OTTAWA — Industry Minister Lucienne Robillard said she's considering legislation to fight unsolicited e-mails.

"I would like to have a miracle solution in my pocket to stop them," she said in an interview Tuesday.

Recent estimates suggest that seven million Canadians receive unwanted electronic mail weekly. About 14 million messages are sent over the Internet each week.

Department officials have been searching for solutions for years.

"It could go as far as a law," Robillard said. "I'm not closed to that but I want an effective one. I don't want a law just to have a law."

She said a new American e-mail law that came into force in January has been perceived to be somewhat effective.

Opponents of a Can-Spam law said it wouldn't have much effect because recipients would have to ask that their addresses be removed from each sender's mail list.

Making this request is often counterproductive because it only confirms that the address works.

States like California have gone further and introduced legislation requiring the sender to obtain permission before e-emails can be transferred.

Robillard plans to meet with Senator Donald Oliver, who introduced legislation last year that required Internet providers to install filters to stop unwanted messages.

Most unwanted e-mails originate outside Canada -- 90 per cent according to some experts.