Tag Archives: drip pricing

Cineplex Inc. Ordered to Pay $38.9 Million By Canada’s Competition Tribunal for Drip Pricing

On September 23, 2024, Canada’s Competition Bureau announced that the federal Competition Tribunal had found that Cineplex Inc. (Cineplex), a Canadian theatre chain, had engaged in drip pricing by adding a mandatory and insufficiently disclosed $1.50 online booking fee (see: Competition Bureau wins deceptive marketing … Read the rest of this entry »

2024 Competition Act Amendments (Bill C-59): Increased Risks for Advertisers for False or Misleading Price, Regular Price and Sale Claims

OVERVIEW OF BILL C-59 AMENDMENTS TO THE COMPETITION ACT On June 20, 2024, Bill C-59 was passed, which introduced the third of three recent significant rounds of amendments to Canada’s federal Competition Act (together with amendments that were passed in June 2022 and December 2023). This third round of … Read the rest of this entry »

Sweeping Canadian Competition Act Amendments (Bill C-59) Passed June 20, 2024

On June 20, 2024, Bill C-59 was passed, introducing the second of two recent significant rounds of amendments to Canada’s federal Competition Act (the first round introduced by Bill C-56). This new round of amendments to the Competition Act completes a sweeping overhaul of Canada’s Competition Act across virtually all key provisions of … Read the rest of this entry »

Significant Proposed Deceptive Marketing Law Amendments to the Competition Act Under Bill C-59

RECENT AND PROPOSED COMPETITION ACT AMENDMENTS (BILLS C-56 AND C-59) 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 new significant rounds of amendments to the federal Competition Act, largely came into force. … Read the rest of this entry »

New Competition Bureau Drip Pricing Guidance

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 … Read the rest of this entry »

Competition Bureau Sues Cineplex for Allegedly Misleading Upfront Ticket Prices (Drip Pricing)

On May 18, 2023, the Competition Bureau announced that it was suing Cineplex Inc. (Cineplex) for allegedly advertising misleading ticket prices (see: Competition Bureau sues Cineplex for allegedly advertising misleading ticket prices). The Bureau has alleged, in its civil application to the Competition Tribunal (Tribunal) … Read the rest of this entry »

Competition Commissioner Argues Key Canadian Markets Are Highly Concentrated and Again Advocates for Stage II Competition Act Amendments

On May 2, 2023, Canada’s Globe and Mail published an opinion by Canada’s Commissioner of Competition (Commissioner), Matthew Boswell, arguing that key Canadian consumer markets are highly concentrated and urging for another new round of Competition Act reform. In this regard, in general, the Commissioner … Read the rest of this entry »

New Competition Bureau Guidance on Drip Pricing Advertising Claims

On April 17, 2023 the Competition Bureau (Bureau) published a new edition of its Deceptive Marketing Practices Digest (Volume 6) (Marketing Digest). The Bureau’s new Marketing Digest discusses three Canadian advertising/marketing related topics: the use of scarcity cues (i.e., claims that an offering has limited availability), … Read the rest of this entry »