Things to know Provincial and federal legislation regulates the collection of debts from consumers (even if an  organization is collecting debts from its own consumers).  The legislation primarily covers licensing obligations and “prohibited practices”: Licensing: If a person is carrying on business as a collection agent or agency, that person must generally be licensed or […]

Things to know In Canada, various methods of payments are recognized (cash, debit cards, credit cards, gift cards, Apple Pay, PayPal, mobile payments, etc.). Debit card payments are processed through Interac. Credit card payments, as is the case in most other western countries, are processed through the credit card networks (e.g., Visa, Mastercard and Amex).  […]

Things to know With limited exceptions, gift cards cannot have an expiration date, and consumers cannot be charged  usage, dormancy or other fees. Key exceptions to the prohibition on expiration dates include gift cards issued for promotional  purposes (e.g., the consumer did not pay for the gift card), or issued for a specific good or […]

Things to know Contests are primarily governed by the federal Competition Actand Criminal Code. The misleading advertising provisions in provincial consumer protection legislation also apply to contest advertising. Contests must have a set of written rules, disclosing at least the minimum disclosure requirements set out in the Competition Act. The Criminal Codeprohibits awarding prizes solely […]

Things to know Federal and provincial laws prohibit representations for the purpose of promoting a product or  service that are false or misleading. Advertising to children in the Province of Québec is prohibited; children are defined as being under the age of 13. Advertising to children elsewhere should comply with the Broadcast Code for Advertising […]

Things to know GST The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a 5% federal value added tax that applies to most goods and services supplied in Canada.  The GST is imposed at each stage of production or distribution, and not only on the final supply to the consumer. HST Five provinces have harmonized their provincial […]

Things to know When you sell online to consumers in Canada, you need to comply with provincial internet sales laws – this means that you’ll need to provide certain information to consumers before they make a purchase, and then deliver a copy of your terms of sale or other agreement to them. If you don’t […]

Things to know Resellers, distributors and sales representatives in Canada will insist that your products or services comply with local laws, including French language rules and packaging and labelling requirements. Relationships with resellers, distributors and sales representatives need to identify who will be  responsible for importing commercial products into Canada and who will be responsible […]

Things to know Electronic devices– regulated provincially Wireless devices Food Pharmaceuticals Biologics Natural health products Medical devices Cosmetics Medical cannabis Motor vehicles Child car seats Cribs, cradles, bassinets Tobacco Electronic cigarettes/Vaping products –  legislation not in force yet Liquor – labelling requirements, provincial rules  and regulations (such as manufacturing) Firearms Pest control products Consumer chemicals […]

Things to know A consumer product that is a “danger to human health or safety”, subject to recall or corrective  measures, or listed in Schedule 2to the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act(CPSA) may not  be manufactured, imported, advertised or sold in Canada. Documentation must be retained by manufacturers, importers, advertisers, sellers and testers  of consumer […]