OPC Travel Counsellor: How a counsellor may work

Every original question, with optional answers, explanations and official references. Open an answer to study, or take the test above for instant feedback.

1. A counsellor meets a customer in a café, outside the agency. What must the counsellor do if the customer asks?

   1. Show a commission statement
   2. Hand over the tour operator's licence
   3. Be able to demonstrate the counsellor’s status on request
   4. Have an exclusivity contract signed
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: Be able to demonstrate the counsellor’s status on request

   Section 4 requires the person to demonstrate their status on request when acting away from the agent’s establishment. The certificate is relevant, but the statute should not be rewritten as requiring one particular paper card in every case.

   Based on: LAV art. 4 al. 4; official source in French checked 2026-10-24

   Official reference ↗

2. A counsellor wants to meet customers at home. When is that allowed?

   1. If she displays her certificate in the front hallway
   2. If she sees fewer than five customers a week
   3. If the agent runs a duplicate-licensed establishment there
   4. If customers sign a release of liability form
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: If the agent runs a duplicate-licensed establishment there

   The counsellor does not receive customers at home unless the agent operates an establishment there for which a duplicate licence was issued.

   Based on: RAV art. 11.1(d); official source in French checked 2026-10-24

   Official reference ↗

3. What happens to the fines when a counsellor reoffends?

   1. They are doubled
   2. They are halved
   3. They become a warning
   4. They stay the same
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: They are doubled

   The Act doubles the fines for a repeat offence, for example for acting without a certificate or failing to report a change.

   Based on: LAV art. 39–40, récidive; official source in French checked 2026-10-24

   Official reference ↗

4. For how many travel agents can a certified counsellor work at the same time?

   1. Three at most, under the Regulation
   2. As many as he likes, after telling the Office
   3. Only one
   4. Two, if they are in different cities
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: Only one

   The counsellor acts exclusively for one licensed agent and is not bound by an employment or service contract to more than one agent.

   Based on: RAV art. 11.1(a)–(b); official source in French checked 2026-10-24

   Official reference ↗

5. For a first offence involving failure to report under Regulation s. 11.6, which fine range applies to an individual?

   1. $25 to $250
   2. $2,000 to $100,000
   3. $600 to $6,000
   4. $1,000 to $40,000
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: $600 to $6,000

   The regulation makes this failure an offence and refers to Act s. 40: $600–$6,000 for an individual. Do not confuse it with s. 39, which covers offences under ss. 4 and 33.

   Based on: LAV art. 40; RAV art. 11.6, 47; official source in French checked 2026-10-24

   Official reference ↗

6. A counsellor prepares an ad for customers. Which personal contact detail may appear in it?

   1. Her full home address
   2. A post office box in her own name
   3. Her cell phone number
   4. Her home landline number
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: Her cell phone number

   Advertising must show the agency's contact details. The only personal detail allowed is the counsellor's cell phone number.

   Based on: RAV art. 11.1(g); official source in French checked 2026-10-24

   Official reference ↗

7. An individual is convicted of a first offence under Travel Agents Act s. 4. What fine range does s. 39 provide?

   1. $600 to $15,000
   2. $50 to $500
   3. $25,000 to $100,000
   4. $100 to $1,000
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: $600 to $15,000

   For an individual, s. 39 provides $600–$15,000 for offences under ss. 4 or 33. Other offences have a different range; being charged is not the same as being convicted.

   Based on: LAV art. 39; official source in French checked 2026-10-24

   Official reference ↗

8. A counsellor verbally promises a customer an ocean-view room. What is the effect of that statement?

   1. It binds only the hotel
   2. None without a written note
   3. It binds the FICAV
   4. It binds the agency
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: It binds the agency

   Under the CPA, a written or verbal statement by a representative binds the merchant. The agency must honour its counsellor's promise.

   Based on: LPC art. 42; official source in French checked 2026-10-24

   Official reference ↗

9. In whose name must the invoice given to the customer be issued?

   1. The counsellor's personal name
   2. The Office's
   3. The agency's
   4. The airline's
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: The agency's

   The counsellor issues the invoice in the name of the licensed travel agency he or she works for.

   Based on: RAV art. 11.1(f), 18; official source in French checked 2026-10-24

   Official reference ↗

10. An agency is held civilly liable for its counsellor's fault. Does that shield the counsellor from penal charges for his own offences?

    1. Yes, if his certificate was renewed on time
    2. Yes, if he earned no commission on the sale
    3. No, he stays liable for his own offences
    4. Yes, only the agency can face penal charges
    Show answer and explanation

    Correct answer: No, he stays liable for his own offences

    The agency's civil liability does not remove the counsellor's own penal liability for breaching the Act or Regulation.

    Based on: LAV art. 37–40; official source in French checked 2026-10-24

    Official reference ↗

11. Where must a travel counsellor carry on business?

    1. In premises the counsellor rents in his or her own name
    2. Anywhere, as long as there is a cell phone
    3. In, or attached to, an establishment of the agent
    4. Only at the head office of the Office de la protection du consommateur
    Show answer and explanation

    Correct answer: In, or attached to, an establishment of the agent

    The counsellor operates in, or is attached to, an establishment of the agent to whom he or she is tied.

    Based on: RAV art. 11.1(c); official source in French checked 2026-10-24

    Official reference ↗

12. A customer hands a counsellor a cheque for a package. On whose behalf does the counsellor collect this money?

    1. The counsellor's own bank account
    2. The FICAV compensation fund
    3. The agent the counsellor is tied to
    4. The tour operator, directly
    Show answer and explanation

    Correct answer: The agent the counsellor is tied to

    The counsellor collects funds for the travel agent; they are deposited in the agent's trust account.

    Based on: RAV art. 11.1(e); official source in French checked 2026-10-24

    Official reference ↗