In recent years, competition authorities around the globe have indicated an increased interest in the video game industry. As noted in a 2019 perspective paper by the US FTC, video games have evolved from being static one-time purchases to functioning as a dynamic service where players can make further in-game purchase, or microtransactions, for in-game
In recent years, advertisers have increasingly established commercial relationships with online personalities or “influencers”, who market their products through various digital platforms and social media. The prevalence of “influencer marketing” has become an emerging frontier for the regulation of deceptive marketing in Canada and abroad.
Digital Marketing in Canada
In Canada, issues regarding misleading representations
On October 27, 2017, Cardinal Ventilation Inc. was fined $375,000.00 after pleading guilty to one count of bid rigging related to three condominium development projects in Montreal. The contracts in question related to the supply and installation of ventilation and/or air conditioning systems in residential high-rise construction projects in the greater Montreal region.
Cardinal Ventilation Inc. admitted that it conspired with competing Montreal-area companies to obtain a ventilation contract by ensuring it offered the lowest bid on the Faubourg St-Laurent Phase II construction project in Montreal. The company also admitted to its participation in two other agreements to ensure that competing firms would get the contracts for two other projects: Le Roc Fleuri and Tour St-Antoine.
The courts have imposed fines totalling over $1 million in this matter.
The Competition Bureau began investigating this matter following a tip from a former employee of one of the accused companies. Over the course of the investigation, Bureau officers searched many sites, seized thousands of documents and interviewed numerous witnesses. The Bureau eventually uncovered evidence indicating that several companies had coordinated their bids in order to pre-determine the winners of the residential construction contracts, while blocking out competitors. The Bureau’s investigation found evidence of bid rigging in five competitive bidding processes between 2003 and 2005, for contracts worth a total of approximately $8 million. In December 2010, the Bureau laid charges against eight companies and five individuals.
There have been several plea agreements in the matter. To date, four companies and two individuals have pleaded guilty for their participation in the bid-rigging scheme. As part of one individual’s plea agreement, he agreed to complete 50 hours of community service and to collaborate with the Bureau’s ongoing involvement in the matter.
In one case, charges against one of the accused individuals were withdrawn in exchange for the individual’s full cooperation with the Bureau’s investigation.
There is one remaining accused in the matter.Continue Reading Sixth Guilty Plea in Montreal Condo Development Bid Rigging Scheme
