The Office de la protection du consommateur was established in 1971 with the coming into force of the Consumer Protection Act.
Important dates in the history of the Office
1962 | Establishment of the Service du budget familial, offered to unionized CSN workers. |
1965 | Establishment of the first home economics cooperative associations (ACEF). |
1970 | ACEFs merge into a single federation, the FACEF. |
1971 | Establishment of the Office de la protection du consommateur and adoption of the Consumer Protection Act. |
1973 | Release of Protégez-Vous magazine (in French only) which conducts comparative testing on products and services. |
1974 | Adoption of the Travel Agents Act whose application is entrusted to the Office in 1979. Establishment of the Association des consommateurs du Québec (ACQ). |
1977 | The FACEF splits up and the Fédération nationale des associations de consommateurs du Québec (FNACQ) is established. |
1978 | Amendments to the Consumer Protection Act:
The Office becomes an independent body: it is no longer under the authority of a ministry of the Government of Québec. Adoption of the Act respecting the class action and creation of the Fonds d'aide aux recours collectifs (now called the Fonds d'aide aux actions collectives). |
1979 | Adoption of the |
1983 | Adoption of the The ACEF - Centre becomes Option consommateurs. |
1986 | Adoption of the First-time participation by Québec at an international consumer affairs event at the world congress of the Organization of Consumers Unions (now called Consumers International), in New York. |
1987 | Adoption of the |
1989 | Irwin Toy Ltd. v. Québec. Judgment of the Supreme Court of Canada confirms the legality of prohibiting advertising directed at children under 13 years of age as stipulated under the Consumer Protection Act. |
1991 | Introduction of protection measures to the Consumer Protection Act regarding long-term lease contracts. |
1992 | Establishment of the Coalition des associations de consommateurs du Québec (CACQ). |
1999 | Merger between the ACQ and Option consommateurs. |
2001 | Management of Protégez-Vous magazine is transferred to a non-profit organization: Les Éditions Protégez-Vous. Adoption by the Québec Conseil des ministres of the Order in Council respecting the Policy on accurate pricing for merchants who use optical scanner technology. Establishment of the Union des consommateurs, as a result of the merger between the FACEF and Action Réseau Consommateur (formerly the FNACQ). |
2003-2004 | Seal of approval granted by the Institut d’administration publique du Québec to the Office for its merchant search tool, now known as Get information about a merchant. Establishment of the consumer protection awards, now known as the Office de la protection du consommateur Awards (in French only). |
2004 | Establishment of the Compensation fund for customers of travel agents. |
2007 | Adoption of the amendments made in 2006 to the Consumer Protection Act and the Act respecting the collection of certain debts. These amendments pertain to:
Adoption of an Order in Council for new regulations regarding the sale of used automobiles. |
2008-2009 | The Office receives an Achievement in Consumer Education award from the National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators for its brochure about children and advertising entitled Vos enfants et la pub, designed in collaboration with Les Éditions Protégez-Vous. |
2010 | Introduction of new clauses to the Consumer Protection Act regarding:
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2012 | Application of the Act to prohibit the resale of tickets at a price above that announced by the authorized vendor. This act amends the Consumer Protection Act. |
2015 | Transfer of the responsibility for issuing road vehicle dealer’s and recycler’s licences, from the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) to the president of the Office de la protection du consommateur. |
2016 | Online launch of a quick and simple tool consumers and merchants can use free of charge to resolve a dispute between them: the Platform to Assist in the Resolution of Litigation Electronically (PARLe). |
2017 | Passage of the An Act mainly to modernize rules relating to consumer credit and to regulate debt settlement service contracts, high-cost credit contracts and loyalty programs. Furthermore, this bill:
These provisions come into force gradually until 2019. |
2018 | Revision of the rules in terms of itinerant sales and increase of the security amounts provided by itinerant merchants and physical fitness studio operators. |
2018 | Revision of the rules governing itinerant sales and increase in the financial protection (security amounts) provided by itinerant merchants and physical fitness studio operators. Adoption of the Act to amend various legislative provisions concerning consumer protection. This Act includes measures regarding:
The office receives the Initiatives numériques award at the Prix d'excellence - Institut d'administration publique du Québec award ceremony for its PARLe online mediation tool. |
The Office and its place in government through time
1971 | Establishment of the Office de la protection du consommateur within the Québec Department of Consumer Affairs, Cooperatives and Financial Institutions. |
1978 | The Office becomes an independent entity under the control of the Minister responsible for Housing and Consumer Protection. |
1985 | The Office becomes the responsibility of the Québec Justice Minister. |
1995 | The Office comes under the control of the Minister responsible for Relations with the Citizens, who will become the Minister of Relations with the Citizens and Immigration. |
2004 | The Office becomes the responsibility of the Québec Justice Minister. |
2017 | The Office becomes the responsibility of the Minister responsible for Consumer Protection and for Housing. |
2018 | The Office becomes the responsibility of the Québec Justice Minister. |
Presidents of the Office, both past and present
Year | President |
---|---|
February 2019 to date | Ms. Marie-Claude Champoux |
May 2014 to February 2019 | Ms. Ginette Galarneau |
December 2007 to May 2014 | Mr. Louis Borgeat |
August 2004 to November 2007 | Mr. Yvan Turcotte |
September 2002 to July 2004 | Mr. Maurice Boisvert |
July 1997 to September 2002 | Ms. Nicole Fontaine |
December 1990 to July 1997 | Ms. Marie Bédard |
July 1981 to December 1990 | Mr. Gilles Moreau |
August 1975 to July 1981 | Mr. Pierre B. Meunier |
June and July 1975 | Mr. Roger Lequy |
January 1973 to May 1975 | Ms. Niquette Delage |
July 1971 to December 1972 | Mr. J.-Albert Gagnon |
Last update : March 1, 2022