Mandate & Mission
The Consumers' Association of Canada (CAC), founded in 1947, is an independent, national, not-for-profit, volunteer-based organization. The longest serving and most respected consumer organization in Canada, our mandate is to inform and educate consumers on marketplace issues, to advocate for consumers with government and industry, and to work with government and industry to solve marketplace problems.
Mission Statement
To represent and articulate the best interests of Canadian consumers to all levels of government and to all sectors of society by continually earning recognition as the trusted voice of the consumer on a national basis.
Mandate: Ensuring Consumers have a Voice
As Canada's most trusted, independent, national voice for consumer protection and fair play, CAC works with all levels of business, industry and government to address marketplace issues.
CAC seeks solutions to the issues and the challenges for consumers in the ever-changing global marketplace. We conduct national polls and research to support our advocacy efforts on behalf of consumers. These efforts include submitting briefs to government, government and industry advisory boards, Commissions and Parliamentary Committees and appeals to the Supreme Court of Canada.
CAC advocates for consumers in the areas of food, health, trade, standards, financial services, airlines, mergers, communications industries and other important marketplace issues as they emerge.
Know Your Consumer Rights!
All CAC policies on specific issues are shaped and framed within a set of general, consumer-oriented principles. Eight such principles govern consumer associations belonging to the worldwide federation of consumer groups, Consumers’ International (CI).
As stated on CI’s website (www.consumersinternational.org) these principles are:
1. The right to satisfaction of basic needs - To have access to basic, essential goods and services: adequate food, clothing, shelter, health care, education, public utilities, water and sanitation.
2. The right to safety - To be protected against products, production processes and services that are hazardous to health or life.
3. The right to be informed - To be given the facts needed to make an informed choice, and to be protected against dishonest or misleading advertising and labelling.
4. The right to choose - To be able to select from a range of products and services, offered at competitive prices with an assurance of satisfactory quality.
5. The right to be heard - To have consumer interests represented in the making and execution of government policy, and in the development of products and services.
6. The right to redress - To receive a fair settlement of just claims, including compensation for misrepresentation, shoddy goods or unsatisfactory services.
7. The right to consumer education - To acquire knowledge and skills needed to make informed, confident choices about goods and services, while being aware of basic consumer rights and responsibilities and how to act on them.
8. The right to a healthy environment - To live and work in an environment that is non-threatening to the well-being of present and future generations.