Bill 82 explained in plain English
Wireless Services Agreements Act, 2012
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 40th Parliament, 1st 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
The Wireless Services Agreements Act, 2012, establishes new consumer protection rules for wireless service agreements in Ontario, including disclosure requirements, cancellation rights, and limits on fees.
This Ontario bill, the Wireless Services Agreements Act, 2012, aims to protect consumers who sign agreements for wireless services used on mobile devices. It sets out rules for suppliers regarding clear disclosure of information, advertising, and the terms of these agreements. Consumers are given rights, including the ability to cancel agreements under certain conditions, and limits are placed on cancellation fees. The Act also specifies obligations for suppliers to provide advance notice of additional costs and restricts how agreements can be amended or renewed. It outlines penalties for non-compliance and makes certain provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2002 applicable to wireless agreements.
- Establishes new rules for wireless service agreements between suppliers and consumers in Ontario.
- Requires suppliers to provide clear and comprehensive information to consumers before and during a wireless agreement.
- Regulates advertising related to wireless agreements, requiring prominent display of all-inclusive costs.
- Grants consumers the right to cancel wireless agreements under specific circumstances, such as non-disclosure or for any reason at any time.
- Limits the cancellation fees that suppliers can charge consumers.
- Prohibits suppliers from unilaterally amending, renewing, or extending wireless agreements without explicit consumer consent.
- Requires suppliers to have systems in place to notify consumers when their usage may lead to costs exceeding the minimum agreed-upon amount.
- Makes certain provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2002 applicable to wireless agreements, with modifications.
- Sets out penalties for suppliers who contravene the Act.
- Defines what constitutes a 'wireless agreement' and the parties involved (supplier and consumer).
- Specifies that if there is a conflict between this Act and the Consumer Protection Act, 2002, this Act prevails.
- Consumers of wireless services in Ontario.
- Suppliers of wireless services in Ontario.
- Individuals acting for personal, family, or household purposes (defined as 'consumer').
- Businesses selling, leasing, or providing goods or services, including their agents (defined as 'supplier').
- Suppliers must clearly disclose information about wireless agreements, including costs, services, and restrictions, before and within the agreement.
- Suppliers must ensure advertising for wireless agreements prominently displays all-inclusive costs.
- Suppliers must provide consumers with an opportunity to review and correct errors before signing an agreement.
- Suppliers must deliver a copy of the wireless agreement to the consumer promptly.
- Suppliers must have a system to notify consumers of potential costs exceeding the minimum monthly amount.
- Suppliers cannot unilaterally amend, renew, or extend a wireless agreement; explicit consumer agreement is required.
- Consumers have the right to cancel wireless agreements within one year if disclosure requirements are not met.
- Consumers have the right to cancel a wireless agreement at any time without reason.
- Cancellation fees for consumers are limited, with specific calculations for agreements involving free or discounted goods.
- Suppliers must refund consumers for payments made under improperly amended, renewed, or extended agreements.
- Consumers may be entitled to triple the amount of any unrefunded amount under specific cancellation or improper amendment scenarios.
- Suppliers must return security deposits, less any outstanding amounts authorized by the agreement, upon cancellation.
- Suppliers must provide written notice if they use a security deposit to cover unpaid amounts.
- The Act comes into force on the first day of the month that begins on or immediately after the day that is six months after the day the Act receives Royal Assent.
- Suppliers are restricted in the cancellation fees they can charge consumers. For agreements without free/discounted goods, fees are limited to $50 or 10% of the unsupplied services for fixed-term agreements. For agreements with free/discounted goods, fees are calculated based on the value of the inducement and the duration of the agreement.
- Suppliers may be required to refund payments made under improper amendments, renewals, or extensions.
- Suppliers must refund consumers for services not received if the agreement is cancelled due to non-disclosure or other specified reasons.
- Consumers may be entitled to recover three times the unrefunded amount if a refund is not provided after cancellation or improper amendment.
- Suppliers must include interest on security deposits returned to consumers upon cancellation, at a rate specified by regulation.
- Advertising for wireless agreements must include an all-inclusive cost, excluding harmonized sales tax.
- Contravention or failure to comply with specific sections of the Act or its regulations is an offence.
- Individuals convicted of an offence can face fines of up to $50,000 or imprisonment for up to two years less a day, or both.
- Corporations convicted of an offence can face fines of up to $250,000.
- Officers or directors of a corporation can be found guilty of an offence if they fail to take reasonable care to prevent the corporation from committing an offence.
- Proceedings for an offence must be commenced within two years after the facts first came to the knowledge of the Director (as defined in the Ministry of Consumer and Business Services Act).
- The Act allows for regulations to prescribe specific details, such as additional rights and obligations, specific matters for disclosure, and forms for notices and agreements, which are not fully detailed in the text of the bill itself.
- The application of the Act ceases if a wireless agreement is amended, renewed, or extended, and none of the parties are located in Ontario at that time.
- A court may order a consumer to be bound by an agreement even if it does not meet the Act's requirements, if it would be inequitable not to do so.
- The Act relies on 'prescribed' matters, indicating that further details will be specified in regulations made under the Act.
- The calculation of some cancellation fees, particularly for agreements with free or discounted goods, involves formulas with variables like 'A' (value of economic inducement) and 'B' (months elapsed) or 'C' (total months in term), which require specific values from the agreement and calculations.
- The Act specifies that 'minimum cost' is a regular periodic amount, regardless of usage. Details on how this minimum cost is determined or calculated are not fully elaborated within the Act text, relying on prescribed regulations.
Creates a new law specifically to govern agreements for wireless services accessed from mobile devices, setting out rights and obligations for consumers and suppliers.
Source: Preamble, Section 1
Extends certain provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2002 (such as those related to compliance orders and waiver of rights) to wireless agreements, with specific adaptations. It also specifies that certain parts of the Consumer Protection Act, 2002, do not apply to wireless agreements covered by this new Act.
Source: Section 5
Mentions the harmonized sales tax payable under Part IX of the Excise Tax Act (Canada) in relation to advertising costs.
Source: Section 8
The Act comes into force on the first day of the month that begins on or immediately after the day that is six months after the day this Act receives Royal Assent.
Source: Section 24
The Act applies to wireless agreements and related transactions that occur on or after its commencement date, provided the consumer is located in Ontario. The Act ceases to apply to an agreement if it is amended, renewed, or extended and none of the parties are located in Ontario at that time.
Source: Section 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.
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Vote Summary
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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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