The Ontario Government wants to change the rules surrounding ticket sales to create more access for people trying to attend concerts and sporting events.
New legislation proposed on Thursday would ban so-called scalper bots, limit ticket resale prices to 50 per cent above the face value and require the original price to be displayed.
Primary ticket sellers would have to tell buyers the capacity of the venue as well as how many tickets would be available through the general on-sale.
The government was prompted to take a look at the issue scalping and ticket resale following outcry by fans trying to buy tickets to the Tragically Hip's farewell tour last year. It most cases tickets were purchased and resold at several times the original cost.
Scalper bots, also known as ticket bots, are designed to purchase a large number of tickets online, enabling the person running the software to sell those tickets at a profit. If the new rules are passed, it will become illegal to knowingly resell a ticket originally purchased by a bot.
Attorney General Yasir Naqvi, however, has previously admitted enforcing a ban on scalper bots, which are not unique to Ontario, would be difficult.
Under the new legislation, Ministry of Government and Consumer Services agents would get the power to do inspections and lay fines against violators of the act. Companies themselves would also get the power to sue other companies for losses resulting from the use of bots.
With files from the Canadian Press