As families face rising costs during the holiday season, many Ontario shoppers say loyalty points have become an essential way to stretch their budgets.
“I try to build them up every year so that I can help with the groceries or whatever, the kids at Christmas because it’s very difficult,” said shopper Audrey Michaud.
Points from loyalty programs like PC Optimum can be used to help cover groceries, gifts, and household items. But a proposed change to provincial consumer protection laws is raising questions about what could happen to those points in the future.
“These reward points are a valuable part of how families manage their money and consumer spending,” said Ottawa MPP Stephen Blais. “And weeks before Christmas, the Grinch is threatening to steal their points to benefit big corporations.”
The change is contained in Bill 46, a large omnibus bill that makes changes across dozens of provincial laws. The bill also includes an update to Ontario’s Consumer Protection Act, dealing with reward points.
“The government is stripping out a one-line piece of the Consumer Protection Act which simply says that reward loyalty points cannot expire simply due to the passage of time,” said Blais.
Instead, the bill would replace that clause with a new framework, giving the government power to set new rules later. Rules that could allow points to expire under certain circumstances.
But the province is pushing back against the claim that they are making changes that will allow points to expire.
“Our government has taken action to strengthen consumer protection for families across the province. Ontario’s law already protects points from disappearing and with this change, we are building on those protections to ensure points cannot be canceled or expired,” the provincial government told CTV News in a statement.
While nothing changes right now, Blais says Bill 46 leaves the door open for future expiry rules, a possibility that’s worrying many shoppers, especially this time of year.
“They’ve chosen to eliminate this consumer protection element from the law and decide in the future in secret, other rules that Ontarians are just going to have to live with,” said Blais.
The bill is now heading to a standing committee where the public still has a chance to weigh in, from there it could return to the legislature for a final vote before the holidays or into the new year.
