Anti-spam Commitment

ABOUT COGECO CONNEXION

Cogeco Connexion (www.cogeco.ca) regroups the Canadian cable operations of Cogeco Communications Inc. Cogeco Connexion is the second largest cable operator in Ontario and Quebec in terms of the number of Basic Cable service customers served. Its two-way broadband cable networks provide to its residential and small business customers Analogue and Digital Television, High Speed Internet («HSI») and Telephony services.

INTRODUCTION

Cogeco Connexion ("Cogeco") is committed to providing transparency to external parties regarding the compliance of its electronic communications with Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation, and its relevant rules and regulations (“CASL”).

To that end, the Cogeco Anti-Spam Commitment is a formal statement of rights and obligations made available to external parties to inform them of:

• The responsible and transparent practices adopted by Cogeco when electronically communicating with external parties;
• Who they may contact at Cogeco for any concern pertaining to electronic communications, and
• Where and how they may unsubscribe to any electronic communications from Cogeco.

This document also includes a series of answers to questions about spam and Cogeco’s practices.

APPLICATION AND SCOPE

This Anti-Spam Commitment applies to Cogeco Connexion.

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

WHAT IS COGECO DOING TO COMPLY WITH CASL?

In addition to this Commitment, Cogeco has undertaken the following initiatives to ensure that we are compliant with CASL.

1. Cogeco allows you to manage your communication preferences

Our customers can determine and manage their communication preferences by going on My Account.

Your communication preferences can be updated at any time by visiting My Account, which can be accessed via our website, and you will be notified via email when changes have been made. You can have your email address removed from our commercial communications lists at any time, although in the event that we have more than one email address on file for your account, you may be required to specify which email addresses you wish to unsubscribe.

2. Cogeco has modified its email footers

Cogeco has modified its email footers to manage CASL’s content requirements. Under CASL, all CEMs sent must include certain prescribed content. For example, Cogeco must:

• Clearly identify Cogeco as the party sending the CEM;
• Provide a method where the recipient can readily contact Cogeco, such as a mailing address and one of :
  • a telephone number with active response voicemail;
  • an email address; or
  • a web address; and
• Provide a working unsubscribe mechanism.

Consequently, email footers have been updated on electronic communications sent from Cogeco, in accordance with CASL requirements.

3. Cogeco has incorporated unsubscribe mechanisms

Cogeco has incorporated unsubscribe mechanisms into all relevant electronic communications, in order to manage CASL’s requirements. Under CASL, each CEM must provide a working unsubscribe mechanism, where the unsubscribe request must be processed within a maximum of 10 business days. As a consequence, Cogeco has set up a uniform process in order to ensure that all unsubscribe requests are handled in an adequate and compliant way. You may, at any time, unsubscribe from receiving CEMs from Cogeco by following the process laid out in the CEMs, by using My Account, or by contacting Customer Services

WHY ARE YOU RECEIVING A CEM FROM COGECO?

The types of CEMs Cogeco may send you from time to time could include the following:

• CEMs sent to current or potential clients (whether individuals or businesses), by Cogeco marketing, e-business, customer experience departments, Cogeco corporate sales team or any other department at Cogeco. These CEMs may be sent for prospecting purposes or in order to answer a request for information or an inquiry;
• CEMs sent to current or potential service providers by various Cogeco business units. For example, Cogeco may contact potential employees electronically for recruitment purposes;
• CEMs sent to current or potential business partners. For example, Cogeco has various partnerships with, among others, recruitment agencies and business partners.

If you have received a CEM from Cogeco and you believe that you should not have received it, you may wish to assess whether you have already provided consent to receive CEMs, or whether that message received from Cogeco is covered by CASL.

• Express Consent: You can verify that you have provided express consent to Cogeco (or verify the status of your consent) by reviewing your preferences in My Account.
• Implied Consent: Cogeco may infer your implied consent if:
  • Cogeco has an existing business relationship with you or has entertained a former business relationship with you which terminated less than two years ago (for instance, you are a former client);
  • Cogeco has received an inquiry from you within the last 6 months;
  • You disclosed your electronic address to a Cogeco employee and the CEM sent by Cogeco is in connection with your business role and function. For example:
    • you provided your business card to a Cogeco employee
    • you published your electronic address in a publication (for instance a website or a brochure).

CAN COGECO SEND YOU AN ELECTRONIC MESSAGE NOTWITHSTANDING CASL?

If you are receiving an electronic communication from Cogeco, it may be a message that is exempt under CASL and would therefore not constitute a CEM. This would be the case if the message is one the following:

• You have a personal relationship with the Cogeco employee who contacted you (meaning that you have previously had a direct, voluntary, two-way communication);
• You have a family relationship with the Cogeco employee who contacted you by email;
• The CEM is sent between Cogeco and another business, where there is an ongoing relationship between Cogeco and this other business. For example a business partner or a service provider;
• The CEM was sent by Cogeco to you, in order to respond to your own request or inquiry (for instance, you contacted Cogeco and Customer Support answered you via email);
• The CEM was sent by Cogeco to you, in order to enforce a legal right or obligation.

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

• Is sent once, following a referral by a current Cogeco client, service provider, business partner or employee who also has a personal, family or business relationship with you;
• Only provides you with a request for a quote or an estimate;
• Only facilitates or confirms a transaction;
• Relates to a warranty, product recall, safety or security information;
• Only provides information about:
  • your ongoing use of Cogeco services or products or ongoing purchases;
  • your ongoing Cogeco client subscription or accounts (for instance, your contract coming to an end soon);
• Constitutes the delivery of a Cogeco product, good, or service (including updates and upgrades).

If you still believe that you should not have received this CEM, please contact us immediately (see contact information below) and we will promptly address the situation (within 10 business days).

However, please note that you may continue to receive electronic messages that are not promotional in nature (and which are exempt from CASL) or which are required by law to be delivered.

SOCIAL MEDIA AND INFORMATION PUBLISHED ONLINE

You may be contacted by a Cogeco employee via social media if:

• You are connected on the social network with this Cogeco employee, or;
• You have indicated through your preference settings that you are open to receiving messages about new business opportunities or ventures, or;
• You have published your electronic address (for instance, on a social media website) and have not indicated that you did not wish to receive CEM

In all cases, CEM sent must be in connection with your business role and function.

WHAT DO YOU DO IF YOU NO LONGER WISH TO RECEIVE CEMS FROM COGECO?

At Cogeco, we take compliance very seriously. You may unsubscribe at any time from receiving CEMs by following the process laid out in a CEM you may have received from Cogeco, or by calling the Customer Services, and we will remove you from our lists within ten (10) business days.

AMENDMENT OF THIS ANTI-SPAM COMMITMENT

From time to time, Cogeco will review and update this Anti-Spam Commitment as required to keep current with applicable rules and regulations, new technologies, standards, our business practices and external parties’ concerns. An up-to-date version of the Anti-Spam Commitment will be available at all times on this page. If the changes are significant, we will provide a prominent notice (including, as the case may be, email notification of the changes).

QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS ABOUT THIS ANTI-SPAM COMMITMENT?

Cogeco has designated its Chief Privacy Officer as the person accountable for compliance with this Anti-Spam Commitment:

Caroline Dignard
Vice President, Legal Affairs and Chief Privacy Officer

Cogeco Connexion.
5 Place Ville-Marie, Suite 1700
Montréal, Québec
H3B 0B3

By phone: 514-764-4700

By e-mail: privacy@cogeco.com

Version 2014.1
Revised July, 2014

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