continue on at the university in her professorial role, and on behalf of the committee and the campus community I would like to thank Professor Elliott for her contributions to both the faculty and to the university," concludes McBoyle.

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Safety training for supervisors

A new provincial regulation requires health and safety awareness training for every worker and supervisor under Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), which comes into effect on July 1.

That’s the gist of an email circulated to faculty, staff and CUPE employees by Kate Windsor, the University’s Director of Safety this week.

The Safety Office has made available its classroom course, “Supervisor’s Safety Orientation” for several years, but in order to meet the requirements of this new legislation, they have introduced a 1-hour online supervisor safety awareness course.

The course can be accessed online using WATIAM credentials. Once you have completed the course, your training record will be updated on myHRinfo within 24 hours.

If you have taken the “Supervisor’s Safety Orientation” course earlier than July 1, 2009, you will be required to take the new online course as a refresher. If you completed the course after that date, the refresher is highly recommended, but not mandatory.

As a reminder, all workers must complete the mandatory online orientation courses Employee Safety Orientation and Workplace Violence Awareness, both of which should take between 30 to 60 minutes to complete.

For more information, visit the Safety Office website.

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Walker heading to Simon Fraser University

Mark Walker, the University's associate registrar, records and systems, has announced that he has accepted the job of Registrar, Executive Director of Student Enrolment at Simon Fraser University. He will be departing Waterloo in mid-July.

Walker's connection with the University of Waterloo goes back to his days as an undergraduate in 1973. He went on to earn his MSc and PhD at this University. During his more than 20-year career on Waterloo's staff, he has held a number of positions, including heading the organic geochemistry laboratory in the earth sciences department, working an instructor in Biology, and then moving to the Registrar's Office in 2001 where he took on the role of assistant registrar, and most recently associate registrar, records and systems.

He has been actively involved in a number of extracurricular activities, including holding the presidency of the staff association (as well as chairing a number of committees), serving as chair of the Cross-Functional Group on campus, as a member of Staff Relations & Staff Compensation committee, membership in the Higher Education User Group (HEUG), and most recently as a staff representative on the University's Board of Governors.

“Mark’s departure will be keenly felt in the Registrar’s Office and across the whole institution,” said Ray Darling, University Registrar. “In his 13 years in the Registrar's Office, Mark helped implement improvements to everything from online self-service systems to class scheduling to undergraduate records to the undergraduate calendar and to Convocation. We wish him all the best in his new role at Simon Fraser University."

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