The province of Québec recently enacted Bill 29, An Act to protect consumers from planned obsolescence and to promote the durability, repairability and maintenance of goods. This legislation adds important new provisions on product durability, repair and maintenance to the Québec Consumer Protection Act (“CPA”) and will need to be carefully considered by manufacturers and retailers of consumer products sold in Québec.

While certain provisions came into force on October 5, 2023, most of the provisions are scheduled for phased implementation over the next six months to three years.

Major Changes to Consumer Protection Law

These amendments to the CPA bring important changes to the consumer protection landscape in Québec, notably prohibiting the use of planned obsolescence techniques and strengthening consumer rights to the repair and maintenance of goods.

Many of the details of the new consumer rights and merchant obligations are still to be determined by regulation. For the moment, however, some of the major changes include:

• Planned obsolescence: The Act prohibits anyone manufacturing or offering goods for sale or lease from using techniques aimed at reducing the normal operating life of the goods. Merchants and manufacturers are also prohibited from making it more difficult for consumers to maintain or repair their goods. This includes the use by a car manufacturer of any technique that makes it more difficult for the owner or long-term lessee to have access to the car’s data for diagnostics, maintenance or repair.
• Warranty of good working order: The Act introduces a warranty of good working order for certain common goods, such as household appliances, electronics, and climate control systems. The list of goods currently includes ranges, refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers, washing machines, dryers, televisions, computers, tablets, cellphones, video game consoles, air conditioners and heat pumps, as well as other goods that may be added in the future by regulation. To comply with the new provisions, merchants will need to disclose the duration of the warranty near the advertised price of the goods as well as communicate to consumers certain information relating to the warranty (as determined by future regulation). Merchants must also inform consumers of the warranty, if applicable, before attempting to sell them an extended warranty. During the warranty period, merchants will have to cover the cost of repairs to the goods, including the cost of parts, labour, and reasonable shipping or transportation fees. The warranty does not, however, cover normal maintenance or damage resulting from misuse by the consumer. The duration of the warranty will be determined by forthcoming regulations and will vary depending on the type of good.
• Replacement parts and repair services warranty: The Act builds on the existing obligation under the CPA to make replacement parts and repair services available for goods that require maintenance for a reasonable time after the contract is entered into. It extends this right by requiring the merchant or manufacturer to provide the consumer with information (available in French) needed to repair or maintain the goods, including diagnostic software. Additionally, the Act requires that it be possible to install the replacement parts using commonly available tools, without causing irreversible damage to the goods. The replacement part, repair service and information necessary to maintain or repair the goods must be available at a reasonable price that does not discourage consumers from accessing it. In the case of information that is accessible on a technological medium, it must be available for free. Where a merchant or manufacturer fails to make available the replacement parts, repair services or information necessary to repair the goods, the consumer may request that the merchant or manufacturer repair the goods, replace them by new or reconditioned goods with equivalent functionalities or reimburse the price.
• Cooling off period: Consumers have 10 days to cancel their purchase of an extended warranty without cost or penalty, and merchants are required to inform them of this right. Additionally, the cooling off period is extended to one year if the merchant fails to inform the consumer of the existence of a warranty provided by law. This does not apply to a contract for which the underwriter is an insurer authorized under the Insurers Act.
• Long-term leases: Long-term lease agreements are prohibited from including clauses whereby a merchant may claim the following types of charges:
  • charges on the ground that the nature or quality of a part or component installed as part of the normal maintenance service does not satisfy the merchant, unless the contract expressly provides that the goods may only be returned with a component of a specific nature or quality; and
  • charges on the ground that the part is not an original part from the manufacturer or that the maintenance service was not performed by the manufacturer or a merchant approved by the manufacturer.
• Automobile leases: The Act provides that, in the case of a long-term lease of an automobile, merchants must offer consumers a free inspection of the automobile before the end of the lease. Following the inspection of the automobile or the end of the lease, the merchant must give the consumer an opportunity to repair those parts which, in the merchant’s opinion, show abnormal wear. If the merchant fails to do so, it may not claim charges for the abnormal wear of goods.
• Vehicle “lemon” law: The Act introduces measures aimed at protecting consumers against vehicles declared to be "seriously defective automobiles."
• Interoperability: The Act gives the Government the regulatory power to determine technical or manufacturing standards for goods, including standards for interoperability between goods and chargers.
• Increased penalties: If a merchant fails to mention the legal warranty, the fines have been increased to between $2,500 and $62,500 for individuals and between $5,000 and $125,000 in other cases or an amount equal to 5% of worldwide turnover for the preceding fiscal year, whichever is greater. The penalty for failing to mention that the consumer has the right to terminate an extended warranty without cost or penalty is a fine of between $1,500 and $37,500 for individuals and between $3,000 and $75,000 in other cases. The Act also introduces a regime of monetary administrative penalties for any breach of the CPA. The details remain to be determined by regulation, other than that the penalties may not exceed $1,750 for individuals and $3,500 in other cases for each day that the failure to comply continues. Notably, if an entity commits an offence under the CPA, its directors and officers are presumed to have committed the offence, unless they can show a due diligence defence.

Entry into Force

As mentioned above, most of the provisions in the Act are scheduled for phased implementation over the next three years. For instance:

• The provisions prohibiting trading in goods for which obsolescence is planned are now in effect, whereas the associated fines will only come into force on January 5, 2025.
• The provisions prohibiting the use of techniques designed to make it more difficult to maintain or repair goods will come into force on October 5, 2025.
• The warranty of good working order and the fines for failing to mention it before selling an extended warranty will come into force on October 5, 2026.
• The penalty for failing to mention the prescribed cooling-off period to a consumer who buys an extended warranty will come into force on October 5, 2026.

Thinking Ahead

Given these new provisions, companies that sell or manufacture goods for Québec consumers should carefully review their practices to ensure they are in conformity with the CPA. We will continue to monitor any regulations the government may adopt.

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