BILL NO. 226
(as introduced)
1st Session, 65th General Assembly
Nova Scotia
4 Charles III, 2026
Private Member's Public Bill
Strengthening Consumer Protection Act
Susan Leblanc
Dartmouth North
First Reading: March 4, 2026
Second Reading:
Third Reading:
An Act to Strengthen Consumer Protection
with Respect to Rewards Points,
Surveillance-based Price Discrimination
and Warranties
Be it enacted by the Governor and Assembly as follows:
1 This Act may be cited as the Strengthening Consumer Protection Act.
"buyer" means a person who purchases goods or services;
"manufacturer" means a person who is in the business of assembling, producing or processing goods;
"Minister" means the Minister of Service Nova Scotia;
"rewards points" means any loyalty points, credits, miles, cash-equivalent benefits or other non-monetary consideration issued by a rewards program in exchange for buyer purchases, payments, account activity or participation;
"rewards program" means any program, whether digital or physical, operated by a seller that offers rewards points to buyers;
"seller" means a person who is in the business of selling goods or services to buyers;
"surveillance-based price discrimination" means the practice of determining, altering or personalizing the price of goods or services offered to a buyer on the basis of information collected, observed, inferred or obtained about that buyer or about a class of buyers to which the buyer is deemed to belong, including the buyer's on-line or off-line behaviour, purchasing history, location, demographic characteristics or interactions with a digital platform, but does not include
(a) uniform promotional pricing available to all buyers on equal terms;
(b) discounts based solely on voluntary program participation, including rewards programs, where all participants receive the same price;
(c) pricing based solely on objective cost differences associated with delivery, transportation or taxation; or
(d) dynamic or congestion pricing that is based solely on real-time, aggregate supply-and-demand market conditions, if the price is applied uniformly to all buyers within the affected geographic area and time period, and is not determined or adjusted based on individual-level data relating to a specific buyer;
"warranty" means, unless the context requires otherwise, the warranty of good working order established under Section 8.
3 (1) No seller shall cause or permit rewards points issued to a buyer to expire solely because of the passage of time.
(2) For greater certainty, the expiry of rewards points is prohibited regardless of the length of time elapsed since the rewards points were issued.
(3) Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (2), a seller may cancel rewards points that were obtained by fraud, returned purchases or error, if the seller can demonstrate the basis for the cancellation.
4 (1) A seller operating a rewards program shall automatically credit rewards points to a buyer's account without requiring the buyer to submit a claim, application, coupon or other action, digitally or physically, apart from creating an account for the tracking of rewards points.
(2) A seller shall not establish a process for earning rewards points that creates a risk of forfeiture or expiry before the points have been credited to the buyer's account.
(3) Any rewards points earned by a buyer become the property of the buyer at the moment the rewards points are earned.
5 (1) Upon the death of a buyer, all accrued and unredeemed rewards points in the buyer's account are transferable to a surviving spouse, common-law partner or family member designated by the buyer or by operation of the rewards program's terms, unless such terms are inconsistent with this Act.
(2) Where a buyer has not designated a beneficiary for the purpose of subsection (1), the accrued and unredeemed rewards points form part of the buyer's estate and may be claimed by the beneficiaries of the estate.
(3) A seller shall not impose any fee, administrative charge, penalty or unreasonable process as a condition of transferring rewards points under this Section.
(4) The transfer of rewards points under this Section must occur within a reasonable period after the seller receives proof of death and proof of entitlement.
(5) Any provision in a rewards program agreement that purports to void, forfeit or cancel rewards points upon the death of the holder is unenforceable and of no force or effect.
6 A seller operating a rewards program shall maintain adequate records of rewards points accrued, redeemed, cancelled and outstanding, and shall provide a buyer, on request, with an accurate statement of the buyer's rewards points at no cost.
7 (1) No seller shall engage in surveillance-based price discrimination.
(2) For the purpose of determining compliance with this Section, the Minister may appoint employees of the Department of Service Nova Scotia as inspectors.
(3) An inspector appointed under subsection (2) may require a seller to produce any record, document, data set, log, model summary, technical documentation or other information relating to any automated system, artificial intelligence system or algorithm used to determine or adjust prices.
(4) A seller shall, upon request by an inspector appointed under subsection (2), provide a written explanation of the factors, data inputs and decision processes used by an automated system, artificial intelligence system or algorithm that determines or adjusts prices.
(5) Where the Minister has reasonable grounds to believe that a seller has engaged in surveillance-based price discrimination, the Minister may require the seller, at the seller's expense, to submit an independent algorithmic audit conducted by a qualified person approved by the Minister.
8 (1) The following new goods that are the object of a contract of sale or long-term contract of lease carry with them a warranty of good working order:
(o) any other prescribed goods.
(2) The warranty is for a duration of
(a) six years for a range, a refrigerator, a freezer, an air conditioner or a heat pump;
(b) five years for a dishwasher, a washing machine or a dryer;
(c) four years for a television set;
(d) three years for a desktop computer, a laptop computer, an electronic pad, a cellular telephone or a video game console; and
(e) a prescribed amount of time for goods prescribed under clause (1)(o).
(3) The warranty covers parts and labour.
(4) The warranty does not cover
(a) a regular maintenance service and the replacement parts resulting from it;
(b) damage resulting from abuse by the buyer; or
(c) any accessory, other than a prescribed accessory.
(5) The warranty takes effect upon the delivery of the goods to the buyer.
9 Where repairs are required under the warranty, the seller or the manufacturer shall
(a) assume the reasonable transportation or shipping costs incurred in respect of the performance of the warranty; and
(b) carry out and assume the cost of the repairs, or permit and assume the cost of the buyer having a third person carry out the repairs.
10 (1) A manufacturer of goods that are covered by the warranty shall disclose information relating to the warranty in accordance with the regulations.
(2) A seller of goods that are covered by the warranty shall
(a) in a prominent manner, indicate the duration of the warranty near the advertised price of the goods or, in the case of a long-term lease of the goods, near the retail value of the goods;
(b) after entering into a contract of sale or long-term contract of lease for the goods, provide to the buyer information relating to the warranty in accordance with the regulations; and
(c) before offering any further warranty in addition to the warranty established under Section 8, provide to the buyer information relating to the warranty in accordance with the regulations.
11 Where there is a conflict between Sections 8 to 10 and another enactment, Sections 8 to 10 prevail.
12 Any person who contravenes this Act is guilty of an offence and is liable to the penalties set out in the Consumer Protection Act.
13 (1) The Governor in Council may make regulations
(a) prescribing rules and requirements relating to the respective responsibilities of sellers and manufacturers for the performance of the warranty;
(b) prescribing goods and durations for the purpose of clauses 8(1)(o) and (2)(e);
(c) prescribing accessories for the purpose of clause 8(4)(c);
(d) prescribing the information relating to the warranty that must be disclosed or provided, and the manner in which the information must be disclosed or provided, for the purpose of subsection 10(1) and clauses 10(2)(b) and (c);
(e) defining any term used but not defined in this Act.
(2) The exercise by the Governor in Council of the authority in subsection (1) is a regulation within the meaning of the Regulations Act.
14 This Act has effect on and after January 1, 2027.
This page and its contents published by the Office of the Legislative Counsel, Nova Scotia House of Assembly, and © 2026 Crown in right of Nova Scotia. Created March 4, 2026. Send comments to legc.office@novascotia.ca.
