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MONTREAL, October 4, 2023 - The Act to protect consumers from planned obsolescence and to promote the durability, repairability and maintenance of goods has been officially adopted by the National Assembly. Équiterre is pleased that this essential step has been taken in defining a legislative framework to promote access to repair.
"In 2022, only 25% of Quebecers had their household appliances and electronics repaired when they broke down. With the new proposed measures, tools will be put in place to reverse this trend. This is excellent news from both an environmental and an economic standpoint.”
-Amélie Côté, Analyst, Reduction at the source at Équiterre
Équiterre has been working on the right to repair for several years now, and is happy that the Minister of Justice integrated several of the recommendations that the organization submitted during the parliamentary commission.
A few examples of amendments proposed by Équiterre, which were added to the bill:
- Information required for the maintenance or repair of a good must be available free of charge, when available in digital form.
- Information required for the maintenance or repair must be available in French.
- Fines for programmed obsolescence have been significantly increased, up to a maximum of 5% of the offending company's worldwide sales for the previous financial year.
Several important elements of the law will be determined by future regulations. Équiterre will be keeping a close eye on these regulations to ensure that they improve the law and effectively contribute to better access to repair.
Équiterre's offices are located on Indigenous lands that have not been ceded by treaty, which we now call Montreal and Quebec City. We recognize that Indigenous peoples have protected their territories since immemorial times and have used their traditional knowledge to guard the lands and waters. We are grateful to live on these lands and are committed to continuing our efforts to protect them. Read more »
