Anti-spam law slips by me

Sorry, folks, this one escaped my notice when it went through Parliament, probably because except for the discussion of Senate amendments, the debate in the Commons was back in 2001 before I was reading Hansard regularly.  It seems that Bill C-23, on competition and competition tribunals, makes it illegal for companies to send you a notice saying you've won a prize, if you haven't.  Penalties on summary conviction up to $200,000 and a year in prison; on indictment, fine at the discretion of the court and up to five years imprisonment.  Electronic mail is specifically mentioned in the bill.  The link above is to the discussion of the new offence in the legislative summary of Bill C-23.  See also Bill C-23 itself and this globetechnology article about it.  [Anti-spam law slips by me]