Bill 190 explained in plain English
What You See is What You Pay Act (Consumer Protection Amendment), 2017
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
This bill amends the Consumer Protection Act, 2002, to require suppliers to disclose an all-inclusive cost for goods and services and to specify the duration of promotional discounts.
This bill, called the 'What You See is What You Pay Act (Consumer Protection Amendment), 2017', proposes changes to the existing Consumer Protection Act, 2002. The main goal is to ensure that when businesses sell goods or services, they must clearly state the total, all-inclusive cost to the consumer. This total cost must include the price, HST, and any other mandatory charges or fees. If a price is reduced due to a promotion, the duration of that promotion must also be clearly communicated. The bill also introduces a system for penalties if businesses do not follow these new rules, including a process for reviewing these penalties.
- Requires suppliers to include an all-inclusive cost when advertising or displaying the price of goods or services.
- Defines 'all-inclusive cost' as the total amount a consumer must pay, including taxes, fees, and charges.
- Mandates that the all-inclusive cost be displayed in a font size equal to or larger than the displayed price.
- Requires suppliers to clearly state the duration of any promotional discount.
- Introduces a penalty system for non-compliance, including a notice of contravention and potential fines.
- Allows for a review of contraventions and penalties by a Tribunal.
- Specifies factors the Director and Tribunal must consider when determining penalties.
- Exempts certain suppliers, goods, or services from these requirements if specified by regulation.
- Suppliers of goods and services in Ontario.
- Consumers in Ontario.
- The Director (presumably of consumer protection services).
- The Tribunal (likely an administrative tribunal dealing with consumer protection matters).
- Suppliers have an obligation to disclose the all-inclusive cost of goods and services.
- Suppliers have an obligation to clearly communicate the duration of promotional discounts.
- Suppliers have an obligation to display the all-inclusive cost using a font size equal to or larger than the displayed price.
- Consumers have the right to be informed of the total, all-inclusive cost of goods and services.
- Suppliers have the right to request a hearing to review a contravention notice or penalty.
- The Act comes into force one year after receiving Royal Assent.
- Fines for non-compliance can be up to $25,000 plus 100 per cent of the highest priced non-compliant good or service for large corporations, with lower maximums for smaller corporations and individuals.
- The definition of 'all-inclusive cost' explicitly includes the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST).
- Failure to comply with subsection 9.1 (1), (3), or (4) may result in a notice of contravention being issued by the Director.
- If a supplier fails to comply with a notice of contravention within 30 days, they may be convicted of an offence.
- Penalties for conviction include a fine based on the business size (number of employees) and 100 per cent of the all-inclusive cost of the highest priced non-compliant good or service.
- A supplier can request a hearing from the Tribunal to review the contravention or the fine amount within 30 days of receiving a notice of fine.
- The specific regulations that may exempt certain suppliers, goods, or services are not detailed in this bill text.
- The bill does not specify who the 'Director' or the 'Tribunal' are, beyond their roles in enforcement and review.
- The bill does not specify the exact date of Royal Assent, so the commencement date is not fixed.
- The bill states the Minister 'may make regulations' for exemptions, implying these are not yet in place.
Adds a new section (9.1) requiring the disclosure of all-inclusive costs and promotional discount durations, and creates a new penalty framework.
Source: Section 1
Modifies how certain provisions related to consumer rights and warranties are listed within a penalty and enforcement section (116).
Source: Section 2(1)
Adds a statement to the beginning of subsection 116(5), indicating it is subject to a new subsection (5.1).
Source: Section 2(2)
Adds new subsections (5.1) to (5.6) to Section 116, establishing a process for issuing notices of contravention, imposing penalties for non-compliance, and allowing for review by a Tribunal.
Source: Section 2(3)
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textProcess Snapshot
Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
This bill is still moving through the process. When a recorded division is published, representative positions can be listed here.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced