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Consumer Protection: Statutes Providing Various Rights and Remedies
Question: What consumer protection laws in Ontario can help if a business used unfair practices or misleading claims?
Answer: Ontario consumers may have rights under Consumer Protection Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 30, Sched. A, and sometimes Competition Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-34, to address unfair practices, misleading representations, and other problematic sales tactics, while Sale of Goods Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. S.1, and common-law implied warranties may also apply depending on the transaction and product or service. For practical next steps, the Legal Profession Ecosystem in Ontario can help you organize your documents, clarify the issue type, and connect you with appropriate legal service resources without providing legal advice.
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.