About the OfficeHistory

Establishment of the Service du budget familial, offered to unionized CSN workers.

Establishment of the first home economics cooperative associations (ACEF).

ACEFs merge into a single federation, the FACEF.

Establishment of the Office de la protection du consommateur and adoption of the Consumer Protection Act.

Release of Protégez-Vous magazine (in French only) which conducts comparative testing on products and services.

Adoption of the Travel Agents Act whose application is entrusted to the Office in 1979.

Establishment of the Association des consommateurs du Québec (ACQ).

The FACEF splits up and the Fédération nationale des associations de consommateurs du Québec (FNACQ) is established.

Amendments to the Consumer Protection Act:

• new provisions governing itinerant sales and credit contracts, sales and repair of automobiles and household appliances, leasing of services, warranties and business practices;
• new provision prohibiting commercial advertising directed at persons under 13 years of age;
• establishment of certain rules of proof and procedure required to apply the Act and recourse options available to consumers;
• definition of offences against the Act and penalties that apply to offenders;
• establishment of categories of businesses requiring a permit or licence to operate, and definition of the rules regarding the issuance of such permits or licences.

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).

Act respecting the collection of certain debts.

The ACEF - Centre becomes Option consommateurs.

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.

Act respecting prearranged funeral services and sepultures.

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.

Introduction of protection measures to the Consumer Protection Act regarding long-term lease contracts.

Establishment of the Coalition des associations de consommateurs du Québec (CACQ).

Merger between the ACQ and Option consommateurs.

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).

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).

Establishment of the Compensation fund for customers of travel agents.

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:

• the establishment of a protection plan for distance contracts concluded by telephone, by mail or on the Internet;
• the prohibition of mandatory arbitration clauses;
• the update of the list of household appliances covered under Division 5 (Repair of household appliances) of the Consumer Protection Act;
• additional protection regarding advertising and business practices.

Adoption of an Order in Council for new regulations regarding the sale of used automobiles.

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.

Introduction of new clauses to the Consumer Protection Act regarding:

• telecommunication service contracts;
• advertised price of a good or service;
• inequitable clauses in contracts;
• prepaid cards (such as gift cards);
• extended warranties (additional coverage warranties);
• financial protection of consumers in the travel sector;
• professional certification of travel counsellors.

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.

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).

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:

• enhances the Compensation Fund for Customers of Travel Agents covering;
• obliges collection agent representatives to hold a certificate issued by the Office de la protection du consommateur;
• adjusts the consumer protection rules that apply to distance contracts (concluded online or by telephone, among other means).

These provisions come into force gradually until 2019.

Revision of the rules in terms of itinerant sales and increase of the security amounts provided by itinerant merchants and physical fitness studio operators.

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 resale of event tickets;
• the funeral and sepulture goods and services;
• the time share accommodation contracts;
• the variable credit offers (credit cards and lines of credit) in pre-university establishments.

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.