No Private Law Duty When Government Acts To Protect Consumers

Introduction

A recent decision of the British Columbia Supreme Court¹ illustrates the unwillingness of courts to impose private law duties on governmental agencies tasked with regulatory authority over consumer products and consumer safety. It will be interesting to see if this unwillingness continues given the recent introduction of the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA), which imposes obligations and duties on manufacturers and importers of consumer products, and similarly provides the government with greater regulatory abilities concerning consumer products sold and distributed in Canada, including the power to order the recall of unsafe consumer products.

Background