RSNL1990 CHAPTER D-24 - DIRECT SELLERS ACT

Short title

1. This Act may be cited as the Direct Sellers Act.

RSN1970 c96 s1

Definitions

2. In this Act

(a) "direct sale" means a sale by a direct seller acting in the course of his or her business as a direct seller;

(b) "direct sales contract" means an agreement, either oral or in writing, for the direct sale of goods or services, whether for cash or on credit;

(i) goes from house to house,

(ii) contacts occupants of houses by telephone, or

(iii) through advertising or otherwise carried out by or for him or her or by or for the relevant vendor requests occupants of houses to contact the direct seller by telephone or present themselves at a hotel room or other non-business premises

for the purpose of

(iv) selling or offering for sale goods or services to them,

(v) soliciting orders for the future delivery to them of goods or services;

(d) "goods" includes articles, commodities, substances or things and an agreement that entitles the holder to purchase or obtain goods;

(e) "house" includes

(i) a building or part of a building in which the occupant resides either permanently or temporarily and premises connected or associated with that building, and

(ii) a building on a farm and land connected or associated with that farm;

(f) "licence" means a licence issued under this Act to a vendor;

(g) "licensee" means a person to whom a licence is issued under this Act;

(h) "minister" means the Minister of Justice;

(i) "purchaser" means the purchaser under a direct sales contract;

(j) "registrar" means the Registrar of Direct Sellers referred to in section 3;

(k) "salesperson" means a person who

(i) goes from house to house,

(ii) contacts occupants of houses by telephone, or

(iii) through advertising or otherwise carried out by or for the salesperson or by or for the relevant vendor requests occupants of houses to contact him or her by telephone or present themselves at a hotel room or other non-business premises

for the purpose of

(iv) selling or offering for sale goods or services to them, or

(v) soliciting orders for the future delivery to them of goods or services

for or on behalf of a vendor;

(l) "services" includes an agreement

(i) to install or apply goods, whether or not the goods become part of real property,

(ii) to perform work, labour or service of any kind, or

(iii) that entitles the holder of that agreement to purchase or obtain services; and

(m) "vendor" means the vendor under a direct sales contract.

RSN1970 c96 s2; 1972 No10 s2; 1973 No39 Sch C; 1975-76 No58 s4; 1981 c4 Sch C; 1984 c41 Sch C; 1989 c19 Sch B; 1996 c35 s17

Registrar and deputy

3. (1) The Registrar and Deputy Registrar of Consumer Protection are the registrar and deputy registrar respectively.

(2) In the absence or incapacity of the registrar, the deputy registrar shall perform the functions and exercise the powers of the registrar.

1977 c2 s1

Persons carrying on business

4. A person who

(a) acts as a direct seller; or

(b) acts as a vendor under a direct sales contract

shall be considered to be carrying on the business of direct selling and shall be subject to and shall comply with this Act.

RSN1970 c96 s5

Exceptions to licensing

5. (1) A person shall not carry on the business of direct selling in the province unless he or she is the holder of a licence under this Act, or is authorized by the vendor to carry on the business of direct selling.

(1.1) The acts of any individual either in the vendor's employ, or acting on behalf of or under the authority of the vendor, are considered to be not only the individual's acts but also the acts of the vendor.

(2) A person is considered not to be carrying on the business of direct selling and is not required to be licensed under this Act where he or she is

(a) a person selling newspapers;

(a.1) a person who is registered as a student at an educational institution who sells goods valued at less than $150 for no more than 3 days in a year;

(b) a person selling dairy or bakery products, firewood or coal, where that person or his or her employer resides or has a place of business in the province;

(c) a person selling motor vehicles, farm implements, feed grain, feed supplements, fertilizer or weed spray, where he or she resides or has a place of business in the province;

(d) a person selling farm products, fish or meat;

(e) [Rep. by 1997 c7 s1]

(f) [Rep. by 1997 c7 s1]

(g) a person holding written authority from the Canadian National Institute for the Blind to sell goods or services;

(h) a person selling goods or services on behalf of an organization or corporation having objects of a benevolent, religious, charitable, philanthropic, educational, agricultural, scientific, artistic, social, political, professional, fraternal, sororal, sporting, athletic or other useful nature and not formed for gain;

(i) a person in respect of business for the carrying on of which he or she is required to be licensed under the Securities Act, the Life and Accident Insurance Agents Licensing Act, the Investment Contracts Act, the Insurance Companies Act or the Real Estate Trading Act; or

(j) a person or one of a class of persons exempted from the application of this Act by the regulations.

(3) [Rep. by 1997 c7 s1]

RSN1970 c96 s6; 1996 cR-10.1 s23; 1996 c35 s18; 1997 c7 s1

Licensing vendors and salespersons

6. (1) The registrar may issue licences under this Act to vendors, and a licence issued to a vendor shall be known as a vendor's licence.

(2) [Rep. by 1996 c35 s19]

(3) [Rep. by 1996 c35 s19]

(4) The licence issued to a vendor shall specify the sort or class of goods or services which it covers, and a vendor shall not, in the course of the business of direct selling, sell or offer for sale, or solicit orders for the future delivery of, goods or services of a sort or class other than those specified in his or her licence.

(5) A corporation or partnership which applies for a licence as a vendor shall designate 1 individual to act as its representative, and the licence shall be in the name of the corporation or partnership and there shall be designated on the licence the name of the individual who is authorized to act as the holder of the vendor's licence on behalf of the corporation or partnership.

(6) The acts of the individual designated under subsection (5) are considered to be not only his or her own acts but also the acts of the corporation or of each and every partner in the partnership.

RSN1970 c96 s7; 1996 c35 s19

Application for licence

7. (1) A vendor shall apply for a licence to the registrar upon a form provided by the registrar and shall send along with the application form the fee set by the minister.

(2) A vendor may be required by the registrar to verify by affidavit the statements made in the application form.

(3) Where a licence has been refused, a further application for it may be made upon new or other material facts or where it is clear that material circumstances have changed.

RSN1970 c96 s8; 1996 cR-10.1 s23; 1996 c35 s20

Address for service

8. (1) An applicant for a licence shall state in the application an address for service in the province and a notice given under this Act or the regulations shall for all purposes be considered to be sufficiently served if delivered or sent by registered mail to the licensee at the address for service stated in his or her application for a licence, unless the licensee has notified the registrar in writing of a change of address for service under section 9, in which case that notice shall be sufficiently served if delivered or sent by registered mail to the licensee at the latest address for service of which the registrar has been notified.

(2) Where a notice referred to in subsection (1) is sent by registered mail, it is considered to be served on the day it is deposited in the post office by the sender of the notice.

RSN1970 c96 s9; 1996 c35 s21

Notice of change

9. A licensed vendor shall notify the registrar in writing of

(a) a change in his or her address for service; and

(b) a change in partners, in the case of a partnership.

RSN1970 c96 s10

Rep. by 1996 c35 s22

10. [Rep. by 1996 c35 s22]

1996 c35 s22

Rep. by 1996 c35 s22

11. [Rep. by 1996 c35 s22]

1996 c35 s22

Rep. by 1996 c35 s22

12. [Rep. by 1996 c35 s22]

1996 c35 s22

Rep. by 1996 c35 s22

13. [Rep. by 1996 c35 s22]

1996 c35 s22

Registrar's discretion

14. The registrar may

(a) issue a licence; or

(b) without stating a reason for his or her refusal, refuse to issue a licence

to a person who applies for a licence under section 7.

RSN1970 c96 s15; 1996 c35 s23

Terms, conditions and restrictions

15. (1) A licence is issued subject to those terms, conditions and restrictions that the registrar considers necessary and those terms, conditions and restrictions that may be prescribed by the regulations.

(2) A licensee shall comply with the terms, conditions and restrictions to which his or her licence is subject.

RSN1970 c96 s16; 1996 c35 s24

Rep. by 1996 c35 s22

16. [Rep. by 1996 c35 s25]

1996 c35 s25

Suspension or cancellation

17. (1) The registrar may suspend or cancel a licence where in his or her opinion the action is in the public interest, and the registrar may suspend or cancel a licence where he or she is satisfied that the licensee

(a) has violated this Act or the regulations or has failed to comply with 1 or more of the terms, conditions or restrictions to which his or her licence is subject;

(b) has made a material misstatement in the application for his or her licence or in the information or material submitted by the licensee to the registrar under section 18;

(d) has demonstrated his or her incompetency or untrustworthiness to carry on the business in respect of which his or her licence was issued.

(2) [Rep. by 1996 c35 s26]

(3) When a licence has been suspended or cancelled under this Act, the holder of the licence shall immediately return the licence to the registrar.

(4) The registrar may reinstate a suspended or cancelled licence for a reason that appears to him or her to be adequate.

RSN1970 c96 s18; 1996 c35 s26

Further information

18. The registrar may at any time require that further information or material be submitted within a specified time by an applicant for a licence or a licensee, and he or she may require verification by affidavit or otherwise of information or material then or previously submitted.

RSN1970 c96 s19

Bonds

19. (1) The registrar may require an applicant for a licence to deliver to him or her within a specified time a bond to the Crown in the form and amount that he or she may prescribe.

(2) The registrar may require a vendor to deliver to the registrar within a specified time

(a) a bond to the Crown in the form and amount that he or she may prescribe; or

(b) a certificate of a surety company that a surety bond previously filed on behalf of the applicant is in force.

(3) A bond given under this Act shall be forfeited and the amount shall be recoverable from the person bound by the bond as a debt due the Crown, where

(a) a conviction of an offence under this Act or the regulations or of an offence involving fraud, theft or conspiracy to commit an offence involving fraud or theft under the Criminal Code has been made by a court;

&nbs

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