Public Consultation Leads to Revised Draft Regulation under Ontario's Consumer Protection Legislation

In mid-December 2003, the Ontario Ministry of Consumer and Business Services released its draft Regulation under the Consumer Protection Act, 2002 (Act) for public comment (see E-TIPSâ„¢ Volume 2, Number 15, January 8, 2004). The draft Regulation deals with a wide range of consumer protection issues, including Internet agreements and other e-commerce concerns.The Ministry has now posted the revised draft Regulation which incorporates the changes made as a result of consultation input. There are three specific refinements to the provisions regarding the information that must be disclosed to the consumer before entering into an Internet agreement:

• the description of the goods and services proposed to be supplied to the consumer must contain relevant technical specifications only if the specifications are related to the use of the goods and services being supplied;
• a business will only need to disclose its means of delivery and the identity of the person to perform services for a consumer only if those are specified as terms of the agreement; and
• a business must disclose only restrictions, limitations and conditions "of purchase", consistent with the Internet Sales Contract Harmonization Template. A business is not obliged to disclose those limitations that arise outside their contract with the consumer (such as limits on manufacturers' warranties and intellectual property limits).

A final Regulation will be prepared and submitted for governmental review. Until the Act itself is proclaimed and the final Regulation is issued, however, the current consumer legislation and Regulations remain in force. For the revised draft regulations, see: www.cbs.gov.on.ca/mcbs/english/pdf/CPA_Regs_Fall04.pdf. For more information on the public consultation process, see: http://www.cbs.gov.on.ca/mcbs/english/5Q7N9M.htm. Summary by: Rosa Kim and Clare McCurley