{"id":128492,"date":"2019-03-25T11:30:36","date_gmt":"2019-03-25T15:30:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/depquebec.com\/?p=128492"},"modified":"2019-03-26T09:20:46","modified_gmt":"2019-03-26T13:20:46","slug":"depquebec-launches-the-first-complete-and-affordable-solution-to-avoid-fines-for-retailers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/depquebec.com\/en\/depquebec-launches-the-first-complete-and-affordable-solution-to-avoid-fines-for-retailers\/","title":{"rendered":"DepQu\u00e9bec Launches the First Complete and Affordable Solution to Avoid Fines for Retailers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Finally!… many will say.<\/p>\n

The first ever complete and affordable solution to avoid fines for tobacco sale to minors is being launched today by DepQu\u00e9bec<\/strong> to alleviate the regulatory burden for retailers as well as mitigate the risks associated with the sale of tobacco and other 18+ products.<\/p>\n

It is a tough ruling from the Quebec Superior Court unveiled shortly before the Holidays that spark this idea. It is indeed high time to rethink the current practices of “due diligence”, the legal term commonly used to describe everything that retailers must do to prevent the sale of tobacco to minors.<\/p>\n

Well now, it’s done!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>“The fear of being prosecuted and sentenced is a huge stress for retailers in Quebec,” <\/em>said Guy Leroux, Editor of DepQuebec and creator of Prodep Diligence<\/strong>. “Knowing that we have the highest fines in the world and that about one out of every 10 c-stores owners are caught each year, there is a clear need to do more to support retailers,” said Leroux who has been acting as a lobbyist on behalf of the c-store industry for a dozen years and who became expert in Quebec regulation of proximity retailing.
\n<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

However, as provided for by the Quebec Tobacco Act in section 14, “no penalty may be imposed on a defendant who shows that a reasonable effort<\/strong> was made to verify the age of the person”.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Delivering a high quality “reasonable effort”<\/em> and, above all, being able to prove it to a court of justice is the only possible way to operate a business nowadays with some peace of mind and some confidence to keep hefty fines and tobacco sale bans at bay.<\/p>\n

And because necessity is the mother of all inventions, Prodep Diligence<\/strong> offers an innovative approach to deliver a superior level of due diligence that goes much further in meeting court expectations and provide convincing evidence while easing the burden and simplifying the life of retailers.<\/p>\n

Sentenced against all odds<\/h5>\n

On December 10, 2018, the Super D\u00e9panneur Lac St-Charles Service Esso<\/a> was fined $3,890 by the Quebec Superior Court for selling tobacco to a minor who turned out to be a government inspector (see the decision here)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This is a final call. The depanneur was appealing a guilty verdict made a few months earlier, on May 23, 2018, for an offense dated June 29, 2016.<\/p>\n

Here, the owner Chantale Blanchette lost her court case despite having followed the industry’s most common standards for preventing sales to minors (internal policy, guidelines endorsed by employees, 20-hour training, etc.).<\/p>\n

And if that was not enough, Ms. Blanchette was doing even more than demanded, as the court decision recognizes:<\/p>\n

“Every day, when arriving at work, store clerks sign a paper commiting themselves to check ID of every customer appearing to be 25 years old or younger (…) and acknowledging that they will be automatically laid-off without notice should they fail to do so”. – Judge Louis Dionne, D\u00e9panneur Lac St-Charles decision<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Thus, every single day,<\/strong> Mrs. Blanchette took on her to ask all employees to sign such reminder. And she was found guilty despite all that!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
“I feel that in my case, the prosecutor wanted to set an example because I was not given any chance. And now that I have been found guilty, I must bear this huge burden of avoiding a second offense at all costs or else, I face a three-month tobacco sale ban.\u00a0 It’s like having a gun pointed on my head!”, said Ms. Blanchette in an interview with DepQu\u00e9bec<\/strong>.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The lesson to be learned is clear: blind or excessive measures \u2014 such as requiring employees to sign something every day \u2014 are no longer an assurance against the threat of hefty fines.<\/p>\n

Instead, retailers must aim to do better. And doing better requires having access to better planning and management tools and using a comprehensive and integrated approach that has never been offered or made available to retailers until now.<\/p>\n

This is where the new Prodep Diligence<\/strong> solution comes in to fill this large void at an affordable price.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Prodep Diligence<\/strong> covers all aspects of due diligence from employee training to the store’s compliance (click to enlarge).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
A higher bar for retailers<\/h5>\n

While c-stores owners will always be at risk \u2014 whatever they do \u2014 through their employees when it comes to tobacco sale, they still remain in total control of their due diligence process.<\/p>\n

And as highlighted several times by Judge Dionne in his decision, the “due diligence requirement is more demanding in a regulated environment”.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a>“The Supreme Court, in the Wholesale decision, points out that the due diligence review is more demanding within a regulated environment. (…) The appellant chose to operate a convenience store in which there is a sale of tobacco products, which is a regulated environment.” – Dionne decision<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In other words, the bar is higher for depanneurs<\/em> when it comes to due diligence, especially as the government is openly trying to curb the use of tobacco.<\/p>\n

“The sale of tobacco products is an activity that requires specific knowledge and skills that must be verified regularly, considering the intention of the legislator to intensify its fight against smoking.” – Dionne decision<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What the Superior Court has just basically stated is that enough is enough. The era of scattered and improvised measures, providing a false sense of security, is a thing of the past.<\/p>\n

In the wake of this recent decision, savvy and forward-thinking retailers will naturally want to improve their due diligence delivery by a few notches. This higher level of evolved and integrated diligence means that all the components are no longer assembled roughly like puzzle pieces, but managed in a coherent and complete whole.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
By using a range of elaborate and tailor-made tools, Prodep Diligence<\/strong> is the first solution to offer retailers, large and small, the opportunity to deliver high-quality due diligence with the least amount of time and effort (click to enlarge).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Prodep Diligence<\/strong>‘s integrated approach allows not only to do more to gather evidence, but also to reduce the heavy burden of managing the whole process of due diligence that rests on the owners’ shoulders.<\/p>\n

By acting more like an orchestra conductor rather than a jack of all trades, retailers come out better protected and less overwhelmed, which is the best of both worlds.<\/p>\n

Maximum for the minimum<\/h5>\n

Prodep Diligence<\/strong> comes as a sturdy, practical and zippered or velcro binder organizer (depending on the format) that includes both a section with rings and one with folders (see article top photo).<\/p>\n

The ring section is used to keep all documents, evidence and forms to be eventually produced in a court of justice in the event of an offense. No more risk, then, of losing any paper. The folder section is used to keep documents such as manuals, signs and certificates that should not be perforated.<\/p>\n

Quite comprehensive, the regular kit for 10 store clerks includes 56 practical tools, i.e. manuals, exams, checklists, signs and various forms covering all aspects of carding including the Prodep<\/strong> official 60-page four-color training manual, available in three copies.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The exclusive Prodep<\/strong> training manual on carding without fail includes five learning modules that cover not only age verification techniques but also an overview of the legal and regulatory environment in which employees operate.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The regular kit includes 10 exercises and exams to be completed by employees, 10 employee folders to fill out (20 for the large format), 21 various forms and two new innovative tools that transform the current ways of doing things:<\/p>\n