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is committed to good governance, excellence in research and listening to consumers. Its consultative, fact-based approach provides the foundation for its engagement of consumer issues through consumer representation.

The Council works to improve consumers’ ability to navigate marketplaces affecting everyday life.

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Consumer groups could help reduce dangers to consumers of counterfeit goods, pirated media

Canadian consumers find it difficult to identify perils of buying ‘counterfeit’ goods and ‘pirated’ digital media, and industry intellectual property protection campaigns don’t help them, report finds.

Canadian consumers find it difficult to identify the perils of buying ‘counterfeit’ goods and ‘pirated’ digital media, and industry intellectual property protection campaigns don’t help them, new research by Consumers Council of Canada found.

The Council based this conclusion, found in its just-released report Consumer Attitudes and Their Role in Reducing the Impact of Counterfeit and Pirated Goods and Services, on a 2,000-person national web survey and focus groups conducted by Environics Research and on a review of academic literature and interviews with experts.

“Generally speaking, consumers set out to find a good deal when they shop and most of them don’t go looking for the kind of trouble that buying fake goods and pirated media can bring them,” said Consumers Council of Canada President Don Mercer. “But when consumers knowingly do so, their reasons can range from saving money to engaging in civil disobedience.”

The research found industry and government make little meaningful effort to work with consumer groups to address the growing presence of counterfeit and pirated goods in the marketplace. Trends reports indicate that trade in counterfeit and pirated goods has risen steadily in the last few years and now stands at 3.3% of global trade, according to a recent report by the OECD and the European Union’s Intellectual Property Office. Some sources claim this trade fuels organized crime and terrorism worldwide.

“Problematic goods are harming and sometimes killing Canadians, from fake pharmaceuticals to goods bearing forged safety certifications,” said Mercer. “Stronger enforcement by government of general consumer protections could take more counterfeits off the market, yielding better results for consumers and business and raising consumer consciousness of their risks associated with counterfeiting and piracy.”

The research found online sales are problematic because consumers do not have the same ability to examine the goods, packaging and labelling that would help them determine if a product is counterfeit as they do in a ‘bricks and mortar’ retail setting. However, it also found consumers encounter fraudulently presented goods in traditional retail settings.

Among the reports recommendations:

A single body to coordinate anti-fraud initiatives by governments across Canada
Engagement and partnership by business and government with consumer organizations to address related marketplace risks born by consumers and facilitate consumer education
Governments, in particular, and business should provide sustainable funding to consumer organizations to play an independent role in curbing marketplace fraud

Consumers Council of Canada has received funding from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s Contributions Program for Non-profit Consumer and Voluntary Organizations. The views expressed in this report are not necessarily those of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada or the Government of Canada.

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Research Announcements, Autos, Clothing, Copyright, Home Furnishing & Equipment, Media & Culture, Public Safety, Trade, Right-Product Safety, Right-Choice, Right-Redress, Right-Safe Environment, Right-Privacy

Behavioural economics research partnership funded by Government of Canada

A research partnership that includes Consumers Council of Canada and is being led at the Behavioural Economics in Action Research Centre at the Rotman School [BEAR] at the University of Toronto has been funded by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

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2019-20 Board of Directors appointed, 2018-19 Council report released

Consumers Council of Canada names 2019-20 board of directors and releases 2018-19 report of activities.

The Consumers Council of Canada's Annual Report of Activities 2018-19 has highlighted the year gone by as one in which the benefits of "disruption" in the marketplace began notably to add up less and less as beneficial to consumers.

The report was received by the Council's members at the organization's annual general meeting held June 27, 2019. The annual general meeting also elected the Council's new board of directors for 2019-20.

"The scope of the Council’s engagement with public policy reform, given its heavy reliance on volunteers, is quite breathtaking" said Council President Don Mercer, who was re-elected to lead the Council for the year ahead. "However, the Council must turn down too many requests to participate because of limited resources. Unfortunately the need to provide consumer representation has grown astronomically due to trade liberalization, IT disruption, climate change impacts and pressures to reform law and regulation. All the institutions that provide consumer protection are under stress, as are the organizations that make them work."

Among other things, the report highlights:

Growing interest in the Council's work, as demonstrated by rising use of its website
The Council's recent intervention before the Supreme Court of Canada pursuing consumers' interests
It's academic partnership activity
It's intervenor activity before the Ontario Energy Board and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
It's representation work at key Ontario regulators like Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council, Technical Standards and Safety Authority and Electrical Safety Authority, among others
It's representation of consumers at Payments Canada, Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, Finpay and at Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat's External Advisory Committee on Regulatory Competitiveness
It's participation in national and international standards development

The Council's membership thanked outgoing board members Howard Deane, Harvey Naglie, Sherry Monahan and Ken Morden for their service to the Council, especially noting Deane's seven consecutive years of service and even longer-term commitment as Council Treasurer, board member, member and consumer representative.

New additions to the board of directors are: Dorothy Buchanan, currently Coordinator, Professional Development for Students, Recruitment and Retention (Faculty of Education) for Brock University, past Director, Marketing Strategy, FirstOntario Credit Union and a former instructor at Ryerson University, including in Consumer Studies, Research Methods; Evan Leibovitch, Director of Community Relations for Linux Professional Institute, former Senior Consultant and Partner with Xunil Corporation, a Community Technology Access Coordinator for UNHCR, and a co-founder and former President of the Canadian Chapter of the Internet Society; and Tracy MacCharles, a former member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2011 to 2018 and Minister of Government and Consumer Services, Children and Youth Services and Women's Issues, past Vice President of Human Resources at Manulife Financial, and former chair of the Ontario Accessibility Standards Advisory Council .

The 2019-20 board of directors named Don Mercer as president, Dennis Hogarth as vice president, Simon Wong as secretary and Trevor Shaw as Treasurer of the Council.

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WORKING TOWARDS
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OUR AIM IS AN EFFICIENT, EQUITABLE, SAFE AND EFFECTIVE MARKETPLACE

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Have a consumer
experience to share?

Help for
Consumers

Our Work
to Represent
Consumers

Consumer
Research
& Reports

Consumer
Protection
Initiatives

Get
Involved

Consumers find identifying perils of counterfeit goods difficult

Consumers eager for innovative ways to resolve marketplace problems

Canada lags behind at requiring standardized unit pricing displays at retail

Consumers nervous to get useful advice about energy performance of their homes

Extended product protections often misunderstood by consumers

Canadians enjoy little protection against prices, practices of instalment lenders

Featured Events

Latest News

Consumer groups could help reduce dangers to consumers of counterfeit goods, pirated media

Behavioural economics research partnership funded by Government of Canada

2019-20 Board of Directors appointed, 2018-19 Council report released

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© 2016 Consumers Council of Canada

WORKING TOWARDS AN IMPROVED MARKETPLACE FOR CONSUMERS IN CANADA

OUR AIM IS AN EFFICIENT, EQUITABLE, SAFE AND EFFECTIVE MARKETPLACE

Join the Consumers Council Public Interest Network

The Consumers Council of Canada

Have a consumer experience to share?

Consumers find identifying perils of counterfeit goods difficult

Consumers eager for innovative ways to resolve marketplace problems

Canada lags behind at requiring standardized unit pricing displays at retail

Consumers nervous to get useful advice about energy performance of their homes

Extended product protections often misunderstood by consumers

Canadians enjoy little protection against prices, practices of instalment lenders

Featured Events

Latest News

PRIVACY POLICY | SITE MAP | SEARCH

© 2016 Consumers Council of Canada

WORKING TOWARDS
AN IMPROVED MARKETPLACE
FOR CONSUMERS IN CANADA

Have a consumer
experience to share?