An Act to amend the Consumer Reporting Act and the Technical Standards and Safety Act, 2000 — Bill 8 (41st Parliament, 3rd Session)

Bill 8, 41-3

Ontario — Bills

3RD SESSION, 41ST LEGISLATURE, ONTARIO 67 ELIZABETH II, 2018 Bill 8 (Chapter 7 of the Statutes of Ontario, 2018)

An Act to amend the Consumer Reporting Act and the Technical Standards and Safety Act, 2000 The Hon. T. MacCharles Minister of Government and Consumer Services 1st Reading March 20, 2018 2nd Reading April 23, 2018 3rd Reading May 2, 2018 Royal Assent May 7, 2018

EXPLANATORY NOTE This Explanatory Note was written as a reader’s aid to Bill 8 and does not form part of the law. Bill 8 has been enacted as

Chapter 7 of the Statutes of Ontario, 2018. The Bill amends the Consumer Reporting Act and the Technical Standards and Safety Act, 2000. Consumer Reporting Act

Section 12 is remade to give consumers a right to obtain disclosure of consumer scores and to provide for the rules respecting such disclos ures. The remade

section 12 also modifies the existing rules respecting disclosures of consumer reports. A new

section 12.0.1 sets out the requirements respecting which method of generating a consumer score a consumer reporting agency is required to use. The Act is amended to provide for security freezes on consumers’ files. New

section 12.4 provides the requirements respecting security freezes and new

section 12.5 provides the information consumer reporting agencies are required to publish respecting security freezes and security alerts. Amendments are made to expand the information the Registrar may require a consumer reporting agency to obtain and provide to the Registrar. The amendments also provide the Registrar with the authority to order an agency to amend or delete certain credit and personal information or prohibit or limit the use of credit and personal information. A new

section 16.1 provides for inquiries by the Registrar. Technical Standards and Safety Act, 2000 An assessor appointed by the Corporation is allowed to impose an administrative penalty on a person if the assessor is satisfied that the person has contravened or is contravening a prescribed provision of the Act or the regulations , a restriction, limitation or condition of a prescribed a uthorization or a prescribed Minister’s order or a prescribed director’s order . The prescribing regulation is made by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

The person against whom an order imposing an administrative penalty is made can appeal the order to th e person prescribed by a regulation made by the Minister or to the Licence Appeal Tribunal if the Minister has not prescribed a person for that purpose.

The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations governing standards of availability for elevati ng devices or classes of them, including standards for their repair and time requirements for their repair , governing the reporting of outages as related to elevating devices or classes of them and requiring a director to establish one or more publicly accessible databases of information with respect to elevating devices or classes of them.

Bill 8 2018

An Act to amend the Consumer Reporting Act and the Technical Standards and Safety Act, 2000 Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows: CONSUMER REPORTING ACT 1 The French version of the Consumer Reporting Act is amended by striking out “Commission” wherever it appears in the following provisions and substituting in each case “Tribunal”: 1. Subsection 4 (3). 2. Subsections 6 (2), (3) and (6). 3. Clause 6 (8) (b). 4. Subsection 14 (4). 5. Clause 25 (e). 2 Subsection 1 (1) of the Act is amended by adding the following

definitions: “consumer score” means a consumer score as defined in the regulations, or if consumer score is not defined in the regulations, a score, grade or value assigned to a consumer that is generated from information about the consumer maintained by a consumer reporting agency; (“pointage du consommateur”) “prescribed” means prescribed by the regulations made under this Act; (“prescrit”) 3 The French version of subsections 6 (4) and (5) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted: Pouvoirs du Tribunal

(4) Si l’auteur de la demande ou l’inscrit demande une audience devant le Tribunal conformément au paragraphe (2), le Tribunal fixe la date et l’heure de l’audience, et la tient. À la demande du registrateur à l’audience, le Tribunal peut enjo indre à celui-ci, par ordonnance, de mettre à exécution son intention ou de s’en abstenir, ou de prendre les mesures qu’il estime opportunes aux termes de la présente loi et des règlements. À cette fin, il peut substituer son opinion à celle du registrate ur. Conditions de l’ordonnance

(5) Le Tribunal peut assortir son ordonnance ou l’inscription des conditions qu’il considère opportunes pour l’application de la présente loi. 4 Clause 9 (3) (

m) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted: (

m) any other information that may be prescribed. 5

Section 12 of the Act is repealed and the following substituted: Right of consumer to request disclosure 12

(1) A consumer may, in writing, request a consumer reporting agency to provide, (

a) the consumer’s consumer report; or (

b) the consumer’s current consumer score and consumer report. Electronic requests

(2) A consumer may make a request under subsection (1) electronically. Content of disclosure under cl. (1) (a)

(3) If a consumer makes a request under cl ause (1) (a), the consumer reporting agency shall, in accordance with this section,

section 12.0.1 and any prescribed requirements, disclose to the consumer the following information: 1. The nature and substance of all information in the consumer reportin g agency’s files pertaining to the consumer at the time of the request. 2. The sources of credit information.

2 3. The name and contact information, including the address and the telephone number or email address, of every person on whose behalf the file has been accessed within the three-year period preceding the request. 4.

If the agency furnished a consumer report pertaining to the consumer within the one -year period preceding the request, i. the names and contact information, including the address and the telephone number or email address, of the recipients of that report, and ii. a copy of the consumer report if it was furnished in writing or the particulars of the content of the report if it was furnished orally. 5.

If the agency generated and furn ished a consumer score, furnished a consumer score generated by another entity or furnished any other information evaluating the credit or personal information of the consumer within the one -year period preceding the request, i. the names and contact info rmation, including the address and the telephone number or email address, of the recipients of that score or information, and ii. the score and the particulars of any other information evaluating the credit or personal information of the consumer. 6. Any other information relating to the consumer score that may be prescribed.

Content of disclosure under cl. (1) (b)

(4) If a consumer makes a request under clause (1) (b), the consumer reporting agency shall, in accordance with this section,

section 12.0.1 and any prescribed requirements, generate the consumer’s current consumer score and disclose the following information to the consumer: 1. The consumer score. 2. The date on which the consumer score was generated. 3. The range of possible consumer scores under the method used. 4. The primary factors used by the agency in generating consumer scores under the method used. 5. The information listed in subsection (3). 6. Any other information that may be prescribed. Disclosure of right to dispute

(5) When a consumer reporting agency discloses information under this section, the agency shall inform the consumer of his or her right to dispute any information contained in the file under

section 13 and the manner in which a dispute may be made. Request for disclosure

(6) When making a request for disclosure under this section, a consumer shall, (

a) provide the consumer reporting agency with a copy of any prescribed identification and a copy of any other identification the agency may reasonably require to verify the consumer’s identity; (

b) indicate to the consumer reporting agency by which of the methods referred to in subsection ( 7) the consumer chooses to receive the disclosure; and (

c) provide the consumer reporting agency with any other prescribed information. Method of disclosure

(7) A consumer reporting agency shall disclose information in whichever of the following methods the consumer chooses in the consumer’s request: 1. In person, if the consumer attends personally at the agency’s premises during normal business hours for that purpose. 2. By telephone. 3. By mail. 4. Electronically. 5. By a prescribed method of disclosure. Timing of disclosure

(8) The consumer reporting agency shall make disclosures requi red under this

section in accordance with the following rules respecting timing:

3 1. If a consumer chooses to receive the disclosure in person, by telephone or by mail, the consumer reporting agency shall have the information available or mail the information, as applicable, i. on or before the prescribed deadline, or ii. if no deadline is prescribed, within a reasonable time in the circumstances after the consumer provides everything required under subsection (6). 2.

If a consumer chooses to receive the disclosure electronically, the consumer reporting agency shall send the electronic copy, i. on or before the prescribed deadline, or ii. if no deadline is prescribed, on or before the day that is two business days after the consumer provides everything required under subsection (6). 3. If the consumer chooses to receive the disclosure by a prescribed method the consumer reporting agency shall provide the disclosure on or before the prescribed deadline. Plain language

(9) A disclosure made under this

section must be in understandable language and if it is made in writing it must be easily readable. Consumer’s adviser

(10) A consumer who chooses to receive a disclosure in person shall be permitted to be accompanied by one other person of his or her cho osing to whom the consumer reporting agency may be required by the consumer to disclose the consumer’s information. Trained personnel

(11) Every consumer reporting agency shall provide trained personnel to explain to the consumer any information disclosed to him or her under this section. Explanation of consumer score

(12) If a consumer who received a disclosure under subsection ( 4) makes a request in accordance with any prescribed requirements to the consumer reporting agency that made the disclosure, th e agency shall explain to the consumer how the consumer’s credit or personal information has affected the consumer’s consumer score. Fees

(13) A consumer reporting agency shall not charge a fee for making a disclosure under this

section unless the agency is permitted to do so by the regulations. Same, exception for electronic disclosure

(14) Despite subsection (13), if the consumer requests the electronic disclosure of a consumer report or a consumer score and consumer report and the consumer reporting ag ency has already made an electronic disclosure to the consumer two or more times during the calendar year in which the request is made, the agency may charge a fee for the disclosure, subject to any prescribed limitations. Same, exception for disclosure under cl. (1) (b)

(15) Despite subsection (13), if the consumer requests the disclosure , by any method , of a consumer score and consumer report under clause (1) (

b) and the consumer reporting agency has already made a disclosure by any method under subsection (4) to the consumer two or more times during the calendar year in which the request is made, the ag ency may charge a fee for the disclosure, subject to any prescribed limitations. No conditions

(16) A consumer reporting agency shall not require a consumer to give any undertaking or waive or release any

Document details

Collection	Ontario — Bills
Citation	Bill 8, 41-3
Type	bill
Volume / chapter	p41 s3 bill 8 bill text 41 3 en b008ra e.pdf
Language	en
Format	pdf
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	8a182eaa991ac0022c6ddb542318a66b4c491062

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