As holiday costs rise, many Ontario families say loyalty points are an important way to save money. Shopper Audrey Michaud says she collects points all year to help pay for groceries and Christmas gifts.
Programs like PC Optimum let people use points for food, presents, and household items. But a proposed change to provincial consumer protection laws has some worried about what could happen to those points.
The change appears in Bill 46, a large bill that updates many provincial laws, including rules for reward points. The current law says loyalty points can’t expire just because time passes. Bill 46 would remove that line and replace it with a new system, allowing the government to set different rules later — possibly including expiry in some cases.
The province says it is not planning to weaken protections and insists the goal is to “strengthen” rules around points. But critics warn that removing the clear ban on expiry could create problems in the future.
The bill will now go to a committee for public input before it returns to the legislature for a final vote, either before the holidays or early next year.
