May 16, 2024 On May 15, 2024, the Canadian Competition Bureau issued new guidance on drip pricing under the federal Competition Act (see: The Ambush of Hidden Fees). In making the announcement, the Competition Bureau said: “Saving money can be challenging these days. Especially when you are buying something you need, only to find that additional fees were tacked on. … Some companies offer low prices to attract consumers, but then add mandatory fees so that the prices are not attainable.” DRIP PRICING UNDER THE COMPETITION ACT “Drip pricing” refers to the practice of when a product or service i ..read more

December 16, 2023 On December 15, 2023, significant amendments to Canada’s federal Competition Act were passed, including important changes to Canada’s abuse of dominance (federal monopoly) law. This post discusses the December 2023 amendments in general and the key changes to the abuse of dominance provisions of the Competition Act in particular under sections 78 and 79. General Overview of the December 2023 Competition Act Amendments On December 15, 2023, Bill C-56 (An Act to amend the Excise Tax Act and the Competition Act), which introduced the first of two significant rounds of ..read more

On December 15, 2023, Bill C-56 (An Act to amend the Excise Tax Act and the Competition Act), which introduced the first of two significant new rounds of amendments to the federal Competition Act, largely came into force. This first new round of amendments to the Competition Act, which was intended to strengthen the ability of the Competition Bureau (Bureau) and private parties to enforce Canadian competition law and enhance competition in Canada overall, includes fundamental changes to Canadian competition law. These sweeping new amendments to the Competition Act  ..read more

October 18, 2023 On October 18, 2023, Canada’s Competition Bureau (Bureau) announced that it would release the findings of a new study of competitive intensity in Canada between 2000 and 2020 (see: Competition Bureau to release report and hold technical briefing on Canada’s declining competitive intensity). In announcing its new study, the Bureau said: “The report will review various measures of competition and economic dynamism in the Canadian economy as a whole. This includes a number of indicators, such as concentration, rank stability, entry and exit rates, as well as mark-ups and pro ..read more

September 26, 2023 On September 25, 2023, the Federal Court (Court), in Sunderland v. Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, 2023 FC 1293, per Crampton C.J., issued an important decision in a Canadian price-fixing conspiracy related class action against The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) and a number of Canadian real estate brokerages and franchisors. In its decision, the Court denied to grant, in part, the defendants’ motion to strike the plaintiff’s statement of claim in an ongoing class action proceeding in which the plaintiff alleges th ..read more

October 5, 2023 On September 27, 2023, the Canadian Competition Bureau (Bureau) announced that the Dufresne Group Inc. (TDG) (Dufresne Group), based in Manitoba, had agreed to settle an ordinary selling price (OSP) and urgency cue marketing related case for CDN $3.25 million (see: Competition Bureau, News Release, The Dufresne Group to pay $3.25 million penalty to settle Competition Bureau concerns over marketing claims). In making the announcement, the Bureau said that “[t]actics that pressure consumers to make a purchase quickly, like limited time offers, must be truthful”, that “[a]ll busin ..read more

June 24, 2023 On June 21, 2023, Canada’s federal Competition Bureau (Bureau) announced that Canada Bread had been sentenced by the Ontario Superior Court to a CDN $50 million fine after pleading guilty to fixing wholesale bread prices in Canada. This recent Canadian criminal price-fixing fine is the highest price-fixing fine imposed by a Canadian court to date. For more information, see: Canada Bread sentenced to $50 million fine after pleading guilty to fixing wholesale bread prices (June 21, 2023). For more information about criminal price-fixing under the Competition Act in Canada, see: Con ..read more

May 21, 2023 On June 23, 2023, criminal amendments to the Competition Act will come into force. These amendments were enacted on June 23, 2022, as part of Bill C-19, the Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No.1. They introduced sweeping amendments to Canada’s federal Competition Act, including significant increases to the civil and criminal penalties, new prohibitions on drip pricing and expansion of private right of access to the Competition Tribunal for abuse of dominance, among other things. For more information, see: Sweeping Canadian Competition Act Amendments Passed. Most of the amendm ..read more

May 15, 2023 Practical Law Canada Competition, of which I am Lawyer Editor, has published a new Legal Update that discusses the Competition Bureau’s new online Competition Compliance Portal, which replaces its former Corporate Compliance Programs Bulletin. Below is an excerpt with a link to the full Legal Update. ********** This Legal Update discusses the Competition Bureau’s (Bureau) new Compliance Portal, which updates its competition law compliance program guidance from its former Corporate Compliance Programs Bulletin. The Update discusses the Bureau’s new Compliance Portal, key changes fr ..read more

March 16, 2023 On March 15, 2023, Canada’s federal Competition Bureau (Bureau) announced that it had launched a new competition law Compliance Portal (see: Consultation on new Compliance Portal). In making its announcement, the Bureau said that it launched its new Compliance Portal to help businesses stay on the right side of Canadian competition and labelling laws and that its core principles about competition law compliance programs had not changed. The Bureau’s new Compliance Portal replaces its former Corporate Compliance Programs Bulletin (Compliance Bulletin), which was updated in 2015 a ..read more