Key Takeaways

  • CBC Marketplace found that six of 12 GTA retailers explained or demonstrated ways to bypass built-in speed limits on e-bikes and e-scooters.
  • Ten stores sold vehicles capable of exceeding Ontario limits, while seven offered scooters with recommended rider ages below the province’s minimum age.
  • The findings highlight compliance risks extending from product configuration and advertising to employee training and dealer oversight.

A CBC Marketplace investigation has exposed a sizable gap between Ontario’s rules for electric mobility devices and what some retailers are apparently willing to sell, demonstrate or explain. The findings create questions not only for store operators, but also for manufacturers, distributors, insurers and the companies providing software-controlled vehicle components.

During visits to 12 e-bike and e-scooter stores in the Greater Toronto Area, six salespeople demonstrated or described how customers could bypass built-in speed restrictions, according to CBC Marketplace. Ten of the 12 stores sold vehicles with maximum speeds exceeding Ontario limits. The investigation included retailers such as Best Buy, Canadian Tire, Costco, Amego, Emmo and EZbike.

Ontario caps e-bikes at 32 km/h and e-scooters at 24 km/h. Those thresholds are more than technical specifications. They help determine whether a vehicle qualifies for use under the province’s electric bicycle and scooter rules, where it may be ridden, and what obligations apply to the rider.

One EZbike salesperson reportedly described e-scooters capable of reaching 120 km/h. That is nearly four times Ontario’s e-bike limit and five times its e-scooter limit. A vehicle operating at that speed raises a very different risk profile involving braking, tires, protective equipment, collision exposure and potential insurance coverage.

Age controls were another weak point. Seven stores offered e-scooters carrying manufacturer-recommended rider ages below Ontario’s minimum riding age of 16. The Ontario Ministry of Transportation outlines the province’s e-scooter requirements, but a rule posted online may have limited effect if point-of-sale advice sends buyers in another direction.

Programmable speed limits can blur responsibility. A manufacturer may ship a compliant configuration, a distributor may advertise a legal operating speed, and a salesperson may then show the buyer how to unlock a faster mode. Who owns the resulting exposure? In practice, accountability could spread across several parties, especially if disabling a limiter is quick, poorly logged or actively encouraged during a sale.

The investigation also demonstrates why compliance programs need to cover frontline behaviour, not merely product documentation. Retailers can publish accurate specifications and still face reputational or regulatory risk when staff provide contradictory instructions. Periodic mystery shopping, configuration audits and documented sales training can help management identify that disconnect before a customer, regulator or journalist does.

CBC Marketplace has applied the same covert verification method to other consumer markets. In a separate 2025 investigation involving 15 Ontario car dealerships, six charged more than the advertised price, four displayed images of a more expensive vehicle, and six included unwanted features. Ontario’s Motor Vehicle Dealers Act framework generally requires advertised prices to include expected fees other than HST and licensing. OMVIC also states that optional products should be presented as optional.

That parallel matters. Both investigations found potential differences between formal advertising and the transaction customers encountered in person. Digital compliance systems can approve prices, product descriptions and technical settings, but they do not automatically govern conversations on a showroom floor.

For businesses in electric mobility, the immediate lesson is fairly practical. Product governance should account for how speed controls are accessed, whether configuration changes are logged, what retailers tell buyers and how age restrictions appear across websites, packaging and sales scripts. A limiter that can be quietly removed at the counter is not much of a control. CBC Marketplace’s reporting suggests that verification at the point of sale may be as important as the specifications printed on the box.