Who is the the first to break the anti-spam laws..... Conservatives are .... who don't give a damn - Conservatives don't

E-blast from Conservative riding association causes headaches for Guelph Chamber of Commerce

Joanne Shuttleworth

Guelph Mercury 59 minutes ago

GUELPH — Lloyd Longfield has been putting out fires since Wednesday, the day an email-blast from the local Conservative Party of Canada riding association was distributed to members of the Guelph Chamber of Commerce.

The message in the subject line reads: "Important news for GCC members!" and continues: "From a fellow member of the Guelph Chamber of Commerce!"

The message itself is fairly innocuous: "The next Federal Election will be held in 2015. To keep on top of what is happening locally from now through the election …" and then goes on to give the website and Twitter accounts of the local Conservative riding association.

It is signed by Steve Vos, president of the Conservative Party of Canada — Guelph Electoral District Association.

In a phone interview Thursday, Longfield, chief executive of the chamber, said he spoke to Vos on Wednesday and explained the headaches and complications this has caused for the chamber.

"I said, Steve, you're creating waves none of us needs," Longfield said. "We don't spam our members and we don't support political parties.

"I don't think they realized the political nature of what they're doing, especially in light of the recent antispam legislation."

Among other things, the chamber provides networking opportunities for local businesses and carries a business directory on its website.

Longfield said members can send emails to each other "but not spam," and their software is designed so members can only send one email at a time.

He said someone must have figured a way around it and was able to grab the entire contact list.

In light of antispam legislation that came into effect July 1, it's particularly galling, Longfield said.
"We all have gone through hoops to be compliant with the legislation, so I understand why people are upset they received this spam," he said. "And this is Conservative legislation.

http://m.guelphmercury.com/news-story/4623476-e-blast-from-conservative-riding-association-causes-headaches-for-guelph-chamber-of-commerce/