Economics & Finance
Consumers’ Association of Canada Opposes Bill s-202
October 9, 2014
The Consumers' Association of Canada (CAC) presented its opposition to bill s-202 today to the Senate Standing Committee with respect to bill s-202.
"This is a bill designed for merchants. We are perplexed that government is proposing to intervene in the credit card market in a manner that puts the interests of merchants ahead of those of consumers. We are also tired of hearing claims that both the government and retailers are acting in our (consumers') interest when this is not a consumer concern", says Mel Fruitman.
Click here for the full presentation. French version is here.
CAC Contacts:
Bruce Cran, President
604-418-8359
Mel Fruitman
Vice President
905-832-3909
Statement from the Consumers’ Association of Canada on Anti-Consumer Bill Before the Senate
OTTAWA (May 28, 2014): Bruce Cran, President of the Consumers Association of Canada (CAC), released the following statement on the eve of the Senate Banking Committee beginning its study of Bill S-202, An Act to amend the Payment Card Networks Act (credit card acceptance fees), which is sponsored by Senator Pierrette Ringuette. The Bill seeks government intervention in the market to regulate the price merchants pay for credit card acceptance.
“The CAC is disappointed that Parliament is debating a bill that seeks to enrich merchants at the expense of consumers. The fees retailers pay to accept credit cards are a normal cost of doing business that merchants make a conscious decision to incur to improve their customer experience. Merchants continually downplay the benefits of accepting credit cards while seeking measures like Bill S-202 that would dump those costs onto their customers.
Read MorePoll Shows Consumers Support Competition Tribunal Decision
Poll Shows Consumers Support Competition Tribunal Decision Time for Merchants to use the Tools Already at their Disposal to Control Credit Card Acceptance Costs
August 26 (OTTAWA): The Consumers Association of Canada (CAC) released new polling
today that shows consumers overwhelmingly support the decision of the Competition Tribunal to
reject a challenge of rules put in place by MasterCard and Visa to protect consumers.
CAC Statement on Credit Card Fees
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 23, 2013
CAC Statement on Credit Card Fees
“The Consumers’ Association of Canada is very pleased with today’s ruling by the Competition Tribunal. We did not support the Bureau’s original action against Visa and MasterCard because it did not take consumer interests into account. The CAC believes both the no surcharge and honour all cards rules are important for consumer protection and to ensure that consumers have an appropriate choice of payment methods.
Read MoreStatement Regarding the Competition Bureau’s New Plan: Consumers will be the big losers
Statement by the Consumers Association of Canada Regarding the Competition Bureau's Challenge of Visa and MasterCard: Consumers will be the big losers under the Competition Bureau's Plan
Bruce Cran, President of the Consumers Association of Canada, has made the following statement in response to today's decision of the Competition Bureau to challenge two rules of Visa and MasterCard:
"The Consumers Association of Canada is extremely disappointed in today's decision by the Competition Bureau to challenge two critical consumer protection measures. This is a disappointing day for Canadian consumers. The Competition Bureau appears to have abandoned our interests in favour of the well-organized merchant lobby.