Bill 47 explained in plain English
Protecting Rewards Points Act (Consumer Protection Amendment), 2016
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 Act amends the Consumer Protection Act, 2002, to prevent rewards points from expiring solely due to the passage of time, with specific rules for agreement termination and retroactive application.
Bill 47, also known as the Protecting Rewards Points Act (Consumer Protection Amendment), 2016, amends the Consumer Protection Act, 2002. The main purpose is to regulate how "rewards points" (like loyalty points) can expire. It states that suppliers cannot have agreements where these points expire simply because time has passed. However, points can expire if the agreement is terminated by either the supplier or the consumer, provided the agreement specifies this. The bill also includes provisions for the transfer and inactivity of rewards points, and allows for regulations to further define these aspects. It sets out rules for agreements that existed before or after the bill came into force, and requires suppliers to credit back certain points that expired retroactively.
- Amends the Consumer Protection Act, 2002 to include provisions for rewards points.
- Prohibits suppliers from setting expiry dates for rewards points that are solely based on the passage of time.
- Allows rewards points to expire if a consumer agreement is terminated by either party, as long as the agreement states this.
- Applies these rules to consumer agreements for rewards points that existed before, or were entered into after, the bill came into force.
- Requires suppliers to credit back rewards points that expired on or after October 1, 2016, and before the bill came into force.
- Deems consumer agreements terminated by a supplier after October 1, 2016, as not terminated, requiring suppliers to credit back expired rewards points.
- Allows regulations to be made to govern the transfer, inactivity, termination of agreements related to rewards points, and transitional matters.
- Amends definitions in the Consumer Protection Act, 2002, related to 'consumer agreement' and 'supplier' to include rewards points.
- Adds the definition of 'rewards points' to the Consumer Protection Act, 2002.
- Consumers who participate in rewards points programs.
- Suppliers (businesses) that offer rewards points.
- The Crown (in relation to potential legal actions concerning retroactive application).
- Suppliers are prohibited from creating or amending agreements where rewards points expire solely due to the passage of time.
- Consumers may have their rewards points expire if the consumer agreement is terminated and the agreement allows for it.
- Suppliers must credit back rewards points that expired retroactively between October 1, 2016, and the bill's commencement date.
- Consumers may present records to courts or tribunals to support claims regarding the crediting back of rewards points, with the court determining admissibility and weight.
- The Act came into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor.
- Rules regarding rewards points apply to agreements existing on October 1, 2016.
- Rules apply to agreements entered into after October 1, 2016, but before the Act came into force.
- Rules apply to agreements entered into on or after the date the Act came into force.
- Suppliers must credit back expired rewards points within 15 days of the Act coming into force if they expired on or after October 1, 2016.
- Suppliers must credit back rewards points within 15 days of the Act coming into force if an agreement was terminated by the supplier after October 1, 2016.
- Suppliers may be required to credit back rewards points that previously expired, representing a financial cost.
- The Act states that no costs, compensation, or damages are owed by the Crown as a result of the retroactive application of its provisions regarding rewards points.
- Provisions of a consumer agreement that contravene Section 47.1 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2002, are not enforceable.
- The bill does not create any retroactive offenses.
- The exact date the Act came into force is not specified in the provided text, as it requires proclamation by the Lieutenant Governor.
- The specific details of what constitutes 'rewards points' and exceptions to expiry rules can be further defined by regulations.
- The Act mentions 'prescribed exceptions' and 'prescribed limits' for the expiry of rewards points, which would be detailed in regulations not provided.
This Act amends the Consumer Protection Act, 2002 by adding new provisions related to rewards points and modifying existing definitions.
Source: Bill 47 (Chapter 34 of the Statutes of Ontario, 2016)
The definition of 'consumer agreement' is changed to include agreements where a supplier agrees to provide rewards points to a consumer. The definition of 'supplier' is changed to include a person who supplies rewards points. A new definition for 'rewards points' is added.
Source: Section 1(1), 1(2), 1(3)
A new section (47.1) is added to Part IV concerning the non-expiry of rewards points, rules for expiry upon termination, retroactive crediting of expired points, and other related matters.
Source: Section 2(1)
This new section prohibits the expiry of rewards points solely due to the passage of time, details conditions under which points may expire upon termination of an agreement, and outlines retroactive crediting of points that expired after a specific date. However, subsections related to retroactive crediting and evidence in proceedings are repealed by Section 2(2) of this Bill.
Source: Section 2(1) and 2(2)
This subsection is amended to allow for regulations that clarify the definition of 'rewards points' and specify what constitutes rewards points.
Source: Section 3(1)
This subsection is amended to allow for regulations governing the transfer of rewards points, their inactivity, the termination of agreements, and transitional matters related to section 47.1.
Source: Section 3(2)
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 does not have a published recorded division in the current official sources, so representative-by-representative vote counts are not shown.
No published representative vote breakdown
The current official sources do not publish a recorded division breakdown for this bill, so there is no representative-by-representative table to show.
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.
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