The British Columbian government opened its spring session of the legislature yesterday (Tuesday) by promising a ban on mass ticket scalping, among other consumer protection measures.
Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin delivered her first throne speech as lieutenant governor, in which she pledged to bring in new legislation for the sale of concert tickets.
The promises included a bill that would prohibit the use of software, such as bots, that allow touts to procure concert and events tickets en masse, as well as providing increased transparency for consumers.
However, opposition leader Andrew Wilkinson said the ticketing pledge was a “token” initiative, which he highlighted falls under federal jurisdiction.
In January 2018, British Columbia announced it was considering legislation to tackle touting and price inflation on music and sport tickets.
The BC government began looking at what other provinces have been doing to clamp down on scalpers, with Ontario having passed a bill that bans bots and caps resale prices.
The throne speech also committed to “take action to improve billing transparency” for mobile phone users, as well as promises to make housing and loans more affordable.
Image: Ryan Bushby (HighInBC)
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