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Overview
The Alberta government is working to improve consumer protections in the areas of right to repair, lemon laws and credit. Through targeted engagement with stakeholders, information is being sought to better understand the issues being experienced by consumers and industry, and explore potential solutions to protect consumers. Other jurisdictions, like the European Union, Quebec, and Ontario, have taken steps to enhance protections in some or all of these areas, and we will be looking at their approaches to inform our work.
Get informed
Right to Repair
Right to Repair enables consumers to fix their own equipment or use third party repair services. Currently, many repairs must be handled by authorized repair centres, which can be costly and inconvenient. Right to repair could include a broad range of products, from large farming equipment, to small household appliances and electronics. Targeted engagement with industry and consumer organizations will identify where enhanced consumer protections could be focused and what such protections might consist of.
Lemon Laws
Lemon laws generally refer to protections for consumers when new vehicles require repeated or serious repairs. Targeted engagement with industry and consumer organizations will seek information about the issues consumers are experiencing, explore existing mechanisms to deal with these issues, and what enhanced consumer protections might consist of.
Credit Protections
Identity theft and coercive debt have become significant issues in Alberta, as in other jurisdictions. Albertans have become increasingly concerned with how to protect their personal and financial information. Another issue is coerced debt, where individuals, such as survivors of human trafficking or elder abuse, are forced into debt through abuse, threats or exploitation. The engagement will explore these issues and look at what potential actions might look like.
Other jurisdictions, such as Quebec and Ontario, have taken steps to allow residents to freeze their credit, blocking access to their credit reports and preventing new accounts from being opened without their consent. We will also explore the protections in other jurisdictions through the engagement process.
Stakeholder engagement
Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction will be seeking feedback from organizations representing industry, consumers, Indigenous communities and other stakeholders on these topics through surveys, followed by virtual meetings to explore the issues and potential solutions in more detail.
Outcomes
Stakeholder feedback may be used to inform future amendments to the Consumer Protection Act and regulations.