Laws and Regulations Applicable to the Travel Industry - Institut de ...

DEALING
WITH LAWS AND
AUTHORITIES
1CONCERNED
At the end of this topic, you will be able to:
• explain the role of the Ministère de la Justice and the Office de la protection
du consommateur in legislation affecting the travel industry;
• know the amendments made to the Act and Regulation respecting
travel agents;
• understand the basics of the Act and Regulation;
• see how the Quebec Civil Code and the Consumer Protection Act oversee
the travel industry;
• define certain legal terms appearing in the Act and Regulation.
The reality in which the travel industry operates is constantly evolving.
Favorite destinations, preferred methods of travel, industry structure, its
methods of communication and consumption patterns continually change,
and as a travel agent, you must adapt accordingly. Likewise, legislation
also needs updating from time to time. This first topic describes the
roles and responsibilities of the Ministère de la Justice, the Office de la
protection du consommateur (OPC) and its president, who are the main
players in terms of travel legislation. It also presents the main terminology
used in laws and regulations applicable to the travel industry.
Before going any further, let’s first test what you already know about
this topic.
Context
Extract from the Draft regulation respecting the Travel Agents Act (R.S.Q.,
c. A-10) presented by the Minister of Justice.
Published on April 28, 2010 in the Gazette officielle du Québec, 142nd year,
No. 17, page 1080.
“(…) The draft Regulation completes the legislative provisions recently
passed with respect to the elimination of the distinction between retail
travel agents and wholesale travel agents, the possibility for travel counsellors
to perform travel agent operations without holding licences and the
This topic refers more specifically
to the following obligations
and conditions:
Act
• Division II – Licences and Certificates
(sec. 11 and 11.1)
• Division III – Suspension, cancellation
or refusal to issue or renew licences;
proceeding before the Tribunal
administratif du Québec (sec. 12
to 13.2)
• Division III.1 – Provisional
administration (sec. 14 to 16)
• Division V – Inspection
(sec. 34 to 35.2)
• Division VI – Regulations (sec. 36)
• Division VII – Penal provisions
(sec. 37 to 40.1)
• Division VIII – Final provisions
(sec. 41.1 to 43)
Regulation
• Division IV – Licences (sec. 5 to 10)
• Division IV.1 – Travel Counsellors
(sec. 11.2, 11.4, 11.7 and 11.8)
• Division X – Individual security and
indemnity fund (sec. 28)
• Division XI – Individual security
(sec. 32, 35.1 and 36)
• Division XII – Fonds d’indemnisation
(compensation fund) (sec. 39.1,
43, 43.1, 43.2, 43.3, 43.4, 43.5, 43.6)
• Division XV – Penal provisions
(sec. 46 and 47)
• Division XVI – Advisory Committee
(sec. 48 to 57)