Grande Prairie residents had their say on consumer protection at an open house at GPRC Monday night. Minister of Service Alberta Stephanie McLean didn’t make the trip to the Swan City, but says she’s looking forward to hearing the feedback gathered.
“We believe that Albertans deserve to be protected when they’re making a purchase that’s big or small, and that protection will increase consumer confidence; the higher the consumer confidence, the better it is for business and the economy overall.”
Before GP, sessions were also held in Edmonton and Medicine Hat. McLean says she’s gotten the most feedback so far on ticket sales.
“You can’t get a ticket to your favourite artist or concert; that bugs a lot of us. We want to hear from Albertans as to whether or not they’re interested in us taking some action to make that a little bit easier and less painful for Albertans.”
McLean plans to take all of the concerns she hears through the open houses and online survey and take action on those necessary. She points out the government has already done so by banning door-to-door energy sales.
“Right now, I’m hearing that the scales are a bit tipped and that Albertans don’t feel that they can always trust their purchase or trust the supplier and I want to make sure that they can; that’s good for business too.”
Other topics being discussed include vet services, gift cards, cancellation rights and warranties. Anyone who didn’t make it to the open house can fill out the online survey until September 15th. So far more than 2,500 Albertans have done so and McLean says takers can pick and choose which questions they care to respond to.