Navigating The Changes: Québec's Bill 72 Amending The Consumer Protection Act Is Adopted

On November 7, 2024, the Québec National Assembly gave its assent to An Act to protect consumers against abusive commercial practices and to offer better transparency with respect to prices and credit (the Act). The Act, formerly known as Bill 72, adds requirements to the Consumer Protection Act (the QCPA) relating to the price of food products, tipping practices, credit contracts, long-term contracts of lease and fraud.

In our previous Update, we reviewed the changes initially proposed by Bill 72. In this Update, we offer a comprehensive analysis of the amendments that have been made to the bill before its adoption as well as a summary of the coming into force of important modifications to the QCPA.

Overview of the amendments adopted

Price of food products intended for human consumption

The Act sets out a range of provisions designed to ensure consumers are well informed and protected against unfair pricing practices and imposes a series of obligations to merchants to this end. These obligations include clear indication of applicable taxes near both the price of the product and the price per unit of measurement. However, an amendment was adopted before the assent of Bill 72 to clarify that restaurant services are excluded from all of these new obligations relating to disclosure of the price of food products intended for human consumption.

Practices related to tips

The first version of Bill 72 provided a framework for certain practices related to tips. The bill required thatpredetermined tip amounts that correspond to a proportion of the price be established on the basis of a price that excludes taxes. The bill also provided that consumers be able to determine the amount of tip to be given.An amendment was adopted to further ensure that any tipping proposals are presented in a uniform manner, so as to avoid exerting any influence on the consumer in respect of one tipping proposal over another.

Online contracts

The QCPA requires that certain type of contracts be concluded in writing. This includes

• contracts concluded with itinerant merchants
• contracts of credit (except contracts for the loan of money payable on demand)
• contracts which include a conventional option to purchase leased goods
• contracts of lease with guaranteed residual value
• contracts of sale of used automobiles and motorcycles
• contracts relating to timeshare accommodation rights
• service contracts involving sequential performance

An amendment to Bill 72 now allows these contracts to be drawn up on a technological medium if expressly authorized by the consumer.

Furthermore, Bill 72 was amended with regards to signatures of online contracts. The signature of the parties must be affixed after all the conditions have completely been brought to the consumer's attention without the consumer having to access them through a hyperlink, an external clause or any other similar way. This constitutes a shift in previously accepted practice, in which providing contractual disclosures to consumers through a link was acceptable and sufficient to bind the consumer. Now, contractual terms will have to be displayed directly to consumers to be binding.

Finally, under certain conditions, where the QCPA requires the merchant to give a duplicate to the consumer, that duplicate can be given on a technological medium.

Cancellation of insurance

Bill 72, when first presented, provided that in the event a consumer cancels any insurance that was purchased on entering a credit contract, merchants had to amend the credit contract within 10 days to remove the insurance premiums. The Act now provides this same obligation when it is the merchant or the insurer who cancels the insurance.

Furthermore, Bill 72 provided that in the case of a contract for the loan of money or a contract involving credit, the merchant had to reduce either the payments or the term, at the consumer's option. In the initial version of Bill 72, if the consumer failed to provide an option, the merchant had to reduce the amount of the payments. However, the Act now provides that the merchant may decide in such circumstances to amend the payments or the term.

Motor vehicle dealers

The initial version of Bill 72 already prohibited motor vehicle dealers and recyclers from making the purchase of a road vehicle contingent upon the consumer entering into a credit contract or a long-term contract of lease.An amendment was subsequently adopted to specify that it is also prohibited to require that the consumer acquire any other goods or services, except insurance required for entering into a credit contract or a long-term contract of lease.

Long-term contracts of lease

Bill 72 stipulated that if a contract of lease included a conventional option to purchase, the contract had to specify if that option could be exercised during the term of the lease or if it could only be exercised at the end of the lease. The bill also required that, should the conventional option to purchase be included, the contract of lease disclose the amount — or the manner of calculating the amount — payable to exercise the option, including any fees for doing so.

Further to amendments, the Act prohibits the charging of any fees for exercising the option to purchase and stipulates that the amount payable cannot exceed the residual value of the good.

OPC permit

Under Bill 72, merchants entering into open credit contracts, high-cost credit contracts, loan of money contracts and high-cost, long-term lease contracts (such as a long-term vehicle lease) will be required to hold a permit from the Office de la protection du consommateur (the OPC). However, an amendment to Bill 72 was adopted before its assent and the Act now clarifies that banks, financial cooperatives and insurers will not be required to have an OPC permit to conclude open credit contracts.

Extended powers for the government to make regulations

An amendment was adopted to provide a regulatory power to compel a retailer operating a service station to provide information on the price of gasoline and diesel fuel.

Bill 72 already required merchants to refund any sum debited from a consumer's account without the consumer's authorization or where the consumer is a victim of fraud. An amendment was adopted to provide the government with the regulatory powers toset the timeframe for repayment of such sums and provide for any other rules to facilitate implementation of merchants' new obligations.

Coming into force of the modifications

Most of the provisions of the Act, and therefore of the modifications it makes to the QCPA, came into force on November 7, 2024, which is the date of the assent. However, important exceptions are provided for and delay the coming into force of some of the modifications made to the QCPA by the Act.

The following table offers a comprehensive summary of the provisions which have been excluded from coming into force on the date of the assent and which have been analyzed either in this Update or in our previous Update on Bill 72:

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.