Consumer Protection In Canada:

A Brief History

It can be generally assumed that governments do not protect consumers in Canada against the numerous scams, hoaxes and deceptions in the marketplace. The federal consumer protection department was abolished decades ago, leaving consumer protection to the exclusive domain of the provinces. In fact, local governments backed by provinces may be the actual culprits of anti-consumer activity dressed up and marketed as public interest. A case in point is the City of Vancouver, and how this “pseudo government” has been squandering millions to mess up this beautiful city and make life needlessly more difficult for its residents. These facts have given rise to class-action litigation, which is often defeated by expensive lawyers ganging up on plaintiffs on behalf of large and greedy corporations, not to mention governments. It’s on record that a provincial government changed the law retroactively to avoid paying a judgment after losing a class-action case. One of the recent casualties is British Columbia’s Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act which has been rendered useless by expensive lawyers hired by alleged perpetrators and faulty court judgments. This act no longer serves any purpose other than to harass travel agents and other small businesses. Fortunately, there are other avenues for protection against perpetrators such as publicity and political pressure to remind politicians and bureaucrats of their duties to the public. Hence, the need for this citizens’ initiative.