The Department of Justice is reminding vendors and consumers that new legislation targeting the marketing of stolen goods is now in effect and should be adhered to as the summer flea market season gets underway.

During the last session of the House of Assembly, the Flea Markets Regulation Act was passed, targeting shoplifting rings which bring stolen goods to market.

"The government saw the need for change and acted to regulate the sale of certain goods at flea markets in the province," said the Honourable Tom Osborne, Minister of Justice. "These venues were possibly a way for those involved in criminal activity to move stolen goods costing retailers upwards of $25 million annually and causing those losses to be downloaded onto consumers."

The government has responded to the calls by the business community to change the process for certain goods and services.

Under the legislation, certain goods are prohibited from sale without proper documentation for sale by an authorized sales representative. These include items intended for application to or ingestion into the human body such as razor blades, vitamins and herbal supplements, drugs, toothpaste and deodorant.

Other goods include unused commercially manufactured items such as power tools, DVDs, CDs, books, and clothing. These goods, referred to as prescribed goods, can be sold at flea markets so long as specific information is maintained by the vendor proving goods were legally obtained.

"This makes it much more difficult to bring these goods to markets," said the minister. "We know this change in regulations will ensure that those who are legally selling goods are not burdened with undo process, but also that those who have been tempted to sell stolen goods will be deterred."

Under the act, flea market operators in a commercial setting must ensure that all vendors are able to provide written documentation to confirm that all unused commercially manufactured goods they wish to sell at the flea market have been legally obtained. The documentation must be produced when asked for by a flea market operator or peace officer.

The new legislation does not interfere with the sale of homemade goods, handcrafts and typical "garage sale" items, or with not-for-profit organizations that hold flea markets to raise funds.

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