On June 23, 2022, Bill C-19, also known as the Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No.1 (“BIA”), received royal assent. As discussed in more detail in our previous blog post, the BIA included significant amendments to the Competition Act (the “Act”), including the addition of new criminal cartel provisions prohibiting so-called wage-fixing and no-poaching agreements, which will become effective as of June 23, 2023. More specifically, these provisions will prohibit agreements between unaffiliated employers to either “fix, maintain, decrease or control salaries, wages or terms and conditions of employment” or “not solicit or hire employees”.Continue Reading Competition Bureau Issues Finalized Enforcement Guidelines for Wage-Fixing and No-Poaching Offences:  What You Need To Know

Surprisingly, the economy did not take centre stage in the recent federal government election. Rather, the limelight was on the government’s pandemic performance and the growing government intervention in all aspects of our lives.  Canadians, it seems, were not ready to turn the channel from their binge watching of the governments’ pandemic caretaking.  However, as the ratings begin to fall for COVID-19 programming, the new government and the public will likely soon turn their attention to more traditional table steaks, such as economic policy execution, particularly if inflation continues to rise, ravaging the disposable income of Canadians, and store shelves remain empty.  On the list of outstanding economic marketplace framework policy upgrades from the last parliamentary session are telecommunications and broadcasting (Bill C-10) and privacy (Bill C-11) reforms.  In the last session, parliament also took a small step towards competition policy modernization via the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology hearings which informed a report recommending modest amendments to the Competition Act.  The previous substantive refinement to Canada’s competition law took place in 2009 following an in-depth study and report by the Competition Policy Review Panel which predated the major digital transformation of the economy. Last week, in a speech to the Canadian Bar Association’s competition law fall conference, the Commissioner of Competition made an impassioned plea for a comprehensive review of the Competition Act to modernize it for today’s reality and keep up with other jurisdictions.
Continue Reading Post-Election Priorities – Will a Competition Policy Review make the Cut?

On March 18, 2020, the Commissioner of Competition (the “Commissioner”) issued an open letter to the executive members of the Canadian Bar Association’s Competition Law Section regarding the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Competition Bureau’s (the “Bureau”) enforcement processes. In this letter, the Commissioner stated that “the Bureau may … need to prioritize urgent marketplace issues that require immediate action to protect Canadians”. While the Commissioner did not provide specific examples of “urgent market issues”, a subsequent statement issued by the Bureau suggests that these issues include, among other things, deceptive marketing practices relating to COVID-19 and, in particular, false, misleading or unsubstantiated performance claims about a product’s ability to prevent, treat or cure the virus.
Continue Reading A Refresher on Performance Claims

In response to the COVID-19 virus, Canada’s federal government has restricted non-essential travel and closed the US border. Canada’s provincial governments have enacted highly restrictive measures including mandating the closure of facilities providing recreational programs (i.e. gyms), libraries, public and private schools, licensed childcare centres, bars and restaurants, theaters, cinemas and concert venues, and the list goes on. Some provinces have also banned gatherings of more than 5 people and prohibited all non-essential businesses. The status quo is likely to continue for weeks, if not months. While both federal and provincial governments have implemented measures to support businesses during this time, including tax deferrals, increased credit availability, and wage subsidies to help prevent layoffs, these programs, regrettably, may not be enough to keep some businesses afloat.Continue Reading Refresher on the Failing Firm Defence

This post has been prepared in collaboration with Chris Cole of Crowell & Moring law firm. Chris Cole is the Co-Chair of Crowell’s Advertising & Product Risk Management Group in Washington, D.C.

In less than three months, Canada will introduce a private right of action arising from false or misleading representations made in electronic messages. These provisions target false or misleading advertisements in, for example, email and social media and arguably capture website advertising based on the law’s broad definition of “electronic message.” Government-initiated enforcement of these provisions has already taken place through Canada’s Competition Bureau since 2014, which has led to Consent Agreements against Avis, Budget (following a contested application), Amazon, Hertz, and Dollar Thrifty. Even more concerning, the law applies statutory penalties to each violation. The closest United States analog to such a law would be the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which carries penalties for violation of up to $1500 per violation.

The new private right of action is expected to give rise to significant class action litigation in Canada, including against US and global businesses that engage in digital advertising in Canada. It is also expected to be an attractive method of challenging a competitor’s representations regarding a product or service. Driving these incentives will be the law’s statutory penalties of $200 per occurrence (not to exceed $1 million per day).

The following outlines the nature of this private right of action and take-aways for businesses that advertise in Canada.Continue Reading New Private Right of Action in Canada for False or Misleading Electronic Advertising

In what appears to be a dramatic shift in Canada’s foreign investment review policy, the federal government has recently approved the acquisition of ITF Technologies Inc. (“ITF”), a Montreal-based technology firm, by O-Net Communications Holdings Limited (“O-Net”), a Chinese developer of optical networking components, which is said to be effectively controlled

Canadian government responses to two requests made by Fasken Martineau under the Access to Information Act (AIA) and the recent publication by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) of its Annual Report Investment Canada Act 2015-16 evidence that Canada’s power to conduct national security reviews under the Investment Canada Act (ICA) in respect of foreign investments in Canada has rarely been invoked during the almost 8 years that such power has existed.

Because of the confidentiality obligations imposed on government officials by the ICA and the sensitive nature of the assessment process which is intended to safeguard Canada’s national security interests, the Government historically has been reluctant to comment publicly on specific investments that it has subjected to national security reviews or on the review process in general.  For a considerable period of time, this reluctance extended to even providing statistics on the number of national security reviews that it had actually undertaken.Continue Reading Investment Canada Act: National Security Review Powers Rarely Invoked

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Now that 2017 has arrived, we are less than seven months away from private enforcement (particularly through class actions) for false or misleading electronic messages. CASL’s  amendments to the Competition Act sought to address deceptive marketing practices in the electronic marketplace. Three reviewable practices were created – all within section 74.011 of the Competition Act – that focus on false or misleading representations in electronic messages, such as in the subject line of an email, the body of an email and in URLs and metadata.

To date, public enforcement of section 74.011 through the Competition Bureau has taken place on two occasions: the Avis and Budget Consent Agreement (following a contested application before the Competition Tribunal) and the Amazon Consent Agreement.

As discussed below, private enforcement of section 74.011 of the Competition Act by way of class actions is forthcoming.  Companies that engage in any form of digital marketing are best served by being proactive to prevent becoming a defendant of choice.

Continue Reading CASL, the Competition Act and Class Actions:  A Primer for Forthcoming Private Enforcement

The Competition Bureau (Bureau) announced on December 7, 2016 that the Commissioner of Competition (Commissioner) had reached a settlement with Moose International Inc. (Moose) regarding his concerns over Moose’s “Made in Canada” advertising and labelling with respect to certain of its premium brand parkas.  The settlement brings to an end legal proceedings between the parties