NDP lays out its vision for a consumer bill of rights
Speech from throne promises a ‘fairer marketplace’ and protection from scams
Alberta’s NDP government is promising a “consumer bill of rights” as it pushes a political message around affordability.
In Thursday’s speech from the throne to open the new legislature session, the Notley government promised to strengthen consumer legislation and introduce the bill of rights this spring.
“We are going to be focused this session on ensuring that we beef up consumer protection,” said Service Alberta Minister Stephanie McLean in an interview Thursday.
“Not only to protect the pocketbook of Albertans from scammers but also to ensure honest businesses will compete more fairly and prosperously in a fairer marketplace,” she said.
McLean provided few details on the bill of rights but said it will be the first of its kind in Canada.
The bill will be a stand-alone initiative, not legislation, that will lay out guiding principles to protect Albertans, she said.
McLean said the government is taking inspiration from the United Nations’ guidelines for consumer protection and U.S. resident John F. Kennedy’s call for a consumer bill of rights in the United States in the 1960s. Among those rights are the right to safety, the right to redress, the right to choose and the right to satisfaction of basic needs.
The minister said she cannot comment on legislative changes before they are introduced in the legislature but noted the Fair Trading Act, the province’s main consumer protection legislation, is “deficient in terms of finding the right balance for consumers in the marketplace.”
Jim Wachowich, counsel for the Consumers’ Coalition of Alberta, said the idea of a consumer bill of rights is “intriguing” but it has to be done right.
“Any attention to the issue of consumer rights is healthy,” he said. “Hopefully, we will get a good outcome. We’re very willing to work with government to make sure the outcome is optimized.”
The NDP’s focus on consumer protections follows the government’s crackdown on the payday loan industry, banning of door-todoor energy sales and move to cap electricity rates, which will be enshrined in legislation this spring.
The centrepiece of the throne speech, meanwhile, was a plan to cut school fees by 25 per cent.
McLean said the policies all fit together.
“We stand for Alberta families,” she said. “We are here to stand up for the average Albertan.”
Mount Royal University political scientist Lori Williams said the NDP’s moves fit with the party’s traditional interests of protecting the financially vulnerable, while also being potentially enticing to a broader swath of voters.
“This government is going to try to focus on some things that are universally appealing,” she said. “It might offset some of the other areas where people are dissatisfied.”
Williams said it will be interesting to see if the bill of rights leads to new investigation and enforcement efforts aimed at unethical business practices.
Wildrose Leader Brian Jean said the Opposition will wait for details around the consumer bill of rights but suggested it could lead to “an additional burden of red tape” for a struggling Alberta economy.
He said if the government was concerned about affordability it would repeal the carbon tax implemented on Jan. 1.