The New Consumer Protection Act - Get Ready Now

The new act and its regulations (the "New Legislation") consolidates and modernizes six existing consumer protection laws which will be repealed and replaced by the New Legislation including the Business Practices Act, Consumer Protection Act ("Old Act"), Consumer Protection Bureau Act, Loan Brokers Act, Motor Vehicle Repair Act and the Prepaid Services Act. The New Legislation is intended to harmonize federal, provincial and territorial legislation and provide consistent coverage of consumer transactions.

Generally speaking, the new Consumer Protection Act applies to "all consumer transactions if the consumer or the person engaging in the transaction with the consumer is located in Ontario when the transaction takes place". A "consumer" is defined as "an individual acting for personal, family or household purposes and does not include a person who is acting for business purposes" and a "consumer transaction" is "any act or instance of conducting business or other dealings with a