Québec wrote a paid repair technician into statute, and nobody read it that way. The clock starts 5 October 2026.

The durations are fixed in a regulation, not left to argument

New section 79.21 of the Règlement d’application de la Loi sur la protection du consommateur sets the garantie de bon fonctionnement at six years for “une cuisinière, un réfrigérateur, un congélateur, un climatiseur et une thermopompe” [a stove, a refrigerator, a freezer, an air conditioner and a heat pump], five years for “un lave-vaisselle, une machine à laver et un sèche-linge” [a dishwasher, a washing machine and a dryer], four for “un téléviseur” [a television] and three for “un ordinateur de bureau, un ordinateur portable, une tablette électronique, un téléphone cellulaire et une console de jeu vidéo”.

Section 8 of the regulation: “Le présent règlement entre en vigueur le 5 octobre 2026.” [This regulation comes into force on 5 October 2026.] Gazette officielle du Québec, Partie 2

The Act names the agent, not just the owner

“Aucun commerçant ou fabricant ne peut recourir à une technique ayant pour effet de rendre plus difficile pour le consommateur ou son mandataire d’entretenir ou de réparer un bien.” [No merchant or manufacturer may resort to a technique having the effect of making it more difficult for the consumer or their agent to maintain or repair a good.] Introduced by section 14 of the Loi protégeant les consommateurs contre l’obsolescence programmée (2023, c. 21, tabled by then justice minister Simon Jolin-Barrette, assented 5 October 2023); section 37 of that Act brought s. 227.0.3 into force two years later. 2023, chapter 21

Breaking the lock for someone else is lawful in Canada

Bill C-244, sponsored by Wilson Miao, MP for Richmond Centre, received royal assent on 7 November 2024. The new section reads: “Paragraph 41.1(1)(a) does not apply to a person who circumvents a technological protection measure for the sole purpose of maintaining or repairing a product, including any related diagnosing…”, and subsection (2) extends it to a person who does so for another person. The exception covers the act, not a trade in circumvention devices. (In the United States the same act still needs a triennial DMCA §1201 exemption.) Parliament of Canada, C-244, royal assent

The manuals are free and the toolkit is capped — by law

Section 39.3: a part or service must be made available “à un prix raisonnable”, but “un renseignement nécessaire à l’entretien ou à la réparation d’un bien… doit être disponible gratuitement lorsqu’il est accessible sur un support technologique” [information necessary to maintain or repair a good must be available free of charge when it is accessible on a technological medium]. Section 39: “Ces pièces de rechange doivent pouvoir être installées à l’aide d’outils couramment disponibles et sans causer de dommage irréversible au bien.” [Those replacement parts must be installable using commonly available tools and without causing irreversible damage to the good.] Office de la protection du consommateur

Ten days, then the merchant owns the problem

The merchant or manufacturer has ten days to tell the consumer in writing the timeframe in which it proposes to carry out the repair. Enforcement behind it, in force since 5 January 2025: administrative penalties of up to $1,750 per day for an individual and $3,500 per day for anyone else, and, for trading in a good with programmed obsolescence, fines up to $125,000 or 5% of worldwide revenue, doubled on repeat. Nouvelles obligations pour les commerçants

What a completed appliance call bills in Montréal today

Posted rates: $119.99 service call including travel and diagnosis, plus $40 labour per job, three-month parts-and-labour warranty, $25 surcharge after 4pm. A completed appliance visit therefore bills CAD $159.99 in labour before parts. Published rate card

The part costs less than half the machine

Whirlpool washer electronic control board W11116590 (PartSelect PS12114296), in stock, CAD $420.02 — the board that “manages the washer’s functions such as filling, washing, draining and spinning”. A new Whirlpool WTW5057LW top-load washer is CAD $899.99 (regular $999.99), in stock. PartSelect.ca · TA Appliances

The entry fee is forty-one dollars

Déclaration d’immatriculation for a personne physique exploitant une entreprise individuelle: CAD $41 ($61.50 for expedited treatment), with the same amount payable each year on the annual update declaration. No permit from the Office de la protection du consommateur is required to repair household appliances. Tarifs du Registraire des entreprises

Above fifty dollars, the paperwork is the job

A written évaluation is mandatory before repairing a stove, fridge, freezer, dishwasher, washer or dryer where the work will exceed CAD $50. It binds both parties: the repairer cannot charge above it without fresh authorisation, and a consumer’s waiver of the estimate only counts if the consumer writes and signs it themselves. Évaluation écrite — Électroménagers