Next time someone bangs on your door asking you to buy something, ask to see a licence.



The City of Ottawa has a bylaw that requires anyone engaging in door-to-door sales to buy a permit from the city before pounding the pavement.



An “itinerant seller” licence costs between $217 and $553, depending on the type of licence and how long it’s needed.



The information is included in a written response to a councillor’s questions in February about the city’s approach to door-to-door sales. Gloucester-South Nepean Coun. Michael Qaqish asked city staff if there’s anything more they can do to prevent salespeople from making pitches on people’s stoops.



The recently released response by staff highlights a bylaw regulating those kinds of sales attempts.



The bylaw describes an itinerant seller as someone who “goes from place to place or to a particular place with goods for sale by retail, or who carries and displays samples, patterns or specimens of any goods for the purpose of sale or hire that are delivered in the city afterwards, but does not include a person who sells to wholesale or retail dealers in similar goods.”



According to information provided by staff, “an itinerant seller licence is required for every person or business who sells goods from their person, door-to-door, on private property from a vehicle or at a special event from a stand.”



Annoying and sometimes pushy door-to-door salespeople have captured the attention of the provincial government, which just passed legislation cracking down on unsolicited door-to-door sales of household appliances, such as furnaces and water filters.



There have been plenty of stories in Ottawa of people being strong-armed into purchases on their doormats.



City council approved a refreshed itinerant seller bylaw in 2007 with exemptions for people selling for, among other things, charitable causes, amateur sports or “civic improvement.”



The rules say licensed door-to-door salespeople can only operate between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Licence holders must be at least 18 years old and show proof of having $1 million in general commercial liability insurance.



It’s understandable if people don’t hear much about charges laid against unlicensed door-to-door salespeople in Ottawa.



Between noise, animal and parking complaints, bylaw officers have enough on their plates to be chasing hawkers around neighbourhoods.



Instead, the city and Ottawa police try to arm people with information about door-to-door sales tactics and consumer rights.



While Qaqish asked if there’s anything more the city can do to prevent door-to-door sales, city staff suggest leaving the policy work to the province.



jwilling@postmedia.com



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