Consumer rights advocacy

Stand up for your rights

As a consumer, you may be the victim of abusive commercial practices. The Consumer Protection Act contains solutions and remedies. If you believe you have been the victim of an illegal practice and you want to learn your rights and obligations, we can inform you and refer you to the appropriate process for resolving your dispute.

The Office de la protection du consommateur (OPC) oversees the application of the Consumer Protection Act. They can help you make informed choices and advise you of your rights, obligations and remedies in the event of a problem with a retailer. You can also report and bring a complaint against a retailer for illegal commercial practices.

Advocating for your rights

ACEF du Sud-Ouest de Montréal has a social mission

We advocate on key political issues, analyze existing laws, exert pressure and make political representations. In short, we fight for good living conditions for the people who come to the ACEF du Sud-Ouest de Montréal and for all citizens.

Electricity is not a luxury

The fight for access to energy has been an important issue for ACEF du Sud–Ouest de Montréal for many years, and we approach it through the concept of energy insecurity. Energy insecurity is the inability of a household to access the energy it needs in its dwelling at an affordable cost in relation to its income. In other words, a household is in a situation of energy poverty when it has difficulty meeting its energy needs, or when this is achieved at the cost of sacrificing other basic needs.

A number of factors contribute to these difficulties, which particularly but not exclusively affect low-income tenants. Insufficient income, poor housing quality and ever-increasing energy prices are the main reasons behind this precarious situation. Tackling the problem therefore requires tackling issues such as improving the building’s thermal envelope, combating poverty, addressing the health consequences of housing deterioration, controlling energy consumption and settling outstanding bills. That’s a lot!

Moving towards better education and better credit regulation

Credit has become an indispensable part of our economic system. It creates the illusion that everything is easy and that we can obtain anything at any time, without taking into account our true needs and our ability to pay. It is no surprise, then, that the debt ratio of Canadians is constantly climbing. This is not good news.

Every day at ACEF, we meet people grappling with serious financial problems. They’re holding a powerful financial instrument in their hands, but they’re having trouble mastering the controls. Indeed, the excessive use of credit, including a poor understanding of how it works, is one of the most frequently cited reasons for declaring bankruptcy.

But the issue is not just a lack of knowledge. Financial institutions give access to credit but don’t always assess the applicant’s ability to pay. Furthermore, laws and regulations always lag behind the development of new forms of credit and commercial practices.

Working with other associations that advocate for consumer rights, particularly other ACEFs, we inform the public about various forms of credit as well as the risks of using it carelessly. We also exert political pressure for better governance of the practices of financial institutions and to change the laws that regulate credit.