Bill 28 explained in plain English
What You See is What You Pay Act (Consumer Protection Amendment), 2018
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 41st Parliament, 3rd 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 What You See is What You Pay Act (Consumer Protection Amendment), 2018, mandates that Ontario businesses disclose the full, all-inclusive cost of goods and services to consumers and clarifies the duration of promotional discounts.
This bill, called the What You See is What You Pay Act (Consumer Protection Amendment), 2018, aims to ensure consumers in Ontario know the total cost of goods and services before they buy. It requires businesses to show an 'all-inclusive cost' which includes the price, Harmonized Sales Tax (HST), and any other fees. It also requires that the duration of promotional discounts be clearly communicated. If a business fails to comply, there are penalties and a process to review contraventions and fines.
- Requires suppliers of goods or services to include an 'all-inclusive cost' in any information provided to consumers about the price.
- Defines 'all-inclusive cost' as the total of the price, HST, and all other charges or fees.
- Mandates that the all-inclusive cost be displayed in a font size equal to or larger than the price.
- Requires that the duration of any promotional discount be clearly communicated, using a font size that is not smaller than half the size of the font used for the price.
- Introduces a new penalty scheme for failing to comply with these requirements.
- Allows the Director to issue a notice of contravention to a supplier who fails to comply.
- Establishes that suppliers must comply with the requirements in a notice of contravention within 30 days.
- Sets out penalties for suppliers who fail to comply with a notice of contravention within the specified time.
- Allows suppliers who are convicted of an offense and fined to request a review of the contravention or penalty from the Tribunal.
- Specifies that fines are stayed while a review is pending.
- Outlines the powers of the Tribunal in reviewing contraventions and penalties, including confirming, setting aside, or reducing the fine.
- Lists factors that the Director and Tribunal must consider when imposing a fine, such as business size, ability to pay, deterrent effect, degree of misleading information, previous offenses, and the value of the good or service.
- Allows the Minister to make regulations exempting certain suppliers, goods, or services from these requirements.
- Suppliers of goods or services in Ontario who offer, display, or advertise these to consumers.
- Consumers in Ontario purchasing goods or services.
- The Director, who may issue notices of contravention.
- The Tribunal, which will review contraventions and penalties.
- The Minister, who may make regulations for exemptions.
- Suppliers have the obligation to disclose an all-inclusive cost for goods and services.
- Suppliers have the obligation to clearly communicate the duration of promotional discounts.
- Consumers have the right to be informed of the all-inclusive cost of goods and services.
- Suppliers have the right to request a review of a contravention or penalty from the Tribunal.
- The Director has the power to issue a notice of contravention.
- The Tribunal has the power to confirm, set aside, or reduce a contravention and fine.
- The Act comes into force one year after the day it receives Royal Assent.
- Fines for non-compliance are calculated based on the business size (number of employees) and include a fixed amount plus 100 per cent of the all-inclusive cost of the highest-priced non-compliant good or service.
- Factors such as the business's ability to pay and the value of the good or service will be considered when imposing fines.
- A notice of contravention may be issued by the Director for failure to comply with the all-inclusive cost or promotional discount disclosure requirements.
- Suppliers must comply with a notice of contravention within 30 days.
- Failure to comply with a notice of contravention can lead to a conviction and a fine.
- Fines are tiered based on the number of employees a corporation has (1-4, 5-100, 101-499, 500+).
- Fines include a fixed amount (e.g., up to $150 for small corporations/individuals, up to $25,000 for large corporations) plus 100 per cent of the all-inclusive cost of the highest-priced non-compliant good or service.
- Suppliers can request a review of the contravention or penalty by the Tribunal within 30 days of receiving a notice of fine.
- Fines are stayed while a review is pending.
- The bill does not specify the exact date of Royal Assent, making the precise commencement date one year later uncertain without further information.
- The specific details of 'any other charges or fees' that constitute part of the all-inclusive cost are not exhaustively listed.
- The bill allows the Minister to make regulations exempting certain suppliers, goods, or services, the scope of which is not detailed in the provided text.
Adds a new section (9.1) that requires suppliers to disclose the all-inclusive cost of goods and services and the duration of promotional discounts, and establishes a new penalty scheme for contraventions.
Source: Section 1
Amends section 116 by replacing subclause 116 (1) (b) (i) to include references to the new subsections related to all-inclusive costs and promotional discounts within Part II (Consumer Rights and Warranties).
Source: Section 2 (1)
Amends section 116 by adding the phrase 'Subject to subsection (5.1),' to subsection 116 (5).
Source: Section 2 (2)
Adds new subsections (5.1), (5.2), (5.3), (5.4), (5.5), and (5.6) to section 116, which establish procedures for issuing notices of contravention, outline penalties, create a process for reviewing contraventions and fines with the Tribunal, and list factors to consider when imposing fines.
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