Bill 8 explained in plain English
Access to Consumer Credit Reports and Elevator Availability Act, 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 Access to Consumer Credit Reports and Elevator Availability Act, 2018 amends Ontario's Consumer Reporting Act to enhance consumer access to credit information and introduces security freezes, while also amending the Technical Standards and Safety Act, 2000 to enable administrative penalties and set standards for elevator availability.
This bill, now law as the Access to Consumer Credit Reports and Elevator Availability Act, 2018, makes changes to two existing Ontario laws: the Consumer Reporting Act and the Technical Standards and Safety Act, 2000. For the Consumer Reporting Act, the bill updates rules related to consumer credit reports. It clarifies how consumers can access their credit reports and scores, introduces the concept of security freezes on consumer files, and gives the Registrar more power to request information from and order changes by consumer reporting agencies. For the Technical Standards and Safety Act, 2000, the bill introduces administrative penalties for contraventions of the Act or regulations. It also allows for regulations to set standards for the availability of elevating devices (like elevators), including repair timelines and reporting requirements for outages. The bill also makes changes to how officials like directors, inspectors, and assessors are appointed and what powers they have.
- Amends the Consumer Reporting Act to provide consumers with improved access to their credit reports and scores.
- Introduces provisions for security freezes on consumer credit files.
- Enhances the powers of the Registrar regarding consumer reporting agencies, including information requests and orders for correction or deletion of information.
- Amends the Technical Standards and Safety Act, 2000 to allow for administrative penalties for certain violations.
- Enables the creation of regulations to set standards for the availability and repair of elevating devices, and for reporting outages.
- Changes the administrative structure and powers related to directors, inspectors, investigators, and assessors under the Technical Standards and Safety Act, 2000.
- Consumers who use credit reporting services.
- Consumer reporting agencies.
- The Registrar under the Consumer Reporting Act.
- Individuals and corporations subject to the Technical Standards and Safety Act, 2000.
- Owners and operators of elevating devices (e.g., elevators).
- The Corporation administering the Technical Standards and Safety Act, 2000.
- Assessors appointed under the Technical Standards and Safety Act, 2000.
- The Licence Appeal Tribunal.
- Consumers have the right to request and receive their consumer report and current consumer score.
- Consumers have the right to dispute the accuracy or completeness of information in their file.
- Consumers can request a security freeze on their credit file.
- Consumer reporting agencies must provide information in an understandable and easily readable manner.
- Consumer reporting agencies must explain consumer scores and how credit information affects them.
- Individuals and corporations may be subject to administrative penalties for contravening the Technical Standards and Safety Act, 2000.
- Owners/operators of elevating devices may be responsible for ensuring compliance with availability standards.
- This Act received Royal Assent on May 7, 2018, and came into force on that day, with some sections coming into force on a day to be named by proclamation.
- The bill was introduced on March 20, 2018.
- Consumer reporting agencies may be permitted to charge fees for certain disclosures of consumer reports or scores, under specific conditions.
- Consumer reporting agencies may be permitted to charge fees for placing, suspending, or terminating security freezes, under specific conditions.
- Administrative penalties under the Technical Standards and Safety Act, 2000 are payable to the Corporation and can be up to $10,000.
- Fines for offences under the Technical Standards and Safety Act, 2000 can be up to $50,000 for individuals or $1,000,000 for corporations.
- The Registrar can order consumer reporting agencies to amend or delete information or restrict its use.
- Assessors can impose administrative penalties of up to $10,000 for contraventions of the Technical Standards and Safety Act, 2000.
- Persons subject to administrative penalties can appeal these orders.
- Failure to pay administrative penalties can result in enforcement through the Superior Court of Justice.
- Contravention of the Act, regulations, or orders under the Technical Standards and Safety Act, 2000 can lead to fines and/or imprisonment.
- The bill refers to regulations for defining 'consumer score', specifying limits on disputes, prescribing methods for generating scores, and governing fees. These details are not provided in the bill text.
- The bill specifies that certain sections come into force on a day to be named by proclamation, meaning their commencement date is not yet fixed.
- The specific amounts and conditions for fees related to consumer credit reports and security freezes are to be prescribed by regulation.
- The details of administrative penalties, including specific amounts and procedures, are to be governed by regulations.
- The bill does not specify the exact definition of 'elevating devices' beyond examples like elevators.
- The scope and nature of 'prescribed' information or requirements are dependent on future regulations.
This bill amends the Consumer Reporting Act to enhance consumer access to credit information, introduce security freezes, and expand the Registrar's powers over consumer reporting agencies.
Source: Bill 8, Part I
This bill amends the Technical Standards and Safety Act, 2000 to introduce administrative penalties for contraventions and to allow for regulations governing the availability and repair of elevating devices.
Source: Bill 8, Part II
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.
How this data is sourced