Quebec television personality calls for tougher legislation on identify theft

QUÉBEC — A Quebec television personality is calling for tougher laws against online fraudsters and identity thieves after she and other public figures were victimized.

Marie-Claude Barrette told a legislature committee in Quebec City that some victims have even taken their own lives.

She testified Wednesday at the start of consultations on a bill aimed at protecting consumers against the misleading or fraudulent use of a person’s identity or image.

Barrette is one of several Quebec public figures who have recently experienced identity theft, including Véronique Cloutier, Normand Brathwaite, Maripier Morin, Claude Legault, and Ève-Marie Lortie.

Their faces and voices were used without their consent by scammers to promote bogus services or products such as high-yield financial products, cryptocurrency and miracle weight-loss products.

The bill notes that the victims of the fraud include consumers who are tricked by the fake ads.

Barrette told the committee she has made it one of her missions to fight identity theft. “I’m still being impersonated, and it happens all the time. I had absolutely no idea what to do,” she said. “As victims, we feel abandoned.”

The bill proposes granting new powers to province’s consumer protection office and the body mandated by the government to regulate Québec’s financial markets — Autorité des marchés financiers. Those two bodies would be able to quickly order an individual or a company to cease using a person’s image without their consent.

Barrette, in her testimony, said the bill must include a budget dedicated to enforcing it. “It needs a point of contact for victims — a phone number — to stop the bleeding, so that victims stop feeling isolated.”

Sylvain Paquette, a fraud prevention consultant working with Barrette, offered additional ideas to the committee studying the bill. Paquette says websites should be required to be registered in Quebec, money transfer platforms should be regulated, and the burden of proof should be reversed to force operators to prove they’re acting legally.

“Quebec is a haven for fraudsters (often operating online from abroad) because we’re too nice,” Paquette said.

Under the bill before the committee, in the event a person or company refuses to comply with a takedown order, the case could go to Superior Court, and the offender could ultimately be charged with contempt of court.

The consumer protection office could also continue to pursue criminal charges against the company offering the product or service, as well as the one that published the advertisement. This includes giants like Meta, the parent company of Facebook.

Barrette said she filed complaints with Meta to no avail and even paid to send a bailiff to California. “Facebook doesn’t care … I’ve lost hundreds of thousands of dollars because I dared to take on Facebook,” she said.

She is seeking authorization for a class-action lawsuit against Meta, but she does not yet know if the case will be heard.

If Bill 24 is passed, individuals face fines of up to $62,500 and companies $125,000 (or five per cent of their global revenue from the previous fiscal year).

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 7, 2026.

Patrice Bergeron, The Canadian Press