HRAI Hosts Virtual Meeting on Regulatory Issues in the Province of Quebec
Quebec legislation on end-of-life producer responsibility, right-to-repair, and French language labelling requirements were important issues discussed at an online session hosted by HRAI on December 16th.
Under guidance from Impact Public Affairs senior economist Charles Bernard and HRAI Vice-President of Government and Stakeholder Relations Martin Luymes, the session gave an overview of the Quebec political situation, reviewing prospects for the current government and rival political parties, and how these dynamics may impact the fate of the legislation and regulations tied to these important topics.
Members were informed about Quebec’s intention to enforce end-of-life producer requirements on costs and management of the recovery and reclamation HVAC equipment. HRAI believes that the issue is driven by consumer confusion between small residential HVAC appliances and HVAC building systems, and the need to deal with the cost of residential HVAC appliances disposed municipal waste facilities in Quebec.
An update was given on Quebec’s Bill 96, legislation governing the use of French by businesses in Quebec, noting that a proposed requirement that permanent engravings must be in French – a major concern for affected manufacturers -- is not in the Bill’s final regulation. As well, a two-year compliance grace period has been provided, to account for new federal labelling laws.
The fourth topic covered during the session was related to Quebec’s Bill 29, which impacts warranty provisions in the Quebec Consumer Protection Act. In particular, the Bill introduces a requirement for a legal warranty of good working order, a legal warranty for availability of replacement parts and repair services, and prohibition on planned obsolescence. The first wave of regulations for these requirements will come in January 2025 and will be followed by a 45-day consultation period.
After this session, members were asked to join working groups on two topics: (1) end-of-life producer requirements, to advise on the preferred path moving forward, and (2) Bill 29’s Right-to-Repair regulations, to provide guidance on comments for the upcoming consultation, expected to occur in January.
If you would be interested in joining either of these working groups, please contact Perry Chao at pchao@hrai.ca for more information.
As well, if you were unable to attend the session and are interested in the video recording or slides from the meeting, please contact Perry Chao at pchao@hrai.ca.
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