A notice of non-compliance informs a merchant that, based on the elements and documents that have been collected, the Office has reasons to believe that it has committed a law violation. It specifies that, if the merchant fails to comply with the law, the Office could undertake criminal prosecution or other actions against the merchant.

After 3 years, the information about the notice of non-compliance is withdrawn from the Get Information About a Merchant tool.

The notice of non-compliance listed in the Get Information About a Merchant tool includes the notice of offence sent prior to January 5, 2025 and excludes the notice of non-compliance sent as part of a process to undertake a monetary administrative penalty (under section 276.3 of the Consumer Protection Act).

A criminal prosecution begins with a notice of offence being served on the merchant, one of its representatives, or one of its directors. The notice of offence is a legal document that describes the offence of which the defendant is being accused. The defendant may plead guilty or not guilty. If the merchant pleads not guilty or fails to respond within the prescribed deadline, the file is referred to the courts. Information about the prosecution is withdrawn from the Get Information About a Merchant tool 3 years after the result of the prosecution has been processed by the Office.

The President of the Office may impose a monetary administrative penalty in the event of an objectively observable failure to comply with a provision of the Consumer Protection Act, its attendant regulations or a voluntary commitment. The amount of the penalty the merchant must pay is determined on the basis of the severity of the failure to comply and may be imposed for each day during which the failure continues to be observed. The purpose of this intervention is to rapidly incite compliance.

Information regarding the monetary administrative penalty is withdrawn from the Get Information About a Merchant tool 3 years after it is imposed.

An injunction is an obligation a court of law imposes on a merchant to do, not do or stop doing something. For example, the President of the Office may petition the court to order an injunction forcing a merchant to cease carrying out an activity without the required permit or licence. An injunction may be temporary or permanent.

A voluntary commitment is a document by which a merchant enters into a commitment with the President of the Office to change its business practices in order to comply with the law. Failure to abide by that commitment is an offence that could result in prosecution against the merchant. The voluntary commitment is withdrawn from the Get Information About a Merchant tool when it ceases to be in effect. The validity period of a voluntary commitment may vary.