CRTC | Support Centre

If your issue remains unresolved, please contact the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS) for assistance. The CCTS is an independent organization dedicated to working with you and your telecommunications service provider to resolve complaints relating to your telecommunications services.

Contact the CCTS

If you are a Northwestel customer, please contact us directly.

What are you contacting us about today?

The National Do Not Call List (DNCL) gives consumers a choice about receiving telemarketing calls. You can choose to reduce the number of telemarketing calls you receive by registering your residential, wireless, fax or VoIP telephone number on the National DNCL. Register for the National DNCL.

Telemarketing complaints must be submitted to the National Do Not Call List (DNCL) online or by phone at 1-866-580-DNCL (3625).

Contact the DNCL

What are you contacting us about today?

Political parties that are registered on the Voter Contact Registry (VCR) are permitted by law to contact you.

If you have been called by someone you think may have violated the VCR requirements, contact us about your issue.

What are you contacting us about today?

Did the content air on:

A Canadian station like CTV, TSN or TVA?

For concerns related to inappropriate content in advertising, you should try to resolve this issue with the broadcaster. Many questions or complaints are resolved at this stage.

If the issue is unresolved, you can still file a complaint.

For issues relating to alcohol, please contact us with the following details:

Date & time of airing
Station name
Description of content

Contact the CRTC

Health Canada is responsible for advertising standards regarding drugs, medication and condoms. The department also oversees the regulations regarding tobacco.

Contact Health Canada

For all other matters, please contact Advertising Standards Canada (ASC). As Canada’s advertising self-regulatory body, they administer the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards, the principle instrument of advertising self-regulation in Canada. The Code sets the criteria for acceptable advertising and forms the basis for the review and adjudication of consumer and advertising disputes.

Some of the advertising issues that the ASC oversees are: misleading advertising, offensive language or content and advertising to children.

(Please note: In Quebec, commercial advertising aimed at persons younger than 13 is generally prohibited. See the Office de la protection du consommateur.)

Contact the ASC

A foreign station like FOX, TV5 or NBC?

Permitting foreign stations to broadcast in Canada is a benefit to Canadians and their broadcasting system. Foreign stations provide Canadians with access to diverse programming from around the world and as such offers them more choice. However, the CRTC is not responsible for the content of advertising on these stations. We recommend you contact the station to let your views known.

What are you contacting us about today?

If you believe the ad to be false or misleading, please contact the Competition Bureau. The Competition Bureau promotes truth in advertising in the marketplace by discouraging deceptive business practices and by encouraging the provision of sufficient information to enable informed consumer choice.

Contact the Competition Bureau

What are you contacting us about today?

For concerns related to programming, you should try to resolve the issue with the station. Many questions or complaints are resolved at this stage.

Is the broadcaster a member of the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC)?

The CBSC is the complaints resolution body for private radio and TV stations and discretionary services. Check if the broadcaster is a member of the CBSC. If it is, contact the Council.

Contact the CBSC

What to do if the broadcaster is not a member of the CBSC.

If your broadcaster is not a member of the CBSC, contact us about your issue. We will respond to you as soon as possible – within 10 working days.

Your complaint must include:

a description of the problem and/or your concerns
the name of the station
the date and time of the program

What are you contacting us about today?

For concerns related to programming, you should try to resolve the issue with the station. Many questions or complaints are resolved at this stage.

Is the broadcaster a member of the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC)?

The CBSC is the complaints resolution body for private radio and TV stations and discretionary services. Check if the broadcaster is a member of the CBSC. If it is, contact the Council.

Contact the CBSC

What to do if the broadcaster is not a member of the CBSC.

If your broadcaster is not a member of the CBSC, contact us about your issue. We will respond to you as soon as possible – within 10 working days.

Your complaint must include:

a description of the problem and/or your concerns
the name of the station
the date and time of the program

What are you contacting us about today?

For concerns related to billing errors, rate increases or equipment costs, you should try to resolve the issue with your service provider. Many questions or complaints are resolved at this stage. If your issue remains unresolved, you may want to consider re-examining the services you have with your provider or consider an alternative, competitive provider.

What are you contacting us about today?

If you subscribe to a cable service (that has over 20,000 subscribers in your area); or to a satellite TV provider; or a telephone company offering TV service over the internet, your provider must give you the option of subscribing to a basic TV package priced at no more than $25 (excluding equipment and taxes).

The basic TV package includes:

local and regional television stations
channels of public interest that must currently be distributed to all subscribers (such as the Cable Public Affairs Channel, Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, and the Weather Network)
provincial educational channels
and, if available, community channels and the services operated by provincial legislatures.

In addition, providers may also include, in the basic TV package, local AM and FM radio stations, additional Canadian stations from another province or territory, and stations affiliated with the U.S. commercial networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox and PBS).
After you subscribe to the entry-level service, you may choose to pick and pay for singular additional services; or choose from small pre-assembled packages; or create your own package.
Make sure you shop around. If you decide to switch, you won’t be charged disconnection fees. However, make sure you consider:

whether there are any charges for new equipment;
whether the new provider offers service to your area;
that there are no unmet conditions to you receiving their service such as equipment restrictions where you live; and
if you subscribe to a bundle of services with your current provider, you may lose any benefits or rebates by removing the TV service from the bundle.

See all of the competitive options available to you: You Have Choices. Demand Better.

If you suspect that your provider is not following the CRTC’s rules, please let us know by filling out our complaint form.

What are you contacting us about today?

If you think that a TV commercial is excessively louder than the preceding program, and that the perceived difference in volume is not due to other factors, contact your broadcaster or television service provider about your concerns.

If you cannot resolve the issue by dealing directly with your broadcaster or television service provider, and you believe that they have not adopted the necessary measures to ensure that commercials are transmitted at a similar volume to the adjacent programming, contact us about your sound levels issue. We will respond to you as soon as possible – within 10 working days.

Your complaint must include:

an acknowledgement that you have contacted the broadcaster or television service provider regarding this issue
a description of the problem and/or your concerns
the name of your television provider and the name of the TV station
the date and time of the program

What are you contacting us about today?

For concerns related to rate increases, please contact your service provider directly.

What are you contacting us about today?

If you have a question about Internet spam, visit Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation website.

If you have a complaint about Internet spam, please submit it to the Spam Reporting Centre.

Contact the Spam Reporting Centre

What are you contacting us about today?

Your issue appears to fall within our mandate. We will respond to you as soon as possible – within 10 working days.

Your complaint must include: