June 20, 2024
On June 20, 2024, Bill C-59 was passed, introducing the second of two recent significant rounds of amendments to Canada’s federal Competition Act (the first round introduced by Bill C-56).
This new round of amendments to the Competition Act completes a sweeping overhaul of Canada’s Competition Act across virtually all key provisions of Canada’s competition legislation. These amendments are also the most significant changes to Canadian competition law since the modern Competition Act came into effect in 1986 replacing the former Combines Investigation Act.
The Bill C-59 amendments, among other things, strengthen the Competition Bureau’s powers to enforce key deceptive marketing provisions of the Competition Act (e.g., relating to drip pricing, performance claims and ordinary selling price (OSP) claims), strengthen private party rights to seek Competition Tribunal remedies (e.g., for civil deceptive marketing and violations of the civil agreements provisions of the Act), introduce new penalties (e.g., administrative monetary penalties for violating the civil agreements provisions of the Act and for “reprisal actions” penalizing individuals for complying with the Act) and introduce a new clearance regime for environmental protection related agreements. The merger review regime was also substantially overhauled, eliminating the efficiency defence, introducing market share presumptions and a more restrictive remedial test for restoring competition.
These amendments and those passed in December 2023 (Bill C-56) increase the potential competition law risk for companies, trade and professional associations and others, particularly those without credible and effective competition law compliance programs and that have not reviewed their business practices in light of Canada’s amended competition laws.
Our blogs will be updated to reflect these amendments.
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We are a Toronto based competition and advertising law firm offering business and individual clients efficient and strategic advice in relation to competition/antitrust, advertising, Internet and new media law and contest law. We also offer competition and regulatory law compliance, education and policy services to companies, trade and professional associations and government agencies.
Our experience includes advising clients in Toronto, Canada and the United States on the application of Canadian competition and regulatory laws and we have worked on hundreds of domestic and cross-border competition, advertising and marketing, promotional contest (sweepstakes), conspiracy (cartel), abuse of dominance, compliance, refusal to deal and pricing and distribution matters. For more information about our competition and advertising law services see: competition law services.
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For more information about our firm, visit our website: Competitionlawyer.ca
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