Tipping point: Quebec consumer rights bill to regulate how merchants can ask for tips

QUÉBEC — Quebec wants to curb excessive tipping as part of new legislation the government says will help people save money.

Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, tabled a bill Thursday that would regulate how merchants calculate suggested tips and how grocery stores display the price of food.

“Many families in Quebec are under pressure due to inflation, and we know that in this context, every dollar counts,” Jolin-Barrette told reporters during a press conference in Quebec City. “With the reforms we’re proposing today, we want to better protect pocketbooks and the spending power of Quebecers.”

The bill would force businesses to calculate tips based on the price before tax. That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated as a percentage of $100, not the after-tax total of $114.98. Jolin-Barrette said there’s “growing pressure around tips,” and people often end up paying more than they intend.

Asked why the government didn’t go further — for example, by banning tip requests in places like bakeries and cafés where there is no table service — the minister said tipping remains a discretionary choice for consumers. “The government isn’t here to say you must tip in this place and you must not tip in this other place,” he said.

The bill would also update Quebec’s price accuracy code to increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item scanned at the cash register is higher than the shelf price. Currently, consumers are entitled to get items worth less than $10 for free when they’re priced incorrectly, and $10 off the price when they’re worth more. The new bill would increase that rebate to $15.

The legislation also includes several measures meant to clarify the price of food in grocery stores. Under the new bill, stores would have to clearly indicate whether taxes will be applied to food items. As well, regular prices would have to be clearly marked alongside sale prices and prices for loyalty program members.

Stores offering a discounted price for several items would also have to clearly indicate the unit price. And similar products from different brands would have to use the same unit of measurement to make it easier to compare prices.

Jolin-Barrette said Quebec families spend an average of $330 a week on groceries, and the new measures would help remove some “daily irritants” and “simplify life for families.”

The bill also includes measures to protect Quebecers from fraud and predatory lending, and would ban door-to-door sales of heating and air-conditioning devices, and of decontamination and insulation services. The minister said unscrupulous businesses often go door-to-door offering free inspections, and then pretend to find serious problems like mould that require urgent action. These “unfair and misleading” practices account for more than 400 complaints a year to the province’s consumer protection office, he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.

Patrice Bergeron and Maura Forrest, The Canadian Press