General
1. The legislation governing travel agents, travel tours, accommodation,
and transportation in Ontario, generally referred to as the travel industry,
is contained in the:
TRAVEL
INDUSTRY ACT
Revised Statutes of Ontario, 1990
Chapter T.19
and Regulation 1085 of the act
2.
As far as can be ascertained no other Ontario Provincial legislation exists
governing the travel industry in Ontario.
3.
The Ontario S&RD Federation has a copy of this Act which can be referred
to on request. Copies of the Act (a 16 page bi-lingual document) can be obtained
from Ontario Government offices. Should any club or individual have difficulty
in obtaining a copy, the Federation will mail them a copy and bill the recipient
for the costs involved, probably around $8.00. On the other hand extracts
can be mailed or faxed to clubs on request.
Definitions
4. Definition of terms used in this Information Sheet:
travel agent: a person or company which sells to consumers
travel services provided by another person or company.
wholesaler:
a person or company which acquires rights to a travel service for the purpose
of re-sale to a travel agent or who carries on the business of dealing with
travel agents or other travel wholesalers for the sale of such services.
consumer:
the member of the public who purchases travel services.
travel
services: means transportation, sleeping accommodation or other service
for the use of a traveller, tourist, or sightseer.
Applicability to
the Square and Round Movement
5. In Ontario (similar legislation in Quebec is of particular interest to
those living in the National Capital Region and in the vicinity of the Quebec
border) all travel business must be conducted through an accredited Travel
Agent or wholesaler, unless they are exempt through regulations covered by
this Act. All persons or Companies organizing tour, accommodation and transportation
services must be accredited travel agents or wholesalers. They and the consumer
of such services are bound by this legislation.
6.
It is very strongly recommended that all square and round dancers, clubs
or groups carefully follow the requirements of the law, otherwise they run
the risk of incurring financial loss through not qualifying for compensation
from the Compensation Fund and through not having legal recourse to protection
from unscrupulous persons offering their services illegally to square dancers.
It is not claimed that all such offers are made with intent to defraud or
offer inadequate services. Many are offered simply as an easier and perhaps
cheaper way of organizing an event.
7. The
key sections of the Travel Industry Act are listed below:
- SECTION
25 page 15. The consequences of a person's acting or holding himself/herself/itself
available to act as a travel agent or wholesaler without being registered
with the authorities.
- SECTION
13 page 6. The liability of a travel agent or wholesaler who receives money
from a client on account of a travel service to reimburse such money should
the client be entitled to refund.
- SECTION
14 page 7. False advertising.
- SECTION
17 page 8. Handling of complaints by the authorities about the services given
by agents and wholesalers.
- SECTION
20 page 10. The rules of confidentiality to be respected by agents about
the business of their clients.
- SECTION
21 page 11. The procedures which are followed when a travel agent or wholesaler
seeks protection under the bankruptcy legislation.
- SECTION
27 page 16. The regulations exempting certain classes of persons from the
requirements of the Act.
8. The key
Sections of Regulation 1085 (pages R.1.1 to R1.9) are listed below:
- SECTION
1 page R1.1. The classes of exemption from the Act are listed, e.g.,
- a
public carrier while providing one day tours.
- a
corporation incorporated without share capital whose objectives are solely
of an educational value.
- SECTION
5 page R1.1. The minimum age for travel agents and wholesalers (18 years).
- SECTION
8 page R1.2. The provision of receipts by travel agents to consumers.
- SECTIONS
12 & 13 pages R1.2 & R1.3. Requirements in connection with trust
funds and the placing of deposits received from consumers, etc.
- SECTION
28.6 page R1.4. The advertising of "previous" prices paid by consumers and
their having been made available to the public within the previous 60 days.
- SECTIONS
14 to 24 pages R1.5 to R1.9. The Compensation Fund regulations covering the:
- contributions
made to the fund by member agents and wholesalers, and
- the
payment of claims to consumers.
Disclaimer
- Information Sheets
This Ontario
Federation Information Sheet was prepared and approved by the Board of Directors
of the Ontario Square and Round Dance Federation. It is intended only as
a guide for dancers and club executives to help them "get started" in handling
the administrative details of a square dance organization. The information
was considered correct at the time of publication. Suggestions or changes
are welcomed by the Federation and should be sent to the Secretary. This
Information Sheet is made available by the Federation to members and other
interested parties on the clear understanding that neither the Federation,
its Board of Directors, or its staff can be held responsible for the consequences
arising from the use of this information.
Issued August 1994
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