Sales in Québec: A Practical Compliance Checklist

This checklist summarizes rules that mostly affect sales teams: commercial electronic messages, the protection of personal information and the language of offers. Each rule points to an official body or text that you can consult yourself.

It is not legal advice. Laws change and your situation is unique. Victor is an assistant that prepares and follows up: it applies the settings you make, but your company remains responsible for what it sends. When in doubt, consult a legal advisor.

Finally, remember the split of roles: Victor prepares and follows up according to your rules, but signs no contract and promises no price outside your rules. Compliance decisions remain human.

A commercial electronic message requires the recipient's consent under Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL, known in French as LCAP). That consent can be express, or implied in specific cases, such as an existing business relationship. The text of the law is available on the Justice Canada website.

In Orvel, the consent field is mandatory before an email sequence: the tool blocks sending without valid consent and keeps the proof. This detail matters, because it is up to the sender to prove consent.

• Is the consent field filled in for each contact before a sequence?
• Do you know whether consent is express or implied?
• Is the proof of consent kept in the record?

Every commercial message must identify the sender and provide contact details. The guide from the CRTC (the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission) explains this obligation.

In Orvel, each message template automatically adds the company name and contact details to the signature. Still, check that this information is current before launching a campaign.

• Does the company name appear in every message?
• Are the contact details in the signature accurate?

A simple and free unsubscribe mechanism is mandatory. The request must be processed within 10 business days at the latest. The official source is, again, the CRTC guide.

In Orvel, each message carries an unsubscribe link; a request removes the account from mailings and records it in the register. For your team, the reflex is simple: an unsubscribe request received by phone or email must also be logged without delay.

• Does every message contain an unsubscribe link?
• Does someone check the unsubscribe register?
• Are requests received outside the tool recorded?

Implied consent based on a business relationship expires. For example, it can lapse 2 years after a purchase or 6 months after an inquiry. It is up to the sender to prove consent. The federal government's Fightspam website explains these notions.

In Orvel, the tool calculates the consent expiry date and alerts you before it arrives. For a dormant lead, this keeps you from writing to someone whose consent has expired; before following up, check where their consent stands.

• Do you know the consent expiry date of your dormant leads?
• Do you know how to check consent before following up with a dormant lead?

Law 25 requires the company to protect personal information, to designate a person in charge and to keep a register of confidentiality incidents. The Commission d'accès à l'information du Québec (CAI, Québec's privacy regulator) publishes information for businesses, and the Québec government announced the entry into force of the new provisions.

In Orvel, you get a record-access log, export and deletion of a contact on request, and a reminder about the person in charge of privacy protection. These are tools: designating that person and keeping the incident register remain decisions for your company.

• Is a person in charge of privacy protection designated?
• Do you keep a register of confidentiality incidents?
• Can you export or delete a contact on request?

Commercial offers and documents intended for clients in Québec must be available in French, under the Charter of the French Language. The Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF, Québec's French-language office) is the reference body.

In Orvel, templates are in French by default and the account's language is noted in the record. Before sending an offer, make sure the attached document also exists in French.

• Is the attached offer available in French?
• Is the client's preferred language noted in their record?

Compliance comes down to simple, repeated actions: consent, identification, unsubscribe, protection of personal information and offers in French. With Orvel, Victor helps you apply them, but the final decision stays with you.

General information, not legal advice. Check with your professional order or the official source.

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• https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/fra/lois/E-1.6/
• https://crtc.gc.ca/fra/com500/guide.htm
• https://fightspam.gc.ca/eic/site/030.nsf/fra/h_00000.html
• https://www.cai.gouv.qc.ca/entreprises/
• https://www.quebec.ca/nouvelles/actualites/details/entree-en-vigueur-des-nouvelles-dispositions-de-la-loi-25-50723
• https://www.cfib-fcei.ca/fr/ressources/conformite-reglementaire/loi-canadienne-anti-pourriel-lcap-en-quoi-concerne-t-elle-votre
• https://www.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/

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