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Ms. MacCharles said her ministry was prompted in part by those numbers as well as the results of a survey from consumer advocacy group OpenMedia.ca that found widespread displeasure with cellphone contracts.

Complaints about telecommunications services have increased by more than 250% over the past four years

The legislation, if passed, would mandate consumer consent if the provisions of a fixed-term contract are changed and require wireless providers to make the all-in price of agreements more evident in advertising.

Among other things, consumers would also have the right to cancel their cellphone services at any time and cancellation fees would be capped at $50 (plus the remaining value of any subsidized device the customer had not yet repaid).

Like a draft version of the national code, the proposed provincial act is not expected to put a cap on contract lengths.

Three-year terms, which regularly draw consumer ire, are uncommon in other parts of the world but are a typical feature of cellphone contracts in Canada.

Yet, telecom providers say customers like the option of a long contract because it takes the sting out of the upfront cost of pricey handsets. They say they have already reduced cancellation fees and consumers can simply pay off the balance of any device subsidy remaining and leave at any time.

As for overlap with the expected national code, Ms. MacCharles said the provincial act, if passed, would enable greater enforcement mechanisms by relying on the province’s Consumer Protection Act.

The CCTS is expected to administer the national code but said at the February hearings that it is not equipped to take on an enforcement role or dole out punitive measures against service providers.

The Ontario government has introduced similar legislation in the past but it has died on the order paper. Ms. MacCharles, who took on the consumer services portfolio when Kathleen Wynne became premier, said she plans to introduce the proposed bill in the legislature next week.

If the legislation is passed, Ontario would be the fifth province with a provincial code on cellphone contracts.