I greatly appreciate the member’s submissions on third reading of Bill 142. The member for Humber River–Black Creek is truly an excellent parliamentarian, a thoughtful member in this House, and his work on the committee was very diligent and dedicated.

But the act is called the Better for Consumers, Better For Businesses Act—if passed, that would be the title. I appreciate the full support of this bill in second reading, and hopefully on third reading. One of the proposals he makes to his last point is a consumer protection watchdog. Why does the member think that we need yet another oversight branch when there’s already in existence a fulsome mechanism within the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery that is directly responsible for consumer protection and enforcing the law? Because, after all, we don’t want more burdens, red tape and regulation. It’s got to be better for consumers and better for businesses. What is the point of a redundant consumer watchdog?

I thank the minister for his kind words, and again congratulate and acknowledge the hard work that he and his ministry did on this bill.

I will remind the minister that, during the pandemic, some of the hardest times we faced here in Ontario, a huge amount of gouging was happening, to the point that the Premier was on television going after—and I’m not going to name that business, in particular. At the time, he announced a consumer protection hotline and encouraged Ontarians to call it. In committee, I heard members again echo that call.

The minister says that the ministry is equipped and capable of doing this, but I will remind the minister that of the 30,000 complaints made to the consumer protection hot line, not a single one resulted in a fine or action. This, without a shadow of a doubt, shows that the ministry is either unable or unwilling to take action when necessary. This type of organization—

If you don’t want to listen to the official opposition, listen to the experts that deputed in hearings. Listen to the experts that have made submissions and continue to go out there and talk to consumer protection experts. They will tell you that this will only strengthen the ministry and provide them an ally to stand up to huge industries when they want to gouge or do other things that our consumers in Ontario do not appreciate and that harm consumers. It’s the right thing to do.

As everyone in the House knows, this legislation was supported by the official opposition at second reading. Though we believe it doesn’t go far enough, it is certainly an improvement over the 2002 act. We have stated this many times, just like I stated it during my presentation today. I have also stated this is, in fact, supportable moving forward.

We hope that the 34 amendments that were tabled, of which one was taken—that this government will take them very seriously and review these during the further consultations of the regulatory phase of this bill because they come from the experts, and they will only strengthen this legislation and improve it further.

Now, the government will probably say that the HCRA is there and they’re another regulatory body that could address that, but if you ask home warranty experts and consumer advocates who are fighting for increased protections under that, they will tell you that what exists under the current HCRA doesn’t go far enough, and they will give you countless examples that you will find in the news of developers cancelling a build and the harm that results for consumers.

It makes sense. We believe that it was a sensible request and, as such, we tabled it as an amendment and, ultimately, the government voted against it for the reasons that are theirs and theirs alone.

I would turn it back, though, simply to say this to the minister: I would consider that with those same prepaid and other cards, it’s not just about the expiry date, but many of them have other built-in mechanisms that, right at the moment that you actually activate it, you lose money right off the top. They tend to decline, administratively, in terms of balance. And, often, there’s money left on those cards that will never get used in some cases, even if you have them with no expiry date. I think that this warrants a further look, and I’m sure it’s something that many consumer protection advocates have asked for and would probably appreciate.

It was an honour to participate in this debate.

Thank you to the member for Humber River–Black Creek for his presentation.

We’re now under questions and comments.

We’re under questions.

Further debate?

The member from Perth–Wellington, please.

Thank you, Speaker. It’s nice to see you in the Chair this evening.

It’s wonderful to rise to speak to third reading of the Better for Consumers, Better for Businesses Act.

Each and every day, members of our government caucus come to work for the people of Ontario. Consumer protection and small business promotion are the very principles that allow our economy to continue to work for everyday Ontarians.

Today, as we move forward on debate on our government’s updated Consumer Protection Act, I will note that it is disappointing that it took so long for us to get to this moment in updating our Consumer Protection Act, as has been mentioned by the minister in his hour-long remarks.

Again, I commend the minister and my colleague from across the way for their hour-long remarks.

I will let my colleagues know that I will not be doing an hour deputation, because it’s not allowed in the standing orders now, and I would not have enough material, to be honest.

Interjection.

As I mentioned, it was disappointing. As was mentioned earlier, the proclamation of the act was in 2005, but, as was noted by the minister, it was introduced and passed by a Progressive Conservative government in 2002.

Interjections.

Speaker, when it was passed and then proclaimed subsequently in 2005—the world has changed a lot since 2005. I know that some staff who serve some of our government members were born in this century. I was talking with them recently, and they don’t know what MSN was. That made me feel really old.

In 2005, as was mentioned by the minister, the iPhone did not exist. Twitter—or, now, X—did not exist. Facebook was merely on Harvard campus and some other university campuses, I believe, at the time. Instagram, obviously, did not exist. The world was a happier place. It was a nicer time.

Interjection.

Online shopping wasn’t commonplace, either. Obviously, when we think of online shopping now, we think of Amazon, but even more, since the pandemic and the movement to more online transactions—even small businesses in my riding now are shipping around Ontario, Canada and North America through online mechanisms. A great example, not in my riding, but close to my heart: My sister is a small business owner, and she ships her products online, across North America. So I know it has become more commonplace.

It’s heartening to see that our government continues to work for Ontarians and update the Consumer Protection Act. That’s why our government is updating the Consumer Protection Act through the bill called Better for Consumers, Better for Businesses Act. It takes concrete steps to ensure that there are reliable consumer protection standards that reflect the needs of Ontarians today, and that there are enforcement mechanisms to protect the integrity of our marketplace.

Speaker, we’re prohibiting unfair business practices such as taking advantage of consumers’ inability to understand language in a contract. We’re limiting when a business can make one-sided contract amendments, renewals and extensions without the express consent of a consumer. We’re prohibiting businesses from creating unnecessary barriers when consumers are trying to cancel a subscription or membership-based contract. We’re providing fair exit options to consumers and families who find themselves locked indefinitely into a time-share contract, as well as homeowners tied to long-term leases for appliances. And we’re giving stronger enforcement powers to better enable the Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery to hold bad actors to account, including by doubling fines.

As the minister mentioned earlier, the vast majority of our businesses and small businesses in Ontario operate very well, with upstanding standards. However, obviously there are still bad actors. It’s good to see that we will continue to ensure that those bad actors are punished with higher fines.

Ontarians deserve a business climate where they can trust that their best interests are being looked after and that they’re being protected from unfair manipulation, and these changes are particularly important in the housing sector, helping Ontarians participate in the housing market in good faith.

Speaker, if you’ll indulge me, I’ll quote from Tim Hudak, president and CEO of the Ontario Real Estate Association, when he was referring to the bill before us, Better for Consumers, Better for Businesses Act, 2023:

“The Ontario Real Estate Association is a strong proponent of measures to improve consumer protection so people have peace of mind when acquiring home services or products. Ontario realtors commend the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery for updating protections on contract disclosure or leases to better safeguard consumers in the modern marketplace and enhancing the ability of businesses to meet their obligations. We look forward to seeing the positive effect this will have for future homebuyers across the province.”

Interjection.

Speaker, we have an understanding in this country that if you work hard and you pull up your bootstraps, you can afford that house; you can afford that Canadian dream or the Ontario dream. But without an updated Consumer Protection Act—since 2005—Ontarians are falling behind and have been at the risk of unfair manipulation and bad actors in the marketplace. Now that our government is taking action on this important piece of legislation to protect consumers and better support businesses, we can once again have faith in the idea that hard work will reward Ontarians without risking them being taken advantage of.

This legislation also takes important steps to support businesses and help them succeed in an ever-changing marketplace. Each member in this place comes from a different and unique community, each of which relies on its small businesses for economic growth and development. Whether it’s here in downtown Toronto, in northern Ontario, in my riding of Perth–Wellington or anywhere in between, I think we can all agree that our small businesses are the primary representation of the capitalist and free enterprise society that we live in and that will keep our economy growing and allow our communities and families to thrive.

I know I mentioned earlier a quote from Mr. Hudak. As a young, first-time homeowner, I know there’s a lot of stress in that process; there’s a lot of questions. For most in Ontario, it will be the largest purchase you ever make in your life. I know there are challenges, and there are bad actors, to be frank, in that sector, Speaker. I know our government continues to take steps, some outlined in this bill, to ensure that we protect first-time homebuyers and protect our seniors as well. I think of the liens and NOSI consultations the minister is undertaking—the seniors in my riding of Perth–Wellington and those liens they may not even know they have agreed to—and ensuring that those aren’t on title, ensuring that that headache is not there as well for the people who inherit the property when they pass on. Knowing that experience as well when my grandparents passed away and seeing—even if there are no challenges around consumer protection, still it is a process for anyone obviously going through that, dealing with bank accounts and property. So ensuring that these NOSIs and liens are not unduly placed on a title of a property will ensure that this difficult time for those families is not made even more difficult by those extra challenges and those bad actors trying to take advantage of our seniors.

Speaker, I know our government will take steps to ensure that consumers and a fair marketplace is upheld across Ontario, ensuring that we continue to support the many businesses in Ontario and in my riding of Perth–Wellington.

While I have the floor, Speaker, I also want to briefly thank Jamie from the Huron Perth Community Legal Clinic for his submissions to the committee. I know I always appreciate meeting with Jamie, and his thoughts and our discussions.

I would like to believe that consumer protection, especially in the context of this legislation and within the larger free-enterprise society we have in Ontario, is something that we can all come together and agree to support.

Speaker, I am heartened to hear the support from the opposition, and I hope we see that this evening, once we get to the vote on—I’m doing wishful thinking that we’ll vote on this right away. Maybe we’ll get unanimous consent to do that.

With that, I conclude my remarks.

Report continues in volume B.

What was your MSN name?