Category Archives: Competition Bureau

Canadian Contest Precedents to Run Common Types of Contests/Sweepstakes in Canada

Are you planning to run a contest/sweepstakes in Canada to promote your business (or a client’s business) and need sophisticated Canadian legal precedents? I have developed a number of legal precedents and forms for running common types of promotional contests in Canada, excluding Quebec (commonly … Read the rest of this entry »

Destination Marketing Contests: Key Considerations as COVID-19 Travel Restrictions Ease

A marketing law trend that is recently emerging in my practice has been increased demand to work on destination marketing promotional contests (i.e., contests promoting trips, vacations and adventures to particular destinations – both in Canada and internationally). This may seem counterintuitive given the current … Read the rest of this entry »

COVID-19 Consumer Protection Enforcement: A Tale of Two Countries

My new Canadian Lawyer column discusses recent price gouging and deceptive marketing law enforcement in Canada.  Some of the issues raised include speed of enforcement, political statements compared to actual enforcement and, perhaps, most importantly, transparency in relation to warnings and penalties.  My new column … Read the rest of this entry »

Competition Bureau Increases Enforcement For COVID-19 Marketing Claims

On May 6, 2020, Canada’s Competition Bureau (Bureau) announced that it was increasing its enforcement of deceptive COVID-19 advertising and marketing claims (see: Competition Bureau cracking down on deceptive marketing claims about COVID-19 prevention or treatment). In making the announcement, the Bureau said: “As concerned … Read the rest of this entry »

Product Performance Claims: Increased Risk in Making Unfounded Claims During COVID-19 Outbreak

Practical Law Canada has published a New Legal Update, which discusses product performance claims under the Competition Act and the Competition Bureau’s increased enforcement focus on performance claims that are not supported by adequate and proper testing.  The Legal Update also includes an overview of the … Read the rest of this entry »

COVID-19 (Corona Virus): Canadian Competition and Advertising Law Developments

The global spread of COVID-19 has had significant impacts in most major areas of law, including Canadian competition and advertising law. Both federal and provincial governments in Canada have been introducing unprecedented new legislation and orders relating to key aspects of competition and advertising law, … Read the rest of this entry »

What is Required to Legally Run a Contest/Sweepstakes in Canada?

The main elements to legally run a contest/sweepstakes in Canada are as follows: Short Rules:  “Short rules” (sometimes also called “mini-rules”) include the basic statutory disclosures required by section 74.06 of the Competition Act and other material terms that should be brought to the attention of … Read the rest of this entry »

New Competition Bureau Deceptive Marketing Practices Digest: Priorities Include Misleading Data Privacy Claims

Practical Law Canada Competition has published a New Legal Update, which discusses the Competition Bureau’s new Deceptive Marketing Practices Digest, including the following key current Bureau advertising enforcement priorities: false or misleading data privacy claims, weight loss claims and online pricing and drip pricing. All … Read the rest of this entry »