The merchant has no parts to repair my item, do I have a remedy?
In the United States? This answer is Québec and Canadian law. The US side of this site answers different questions, state by state: different law, and different coverage. Go to the US side
Short answer
Yes. Section 39 of the Consumer Protection Act requires replacement parts, repair services and the information needed to repair the goods to be available for a reasonable time after the contract is entered into. Where they were not, s. 39.5 gives the merchant or the manufacturer 10 days to state in writing the time within which they propose to carry out the repairs. Without that answer, s. 39.6 provides for replacement by new or reconditioned goods with equivalent functionalities, or a refund of the price.
In detail
This is what is called the right to repair. Section 39 is not limited to parts: it covers "the replacement parts, repair services and information necessary to maintain or repair the goods, including, where applicable, any diagnostic software and its updates". The same section adds two requirements: the information must be available in French, and it must be possible to install the parts "using commonly available tools and without causing irreversible damage to the goods".
The Act puts no figure on the time: it is "a reasonable time", and a regulation may determine it. The obligation has one explicit limit: a merchant or a manufacturer may be released from it by warning the consumer in writing, before the contract is entered into, that they do not supply parts, repair services or information. That warning comes before the purchase, never after it.
Where availability was not ensured, the Act sets out three dated steps. The consumer requests the repair (s. 39.5, first paragraph). The merchant or the manufacturer then has 10 days to answer in writing and propose a time. Failing a conforming answer, s. 39.6 applies: replacement by new or reconditioned goods with equivalent functionalities, or a refund of the price, the goods then being returned to the merchant or the manufacturer. If the proposal is declined, s. 39.7 provides that the repairs may be carried out by a third person at the merchant's or manufacturer's reasonable expense.
These sections were added by the 2023 statute (2023, c. 21) and are in force, unlike the warranty of good working order in ss. 38.1 to 38.9, which LégisQuébec announces for 5 October 2026.
What to document
The invoice or contract, with its date. The method of payment · a bank or card statement carries a date no one disputes. Exchanges with the merchant, with their timestamps. The condition of the goods when the problem appeared: a photograph carries its date; a recollection does not.
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Official sources
- art. 39.5, al. 2 de la Loi sur la protection du consommateur (RLRQ c P-40.1) · read on 2026-08-09
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What this page is not
This is general legal information about the law of Quebec and Canada, dated and sourced. It is not legal advice, not a strategy, and not a prediction about the outcome of a case. In Quebec, only lawyers and notaries may give legal advice (Act respecting the Barreau du Québec, ss. 128 and 133). Laws and amounts change: the official source always prevails over us.