Canada's Consumer Legislation
Table of Contents
Introduction
Under Canada's Constitution, the Federal and Provincial/Territorial governments share responsibility for the protection of consumers. The Federal government is responsible for national marketplace standards and for ensuring a fair, efficient and competitive marketplace for producers, traders and consumers. In keeping with this responsibility, current Federal consumer statutes cover product safety (except electrical equipment), competition, labelling and weights and measures. The Federal government also has exclusive authority to legislate in relation to the banking and the telecommunications industries. Provincial and Territorial statutes cover such matters as the conditions of sale, warranties and licensing. Generally speaking, most consumer services are regulated by the Provinces and Territories, including most non-bank financial services. Most Provinces have a statute to control unfair business practices. These statutes vary from Province to Province; however, the substantive protection given to consumers is broadly similar across the country. Provincial and Territorial governments are responsible for contractual matters and most issues related to specific types of businesses or services, such as automotive repairs, door-to-door sales, consumer credit reporting, debt collection practices, and cost of credit disclosure.
The following information is presented as a general guide to where the main consumer protection issues are dealt with under the laws of Canada. However, statutes are only one part of the law, which in practice is a mix of constitutional powers and limits, case law, secondary legislation (regulations) and government policy, as well as the statutes themselves. This mix is a complex one, and it is important not to rely on the following information alone to resolve specific legal problems. You should seek legal advice for any issues that are of sufficient importance to you.
You may refer to the Department of Justice of Canada's Canadian Legislation Web site in order to find the full text of Federal, Provincial or Territorial statutes that may be of interest.
General Market Standards
- Competition Law
- The Federal Competition Act (R.S.C. 1985, c. C-34) covers such consumer issues as misleading advertising, deceptive telemarketing, and multi-level marketing and pyramid schemes, as well as such competition issues as price discrimination and predatory pricing.
- Consumer Safety - General Consumer Products
- The Federal Hazardous Products Act (R.S.C. 1985, c. H-3) and its related regulations provide for nationwide standards of safety for a wide variety of consumer products, ranging from child restraint systems for automobiles, to hockey helmets. The Food and Drugs Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. F-27) regulates the sale in Canada of food, drugs, cosmetics and medical devices.
- Consumer Safety - Food Safety
- The Canadian Food Inspection Agency administers a number of statutes and regulations that are designed to ensure the safety of the food supply. Provincial governments may also administer extensive food inspection programs.
- Consumer Safety -- Automobiles
- The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Act (R.S.C. 1985, c. M-10) requires automobile manufacturers to adhere to safety standards in manufacturing their products.
- Labelling
- The Federal Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act (R.S.C. 1985, c. C-34) ensures that food packages properly identify products - in terms of quantity and ingredients - in both official languages.
- Conditions of Sale and Warranties
- All of the Provinces have laws governing contracts for the sale of goods. For most of the Provinces, see a statute called the Sale of Goods Act. (In Québec, see Book Five of the Civil Code of Québec.) Certain related warranty provisions may also be contained in other statutes, such as a Consumer Protection Act. Such legislation may establish the basis for a private right of action against a merchant. Certain Provinces have also enacted much more extensive consumer warranty legislation. See New Brunswick’s Consumer Product Warranty and Liability Act (S.N.B. 1978, c. C-18.1) and Part III of Saskatchewan’s Consumer Protection Act (S.S. 1996, c. C-30.1).
- Unfair Business Practices
- Eight Provinces have enacted legislation to control unfair business practices. Such practices may leave a merchant open to investigation or prosecution by Provincial authorities and may create a private right of action by an aggrieved consumer. Although the practices deemed unfair are similar from Province to Province, the remedies available may vary. These statutes are typically named Business Practices Act or Trade Practices Act. (In Québec and Saskatchewan, the relevant provisions are contained within the more extensive Consumer Protection Acts; in Alberta, within the Fair Trading Act.)
- Protection of Personal Information
- The Federal government’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, which applies to federally regulated entities and to cross-border sales currently -- and, as of January 1, 2004, to the entire private sector in those Provinces without privacy protection legislation -- offers consumers the opportunity to know what information is being collected about them by regulated businesses, and to opt out of businesses’ information collection practices, and to correct inaccurate information. Québec’s Act Respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector (R.S.Q., c. P.39.1) governs the information practices of businesses in that Province.
- Class Proceedings
- Class proceedings legislation is in place in British Columbia, Ontario and Québec to allow individuals sharing a common issue to come together as plaintiffs in a single lawsuit. The efficiency resulting from a grouping of claims in this way may make class proceedings particularly amenable to consumers with a common complaint against a merchant or manufacturer.
- Know Your Rights
- This consumer legislative database provides access to laws and regulations that impact the Canadian marketplace. Find legislative texts from federal, provincial and territorial sources, and learn about your rights and responsibilities as a consumer. For more information, see Know Your Rights Web page.
Issues Which Apply to Specific Types of Business
- Automobile Dealers
- These businesses are required to obtain licenses in all of the Provinces and Territories.
- Collection Agencies
- All of the Provinces and Territories have enacted legislation that requires debt collection agencies to obtain licenses to operate within their respective jurisdictions. In addition, most jurisdictions these agencies from engaging in specific activities that may be harassing to a consumer.
- Consumer Credit Reporting
- Most Provinces regulate the practices of credit reporting agencies, in recognition of consumers’ right to know what kind of information is being held by these agencies and to verify the accuracy of that information.
- Cost of Credit Disclosure
- The Federal and Provincial/Territorial governments are in the process of harmonizing their laws governing the methods by which businesses disclose the costs incurred by consumers engaging in transactions involving credit (such transactions range from credit card purchases to automobile financing). By standardizing these methods, it is hoped that the consumer can better compare the true cost of borrowing money. The disclosure requirements for the federally regulated banks are contained in regulations of the Bank Act. For more information, see Consumer Connection’s Cost of Credit disclosure harmonization Web page.
- Direct Sales
- Given the particular nature of the door-to-door sale as a distinct marketing category where the consumer may be particularly vulnerable to high-pressure sales tactics, the Provinces and Territories have all enacted legislation that builds in to every direct sales contract a cooling-off period and specific disclosure requirements.
- Financial Services
- For information on the complex area of financial services regulation, a shared responsibility of the Federal and Provincial/Territorial governments, see the Web site of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada and this Web page of the Department of Finance Canada for information on the regulation of financial services in Canada.
- Other Sectoral Issues
- Certain other business sectors are regulated in a small number of Provinces. Below you will find a list of some of these issues. Please refer to Department of Justicce Web site in order to determine whether there is any specific statutory application to one or more of these in your jurisdiction of interest.
- Auctions
- Electricity Marketing
- Employment Agency
- Fitness Studios
- Franchise contracts disclosure
- Multilevel marketing-Fraudulent Business Opportunities
- Natural Gas Marketing
- Prepaid Contracting Business Licensing
- Retail Home Sales
- Time Share Contracts
- Travel Agencies
