What is Consumer Protection Law?

While it is important for any economy to promote markets, it is also just as important to protect the rights of consumers. Consumer protection laws are made to ensure that companies do not engage in fraudulent practices or spread wrong information in the markets to promote their products and have an unfair advantage over their competitors. Such laws also ensure that information about the products such as those concerning effects on health that are meant to be shared with the public are not hidden from the consumers.

Wikipedia defines consumer protection laws as “laws and organizations designed to ensure the rights of consumers as well as fair trade competition and the free flow of truthful information in the marketplace. The laws are designed to prevent businesses that engage in fraud or specified unfair practices from gaining an advantage over competitors and may provide additional protection for the weak and those unable to take care of themselves. Consumer protection laws are a form of government regulation which aim to protect the rights of consumers. Consumer protection is linked to the idea of "consumer rights" (that consumers have various rights as consumers), and to the formation of consumer organizations, which help consumers make better choices in the marketplace and get help with consumer complaints.”

What are the Consumer Protection Laws in Canada?

In Canada, six consumer protection laws were legislated to protect companies from committing fraud. These included the Business Practices Act, the Loan Brokers Act, the Consumer Protection Bureau Act, the Motor Vehicle Repair Act, the Prepaid Services Act, and the Consumer Protection Act. These laws were formulated to protect consumers from advertisements that are misleading and also to regulate various business organizations and their conduct. Although these laws did help in protecting the interest of consumers, because of their largely non-uniform nature they proved to be a problem, particularly in light of recent boom in the retailing industry and non-traditional financing companies in Canada.

What does the Government Do to Protect Consumer Welfare?

The Canadian Government, through the Competition Bureau competitionbureau.gc.ca has been very active in pursuing legislation to protect the interests of Canadian consumers. As stated by a top official of the Bureau, “As stated in the new Department of Industry Act, protection of the consumer interest is an important part of the Minister of Industry's responsibilities. The solid endorsement that was given on World Consumer Rights Day, to the consumer rights movement and the United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection, demonstrates his commitment to consumer interests. Likewise, Industry Canada's commitment to the consumer remains strong. Departmental funding for consumer interest programs will be maintained at an annual level of $1 million through the 1997-98 fiscal year, at a time when most other similar programs are being eliminated or drastically reduced. The former Bureau of Consumer Policy, now the Consumer Affairs Office, will continue to perform a lead role in promoting the interests of Canadian consumers. It will also continue to ensure that consumer groups have efficient and effective access to information, and that consumer input is provided at early stages of the decision making processes of government and industry.”

What is the Consumer Protection Act of 2002?

In order to overcome this problem, the government of Canada passed the Consumer Protection Act of 2002 integrates all six of the above mentioned Consumer protection laws with the aim of promoting a market that is not only safe and fair but also provides accurate and sufficient information to the consumers. This law uniformly regulates almost all transactions a consumer can be involved in leaving no room for misinterpretation. In case of violation of this act, complaints can be made and lawsuits can be filed. This will allow consumers to get effective compensation in case they win the lawsuit.

It affords consumers a right to cancel their orders if the goods they ordered for is not delivered within 30 days of the last date specified on the agreement between the seller and the buyer. This law also requires the charges for jobs such as home repairs, moving, etc. to be within ten percent of the estimate given by the respective company to the consumer. Another important feature of this law is that it regulates the way in which information is shared with consumers. This law specifies information that must be shared with consumers and also requires the information, especially those provided online, to be in a form that can be easily understood and retained by the consumer.

Apart from the above mentioned features, this law also increased the jail times and fines in case proven guilty by prosecution under the act. It has amendments pertaining to specific industries such as automobiles, tourism and real estate. These amendments in the Consumer Protection law has greatly reduced problems created by unfair trade practices in Canada and has helped in protecting the rights of Canadian citizens.

Protection of the Consumer

The initiatives of the Government of Canada to safeguard the interests and welfare of the consumer can be seen in the enactment and implementation of laws such as the Consumer Protection Act of 2002. This has led to the promotion of a free market that is fair and safe to all consumers.

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