New Brunswick’s government introduced a bill to create a new Consumer Protection Act to provide broad protection for consumers and bring the province in line with other provinces.
New Brunswick previously had legislation around specific issues and practices, but no legislation to address more general topics such as unfair practices or internet sales.
The new legislation covers six new general topics, and will also incorporate six existing pieces of legislation. The initiative has been in development for many years, and involved reviewing legislation in other provinces and jurisdictions.
The new consumer protection areas in the legislation include:
Unfair practices – This will cover all kinds of deception or misleading of consumers, using abusive practices and one-sided agreements.
Internet sales agreements – This will provide protection similar to that available to residents of other provinces, particularly around disclosure and cancellation rights.
Unsolicited goods and services – Consumers will not be compelled to pay for goods or services that they did not order or agree to.
Future performance contracts – This will cover required information and cancellation rights for agreements in which payment is required to secure future products or services.
Personal development services contracts – This requires contractual disclosure including cooling off periods and cancellation rights, and will prohibit automatic renewals of contracts for health, fitness, sports, modelling and talent services.
High-cost credit – Businesses offering higher-cost credit will need to be licensed by the province, and certain information must be included in the contract, including disclosure of cooling off periods.
The six previous regulatory areas incorporated in the new legislation cover gift cards, direct sellers, cost of credit disclosure, credit reporting services, collection and debt services, and payday loans. Legislation for each of those areas is being updated in the new Act.
There will be a public comment period for the new legislation. Rules and regulations to support the Act are in development.