Category Archives: Compliance

April 8, 2020

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 »

April 3, 2020

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 »

March 15, 2020

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 »

March 6, 2020

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 »

March 1, 2020

Are Contests Legal In Quebec? Why Do Many Canadian Contests Exclude Quebec?

One of the most common Canadian contest law questions I receive is whether contests are legal in Quebec and why so many contests exclude Quebec. The short answer is that contests are not illegal in Quebec, though there are several additional requirements that must be … Read the rest of this entry »

February 27, 2020

My New Canadian Lawyer Column: Upfront Pricing – Is That Too Much To Ask?

In my new Canadian Lawyer Column, I take a bit of a light-hearted tiptoe through recent drip-pricing cases enforced by the Competition Bureau, including the announcement on February 13, 2020 that StubHub agreed to pay $1.3 million for allegedly violating the misleading advertising provisions of … Read the rest of this entry »

February 15, 2020

Canadian Contest/Sweepstakes Laws: What Types of Contests Are Commonly Run in Canada?

In general, two types of contests/sweepstakes are commonly run in Canada: 1. “Skill contests” (sometimes also called “consumer generated content contests”) where entrants/contestants are required to submit something that requires some level of skill, such as an essay, video or photograph to enter and win … Read the rest of this entry »

February 14, 2020

The Price, the Whole Price and Nothing But the Price: StubHub Pays $1.3 Million Penalty Following Bureau Drip Pricing Probe

The Competition Bureau’s (Bureau) top priority for enforcement and advocacy is currently the digital economy (see, for example, here, here, here, here and here). And for online marketing practices, false or misleading prices, including drip-pricing (i.e., where additional fees for an online purchase are only … Read the rest of this entry »