Legislative Obligations

Legislative Obligations 

For information about legislation obligations select from the Acts below.

 

• Direct Sellers Act
• Direct Sellers Regulations
  
• The Consumer Protection and Business Practices Act
• The Sale of Goods Act

 

The Consumer Protection and Business Practices Act

Unfair Practices

Pursuant to The Consumer Protection and Business Practices Act, it is an offence to make a false claim, deceive, mislead, take advantage of a vulnerable consumer or commit an unfair trading practice.

Warranties

The Consumer Protection and Business Practices Act automatically gives a statutory warranty to anyone making a personal or household purchase. Such statutory warranties do not have to be in writing and include:

• The right of a consumer to enjoy ownership of the goods without fear of undisclosed liens or other claims on the goods.

The requirement that the products or goods acquired must:

• match its presale description;
• be of acceptable quality;
• be fit for any specific purpose as stated by the consumer, as well as for their regular purpose, unless it is obvious at the time of purchase that the goods could not meet their usual or specified purpose;
• where a purchase is based on a sample, the delivered product must match the quality of the sample and must be free from defects;
• be durable for a reasonable period of time and have spare parts and repair facilities available for a reasonable period of time (not necessarily within the province).

Under theses warranty provisions, the consumer may be entitled to a repair, exchange, refund, or court-ordered damage award (typically in that order).

These warranties generally also apply to subsequent individual owners.

Other provisions

In The Consumer Protection and Business Practices Act regulate specific consumer transactions including: delivery of unsolicited goods, personal development services (health, fitness, modeling development, gym memberships, martial arts training, etc.), travel or vacation club contracts, contracts for personal items that are entered into over the phone or by mail, and purchase and use of gift cards.

Notwithstanding these regulations, it should also be understood that there are consumer responsibilities, including the duty to first make a reasonable effort to minimize any loss resulting from an unfair practice and to attempt to resolve a dispute with a supplier before taking further action.

For additional information or clarification, call FCAA at 1-877-880-5550.

 

The Sale of Goods Act

The Sale of Goods Act is the primary law governing the sale of property other than land and establishes general rules that affect the formation of contracts including direct sales contracts unless The Direct Sellers Act specifically overrides a provision. Provisions in The Sale of Goods Act include legislation outlining the rules governing:

• the capacity of parties to contract;
• the form of the contract;
• writing requirements;
• the determination of price;
• conditions and warranties;
• determining when the goods become the property of the buyer;
• seller's and buyer's obligations;
• part performance of the contract;
• cancellation of the contract;
• rights of the unpaid seller against the goods, including unpaid seller's liens;
• resale of the goods by the buyer or seller; and
• remedies for breach of the contract.

For more information see The Sale of Goods Act.