new rules on tips and the display of prices in grocery stores come into force on Wednesday in Quebec.
As of now, traders who suggest a tip will have to calculate it from the amount without taxes, and make every option for the customer.
As for grocers, they will have to provide more information in the display of their prices: the current price, the unit price, the price per unit of measurement and the price for “non-members”. They must also indicate whether a product is taxable.
“Until last week in some banners, you must almost have a magnifying glass to see the price per 100 grams, to see what was the real price per unit if you did not have a group purchase,” illustrated the Minister of Justice, Simon Jolin-Barrette, who had tabled the bill.
“From now on, the information will be very clear. »»
This measure affects all the shops that sell food products, including convenience stores.
In its law, the government has also increased the pricing policy at $ 15. Thus, when the price displayed at the checkout is higher than the price announced, the merchant will have to give the product for free if it is $ 15 or less. The amount was set at $ 10 or less before.
The government believes that such measures will “simplify life” to Quebecers, in the context where the cost of living remains high.
-According to Minister Jolin-Barrette, traders had “certainly” enough time to adapt to new measures. “They had a period of six months to do so, we were flexible on the question of the deadline,” he said.
The Legault government had tabled Bill 72 last fall and it was adopted unanimously in November.
Call for flexibility
Michel Rochette, President of the Canadian Retail Council in Quebec, who represents the retailers, said that traders are ready for labels in the store, even if it was a large -scale operation.
“A food in food, a grocery store is sometimes 30,000, 35,000, 40,000 different products, so it’s all different labels in a single grocery store,” he argued on the phone.
Where the industry requires flexibility, it is in connection with a recent decision of the consumer protection office, which determined that traders should provide this information also on websites, applications and circulars.
“It asks the industry a reprogramming and a reconfiguration of all the elements of advertising and communication that [les commerces] had outside the store, that was not originally planned, ”said Rochette.
“Traders already have a lot of rules in general to respect, all they are asking for is clarity and a certain time to be able to apply the rules. »»
With information from Thomas Laberge in Quebec and Sidhartha Banerjee in Montreal
