I understand your question. Manufacturers frequently use that argument and say that higher durability or repairability standards will drive up the price of appliances and that home appliances and electronic devices will cost more. That argument has come up in Quebec for many years with the passage of legislation on repairability. I'd say that remains to be seen. Will the purchase price really go up?
A new performance warranty recently came into effect in Quebec. As I mentioned, it mandates repairs for a period of three to six years, depending on the type of product. Retailers argue that this will lead to higher prices, and so forth. However, Quebec has had legislation for the past 50 years requiring any product purchased from a retailer to have a reasonable useful life.
We find the arguments put forward by manufacturers somewhat dubious, because the new legislation does not necessarily impose new requirements. Nevertheless, we have been told that prices will go up.
I would say that even if new repairability or durability standards were to result in higher purchase prices, on the ground, we at Option consommateurs see people who might pay less at the time of purchase but are forced to pay for costly repairs or buy a new item when the product stops working after two or three years. Ultimately, this does not serve consumers' long‑term interests. We have seen many consumers buying the so-called extended warranty, which is quite expensive and costs one-fifth or one-quarter of the product's price, simply because the buyer wants to have peace of mind in case the item stops working.
Thus, in my view, the so-called price increase, which, incidentally, has yet to be proven, is something people end up paying for indirectly anyway through other costs incurred over the long term.