One advocate says the administration costs of those promises could end up getting passed on to buyers.

David Clement, North American Affairs Manager with the Consumer Choice Centre, says saddling business operators with rules about breaking down costs often leads to added expenses for the wrong people.

“Consumers will ultimately end up paying for that,” he says. “And so, whatever measure that is undertaken from the government has to be done with the perspective increased costs on suppliers or on producers could ultimately translate into higher prices for consumers.”

He says the best way to bring prices down is usually to boost competition.

As for promises to crack down on the unfair resale of concert tickets in B.C., Clement says that could also be risky because some buyers may have legitimate reasons for needing to offload them.

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