Almost exactly a year ago, the Ontario government announced proposed legislation to crack down on ticket bots and scalpers.
The proposed changes included the banning of ticket bots, banning the sale of tickets purchased using bots, capping resale prices, requiring business that sell tickets to give more information to customers, and establishing "new enforcement measures" to make sure the rules are followed.
Now, with Premier Doug Ford in office, a part of this plan has been suspended until further notice.
While the wider anti-scalping law, the Ticket Sales Act, came into effect in Ontario on July 1, a note was added around the part of the law to do with capping ticket prices.
It reads that capping will come "into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor."
A screenshot from the Ontario laws website. Courtesy ontario.ca.
When the premier's office was asked about this addition it said that a further review of the resale cap and its enforcement was needed, according to the Toronto Star.
Opposition leader Andrea Horwath was quick to call Ford out for "taking the side of scalper-bots."
Mr. Ford has taken the side of scalper-bots — helping them to rip off and gouge everyday families who just want to check out a ball game, or take their kids to their first concert.
— Andrea Horwath (@AndreaHorwath) July 4, 2018
Mr. Ford’s move to make Ontario’s events more expensive is a step backward. #onpoli
And the people in Ontario are definitely not pleased about this finding.
Dear Ontario, get ready to pay more money to attend concerts and shows. @fordnation is getting rid of the protection that prevents ticket scalping. #FordRegrets #onpoli #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/UtPNKj3ofQ
— Patty O'Limerick (@PattyOLimerick) July 4, 2018
It's going to be a wait-and-see game to see when the cap gets introduced.
by Lisa Cumming via blogTO
No comments:
Post a Comment