Manitoba government surveying homeowners about their renovation experiences

It’s an online survey containing 16 questions that Manitoba’s consumer protection minister Ron Lemieux claims are being asked to help the province determine what counts in a good renovation.

From the answers the public provides, the government in the province is expected to bring in new legislation to protect consumers from shoddy renovators.

The questions on the survey (read it for yourself here) cover such topics as: How many contractors did you call in for quotes? What kind of work did you get done? How many permits did you get? What kind of paperwork did you fill out? Were you offered a guarantee?

Without being cynical (not us at Canadian Contractor, ever), the questions relate substantially to paperwork, permits, legalities, finances and contracts. All the stuff that governments like to get a slice of.

Read the full story here (at CTV News Winnipeg).

One question that we at Canadian Contractor have to ask is: Since there were only 80 renovation and repair complaints to Manitoba’s consumer protection ministry last year, in a province of 1,208,000 citizens, is this fact-finding mission by the government about seriously addressing a widespread problem with the quality of Manitoba renovations, or is it about thinking up new ways for our industry to provide “revenue tools” for the government?

Just wondering.