I don’t think that we have a magic solution in the case of consent. Of course, it must remain at the base, but people also have to know what they are consenting to. There was a problem on the consumers' side and we know that the provinces have legislated in the matter.
Perhaps it would be wise for consumers to know that they are consenting to something to do with protecting and managing their personal information. This is because confidentiality notices actually go in the opposite direction, in the sense that they deal with all the ways in which confidentiality is lost.
In addition, clearer legislation would perhaps help small companies to manage this. Principles could be set, with policies then established to reflect them. For each principle in the legislation, there could be an explanation of how to comply with and adhere to it.