Consumer Protection: Statutes Providing Various Rights and Remedies

Question: What Ontario laws protect consumers from unfair business practices and bad contracts?

Answer: In Ontario, consumer rights and remedies commonly come from Consumer Protection Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 30, Sched. A, plus related rules under Competition Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-34 and Sale of Goods Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. S.1, which can address issues like unfair practices, required written contracts, and implied warranties.  Alfred Legal Services provides Affordable Legal Help for consumer protection matters across Ontario, including reviewing your situation and outlining practical next steps based on your documents and facts.

In the world of commerce, and in particular matters of consumer transactions, the individual person as a purchasing consumer is often at significant disadvantage in business dealings, especially when such business dealings involve large corporations.  To help balance the playing field, so to help ensure that individual consumers receive fairness during business dealings, consumer protection laws were put into place.

Without the protection of consumer protection statutes, consumers would be subjected to the common law and the age old adage of buyer beware or caveat emptor as such is known in Latin) and often referred to within historical legal precedents.

The Law

The law contains many statutes that contain provisions providing protection to consumers including, among various others:

• The Consumer Protection Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, Chapter 30, Schedule A;
• The Competition Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-34; and
• The Sale of Goods Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. S.1.

In addition to the statute laws as above, and despite buyer beware principles, the common law as ruled by judges also contains protections for consumers such as implied warranties requiring that sellers to supply products appropriate for the intended purpose or for the performance of good work.

Common Issues Include: