It is against the law in Canada for retailers to sell age-restricted products to minors.

The list includes tobacco products – primarily cigarettes – as well as lottery products, alcohol, adult-themed magazines and videos and fireworks.

It is against the law for a retailer (including the person actually working at the retail outlet) to sell these products to minors.

It is against the law for a retailer to sell age-restricted products to an of-age customer who in turn may be providing that product to a minor (i.e. a third-party sale).

In some jurisdictions it is illegal for minors to possess tobacco and other age-restricted products.   

The Canadian Convenience Stores Association (which is known as CCSA) represents thousands of chain and independent convenience store retailers across Canada. They have started to implement the We Expect ID program across Canada because they take their community responsibility very seriously.

The CCSA works in many ways with all levels of government and police agencies to make sure that their member stores do not break the law. The We Expect ID program is a commitment that they are making to the communities where convenience stores are located to stop selling any illegal products to young people.

Here’s how it works.

If a youth tries to buy any age-restricted product or is someone the customer service person thinks may be under age, they will then be asked for proper age-verification ID - before the transaction will be handled.

The store staff are undergoing training to ensure that they request a customer’s ID to prove that they are of age to buy the products. There is also signage being distributed and displayed to comply with various federal and provincial regulations.

Store staff have to be trained and pass a test to make this program work. And there are mystery shopping checks-ups being done all the time to make sure that convenience stores and their staff adhere to the law where they are located.

There can be severe penalties for both the retailer AND the employee involved if they are found to be selling any age-restricted product to minors.

What ID is accepted?

The only valid ID is any government issued ID if the person looks to be 25 years of age or younger. These all have photo, birth date and signature.

If you refuse to offer appropriate ID or do not supply proper or acceptable ID, the store staff will decline the sale.

Only the following forms of ID are acceptable:
•    Driver’s Licence
•    Canadian Passport
•    Canadian Citizenship Card
•    Canadian Armend Forces ID Card
•    Health Card (which can only be accepted if offered by you.)

School ID is NOT acceptable as Proof of Age.

If any ID appears to have been tampered with or altered a request will be made for a second piece of acceptable ID. If that is not produced or also appears suspect, the sale will be declined.

How is the ID verified?

Partnerships are being set up, for example in Ontario, with the provincial Lottery agency to use their technology to decrease the risk of human error.

In Ontario this works only with Ontario Driver’s License.

Store staff will swipe the card which ONLY verifies the customer’s age.

Staff see on their display that the result is:
•    RED – Under-17 – No age-restricted products can be sold to the customer.
•    YELLOW – 18 – Tobacco cannot be sold to this customer, but cerain others can.
•    GREEN – 19+ - All products can be sold to this customer.