Justice minister doubles down on not letting water treatment company sell on P.E.I.

P.E.I.'s justice minister has endorsed a regulator's decisionstripping a water treatment sales company of its licence to operate in the provincein a document that gives even more detail about how salespeople coerced vulnerable customers into signing expensive long-term contracts which at least some of them did not need.

The 13-page decision from Bloyce Thompson, P.E.I.'s Attorney General and Minister of Justice and Public Safety,was sent on April 2 to lawyers acting for Atlantic Environmental Systems Inc., operating as Maritime Home Services.

"I find that it is in public interest to cancel the appellant's vendor licence and the licences of all salespeople acting on behalf of the appellant," Thompson wrote.

The decision notes that more than 100 people were licensed to conduct direct selling on behalf of the company.

Michael Daniel Goldman is listed in Nova Scotia as the sole director and president of the company.

Reached by CBC News on Friday, Goldman would not agree to a taped interview for broadcast.

"At this time we know we haven't done anything wrong," he told CBC's Laura Meader, adding that"most of our customers are satisfied"and CBC's coverage has been "not entirely accurate." He would not give details of what he felt was inaccurate.

He added: "I do believe justice will be served... we work so hard to help so many families."

Licence pulled after complaints

On August 31, 2023, Registrar of Direct Sellers Steven Dowling pulled the company's licence to operate in P.E.I., citing nearly a dozen complaints of systems being marketed in people's homes at inflated prices, and using high-pressure sales tactics.

Why a water treatment sales company had its licence to sell pulled on P.E.I.: CBC explains

12 months ago

Duration 2:29

The company, Maritime Home Services, had its licence to sell products door to door revoked after complaints were made about sales tactics and pricing. CBC's Cody MacKay looks into what the allegations were and what happens next.

The company appealed Dowling's decision less than a month later.

It argued, among other things, that some of the customers cited were actually happy with the service they receivedand that other complaints resulted from "collusion" between its principal competitor on the Island and some customers who had second thoughts about their purchases.

It also said its prices were higher because it offered superior equipment and technologies, as well as substantial warranties.

When Dowling's staff investigatedbefore his August rulinghowever,they found technology with the same certification as that sold by Maritime Home Services for sale at much lower prices.

Previous conviction in Ontario

In this month's decision, Thompson rejected the company's arguments, and found the registrar was justified in pulling the licence.

He also said department staff confirmed Goldman was previously convicted under Ontario's Consumer Protection Act in 2017 for "unfair business practices."

• READ THE DECISION: Link to letter to lawyers acting forMaritime Home Services

At the time, according to an email the Better Business Bureau's director of operations sent to the registrar's office, his name was Danny Shamon; the Ontario Gazette shows he changed his name to Goldman in 2018.

Thompson's decision gives even more detail than CBC News has previously reported about the issues with Atlantic Environmental Systems Inc., citing conversations government staff had with 10 people approached by the company's sales force. Some of them did buy systems, but others did not.

Free water test offers ledto sales calls

A similar pattern emerges from their stories. Often they were contacted to say they had won a free first aid kit and water test, which led to a salesperson entering their homes.

Once there, the salesperson would collect water from a tap and put some drops into the sample, before saying the test had shown problems with the water that could be remedied with the company's products.

One complainant cited by Thompson said she was told there was a harmful chemical in her water.

"The resident reported having her water tested by the provincial laboratories approximately two weeks later. The samples were negative for the chemical."

After adding some drops to the water, the salesperson reported that all of the water was 'bad' including the jug of purchased water.Justice Minister Bloyce Thompson's decision

Another woman said a salesperson tested the water from all of her taps, as well as some water she had bought from a local supermarketthat was labelled as having gone through a a reverse osmosis process, considered the gold standard for water filtering.

"After adding some drops to the water, the salesperson reported that all of the water was 'bad' including the jug of purchased water," the decision said.

Financing issues also cited

In another case, the decision said, "the financing charges totalled about 50 per cent of the cost of the water treatment system."

The justice minister's decision also spells out many times that company officials did not respond to inquiries from government investigators, or sent back incomplete or incorrect information.

For one thing, Goldman wrote in July 2021 that the two financing companies his firm used did not register an interest in lands under the Registry Act.

However, the province found that between March 16, 2022 and Aug. 2, 2023, that had happened a total of 37 times, with the collateral referring to "water treatment system" or "water filtration."