SWEEPING CANADIAN COMPETITION ACT
AMENDMENTS (BILL C-59) PASSED JUNE 20, 2024
On June 20, 2024, Bill C-59 was passed (the Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2023), which introduced the third of three significant rounds of amendments to Canada’s federal Competition Act in two years (together with Bill C-19 and Bill C-56). This new round of amendments to the Competition Act completes a sweeping overhaul of the 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. Canada’s Competition Act 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, together with those enacted in June 2022 and December 2023 (Bill C-19 and Bill C-56), increase the potential competition law risk for companies, trade and professional associations and other entities, particularly those without credible and effective competition law compliance programs and that have not reviewed their business practices to reflect Canada’s new competition laws. For the Competition Bureau’s summary of the June 20, 2024 Bill C-59 amendments to the Competition Act, see: Guide to the June 2024 amendments to the Competition Act (June 25, 2024).
Our blogs will be updated to reflect these amendments.
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Complying with Canadian advertising laws can be challenging for brands and agencies. Advertising in Canada is highly regulated.
Some of the potential challenges include consistent enforcement by the Competition Bureau, CRTC and other enforcement agencies, increased regulatory and enforcement focus on digital advertising (e.g., influencer marketing, online price claims and drip-pricing, online disclaimers and disclosures and Canada’s anti-spam legislation, CASL) and adapting advertising and marketing campaigns to new technology, platforms and social media.
We help clients practically navigate Canada’s advertising and marketing laws offering Canadian advertising law services in relation to print, online, new media, social media and e-mail and electronic marketing.
OUR CANADIAN ADVERTISING AND MARKETING
LAW SERVICES
Our Canadian advertising and marketing law services include legal advice in relation to the general civil and criminal misleading advertising provisions of the Canada’s federal Competition Act, competition law compliance programs, CASL (anti-spam law), filing and responding to Competition Bureau complaints and investigations, seeking Competition Bureau advisory opinions, Internet, new media and social media advertising and marketing, provincial consumer protection legislation, packaging and labeling laws, promotional contests/sweepstakes and sales and other promotions.
We also provide advice in relation to specific types of advertising and marketing issues, including co-sponsor, influencer and list sharing agreements, disclaimers, drip pricing, native advertising and astroturfing, ordinary selling price (OSP) claims and sale claims, product performance claims and testimonials and endorsements (e.g., influencer marketing).
For more information about our Canadian advertising law services, see: Advertising Law Services.
REPRESENTATIVE WORK
Some representative examples of our Canadian advertising law work includes competition law compliance programs, CASL compliance programs, advertising and marketing law opinions and advice, advice for electronic and social media marketing, reviewing draft marketing for Canadian advertising law compliance, submissions to the Competition Bureau, filing Competition Bureau complaints, applications for Competition Bureau advisory opinions (i.e., written opinions), contest/sweepstakes law advice, drafting contest law rules, forms and related agreements (e.g., co-sponsor, influencer and contest indemnity agreements), guidelines and checklists for advertising and marketing (e.g., to comply with CASL and the Competition Act), acting as Lawyer Editor for Practical Law Canada Competition, including advertising and marketing law precedents and checklists, a national competition law compliance course for organized real estate (Competition Law and REALTORS: What You Say and Do Matters), subject matter expert for a national online competition law compliance course for Canadian REALTORS and subject matter expert and author for the advertising law section of the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College’s course Ethics in Clinical Practice and Advertising.
CANADIAN ADVERTISING AND MARKETING LAW
LEGAL PRECEDENTS, FORMS AND CHECKLISTS
In addition to our legal services, we also offer a range of Canadian advertising and marketing law related precedents, forms and checklists for Canadian contests/sweepstakes and to help companies comply with Canadian federal anti-spam law (CASL).
For more information, see: Canadian Contest Forms and CASL (Anti-Spam Law) Precedents.
Templates/precedents and checklists to run promotional contests in Canada
Templates/precedents and checklists to comply with Canadian anti-spam law (CASL)
