Canadian COMPETITION & ANTITRUST LAW

OUR CANADIAN COMPETITION LAW SERVICES

We practice federal competition law, have provided Canadian competition law advice to Canadian and international clients and provide a full range of competition law and foreign investment law services including in relation to the merger, conspiracy, bid-rigging, misleading advertising, promotional contest and deceptive marketing provisions of the federal Competition Act.

We practice federal law and so can, and have often provided, competition law advice to clients across Canada.  Our competition law and foreign investment law services include the following:

CANADIAN MERGER CONTROL

- Application of the Competition Act to mergers
- Application of the Investment Canada Act to Canadian investment
- Pre-merger notification and Investment Canada Act filings
- Competition law submissions to the Competition Bureau
- Competition law provisions in transaction documents
- Pre-merger conduct memoranda
- Coordination of multi-jurisdictional mergers

For more information about Canadian merger control law see: Canadian Merger Control

CONSPIRACY AND COMPETITOR COLLABORATIONS

- Application of the new criminal conspiracy rules to commercial activities
- Application of the new civil rules for anti-competitive agreements
- Structuring agreements and joint ventures to comply with the Competition Act
- Competition law compliance programs for companies and trade associations
- The conduct of meetings and information exchanges
- Application of the Competition Bureau’s immunity and leniency programs
- Applications for binding Competition Act advisory opinions

For more information about Canadian conspiracy law and competitor collaborations see: Conspiracy and Competitor Collaborations

BID-RIGGING

- Advice on the application of the criminal bid rigging  provisions
- Review and advice in relation to competitive tenders and proposals

For more information about Canadian bid-rigging law see: Bid-rigging

COMPETITION LAW SEARCHES

- Advice in relation to competition law searches
- Advice in relation to compulsory production orders
- Search and seizure guidelines
- Document retention policies

ADVERTISING AND MARKETING LAW

- The “general” misleading advertising provisions of the Competition Act
- Internet, online & new media advertising and marketing
- Sales and promotions
- Promotional contests
- Multi-level marketing plans and pyramid selling schemes
- The deceptive marketing provisions of the Competition Act
- Federal consumer packaging and labelling legislation

For more information about Canadian misleading advertising law see: Misleading Advertising

PROMOTIONAL CONTESTS

- Application of the Competition Act and Criminal Code to promotional contests
- Drafting short and long contest rules and statutory disclosure
- Reviewing promotional contest marketing and advertising materials
- Drafting winner release documentation
- Compliance with the misleading advertising provisions of the Competition Act

For more information about Canadian promotional contest law see: Promotional Contests

COMPETITION LAW COMPLIANCE PROGRAMS

- Competition law compliance programs
- Competition law seminars for companies and trade associations
- Corporate and trade association activities for competition law compliance
- Competition law talks and “lunch and learns” for companies and law firms
- Board meetings, conferences and other meetings

For more information about competition law compliance programs see: Competition Law Compliance Programs and Policies

TRADE ASSOCIATIONS

- Trade association competition law compliance programs
- Competition law compliance seminars and talks for association executives
- Audits and compliance reviews of trade association activities
- Advice on the application of the recently amended Competition Act
- Vetting trade association meetings, conventions and communications
- Reviewing association rules, bylaws, policies and voluntary codes of conduct
- General competition law and competition compliance advice

For more information about Canadian competition law as it impacts trade and professional associations see: Canadian competition law and trade associations

COMPETITION POLICY

- Competition policy consulting services in relation to emerging jurisdictions
- Assistance drafting legislation, regulations, enforcement guidelines and policy
- Assistance with enforcement agency personnel training
- Research in relation to international competition law and policy regimes

COMMERCIAL LITIGATION SERVICES

- Shareholder disputes
- Contract disputes
- Administrative law, including quasi-criminal proceedings
- Fraud
- Collections
- Product liability

CANADIAN COMPETITION LAW LINKS

For more information about Canadian competition law or our competition law services visit our Blog Homepage, Competition Law Services, Canadian Competition Law, Competition Act Amendments, Merger Control, Merger Control FAQs, Abuse of Dominance, Conspiracy,  Advertising and Marketing, Promotional Contests, Trade Associations, Refusal to Deal,  Investment Canada Act, Canadian Competition Law Compliance, Private Actions, Bid Rigging or Global Competition Law and Policy pages or visit our website at www.NortonStewart.com.

CONTACT US

We provide Canadian competition law services to Canadian and international clients.  For more information about our Canadian competition law and consulting services contact us at steve@nortonstewart.com, info@competitionlawcanada.com or call us on +1 604 687 0555 or +1 778 867 5558.

The Alliance for Canadian Real Estate Education (ACRE) and The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) will be launching a national competition law course for Canadian REALTORS: Competition Law & REALTORS.

This half-day competition law course, prepared by ACRE and CREA and aimed at Canadian real estate professionals, will provide an overview of Canadian competition law as it applies to organized real estate in Canada.  Topics will include: (i) how the criminal conspiracy, misleading advertising, price maintenance, deceptive telemarketing and abuse of dominance rules of the Competition Act apply to the real estate industry in Canada (ii) an overview of the recent amendments to the Competition Act and how they apply to Canadian real estate professionals, (iii) basic compliance guidelines (do’s and don’ts) for real estate agents, (iv) guidelines for real estate board and association meetings, (v) practical competition law case studies and (vi) Canadian competition law compliance resources. 

This new national course, that is being designed by Competition Law Canada, is to be launched this spring.

CANADIAN COMPETITION LAW LINKS

For more information about Canadian competition law or our competition law services visit our Blog Homepage, Competition Law Services, Canadian Competition Law, Competition Act Amendments, Merger Control, Merger Control FAQs, Abuse of Dominance, Conspiracy,  Advertising and Marketing, Promotional Contests, Trade Associations, Refusal to Deal,  Investment Canada Act, Canadian Competition Law Compliance, Private Actions, Bid Rigging, Canadian Competition Law Resources, Competition Law Links or Global Competition Law and Policy pages or visit our website at www.NortonStewart.com.

CONTACT US

We provide Canadian competition law services to clients across Canada and internationally.  For more information about our Canadian competition law and consulting services contact us at steve@nortonstewart.com, info@competitionlawcanada.com or call us at +1 604 687 0555 or +1 778 867 5558.

DISCLAIMER

The materials and information on CANADIAN COMPETITION LAW are provided as legal information about Canadian competition law.  Reading and accessing this information does not create a lawyer-client relationship.  The information on our blog does not constitute legal advice or a legal opinion on any issue.  In addition, the information and materials on this website will change based on new competition law developments and, as such, may not be current as of the date of access.  As such, we take no responsibility for the accuracy or currency of the competition law information or materials on our blog, which should not be relied upon without receiving legal advice from competent legal counsel.

The Competition Bureau has announced that a national phone card supplier has been required to pay refunds and a penalty of Cdn. $300,000.

Ontario-based Phonetime Inc. will  offer refunds to consumer that bought Bravo! and Bravo! Atlantic prepaid long-distance phone cards.

According to the federal Competition Bureau, this settlement followed a Bureau investigation into misleading representations relating to Phonetime’s advertising of pre-paid long-distance phone cards, including hidden fees and and per-minute rates (as well as fewer minutes than advertised).

The Bureau stated in its News Release:

“This is the second case involving prepaid long-distance telephone calling cards that the Competition Bureau has investigated and resolved,” said Andrea Rosen, Deputy Commissioner of Competition, Fair Business Practices Branch. “The Bureau has clearly communicated its concerns to the phone card industry and any company found to be misleading consumers could become the target of an investigation.”

This case shows that misleading advertising and deceptive marketing practices, together with criminal cartels, remain enforcement priorities for the Bureau.

OUR MISLEADING ADVERTISING & MARKETING LAW SERVICES

We practice federal competition law, have provided competition law and compliance advice to clients across Canada and internationally and provide a full range of competition law services in relation to the criminal conspiracy, merger, abuse of dominance, misleading advertising and deceptive marketing provisions of the federal Competition Act.  Our misleading advertising and marketing law services include advice in relation to:

- The general misleading advertising provisions of the Competition Act.
- “Ordinary selling price” provisions (sales).
- Promotional contests.
- Multi-level marketing plans.
- Pyramid selling.
- Telemarketing.
- Deceptive prize notices.
- Double ticketing & bait and switch advertising.
- Performance claims & comparative advertising.
- Scope of the recent Competition Act amendments.
- Consumer packaging and labeling legislation.

CANADIAN COMPETITION LAW LINKS

For more information about Canadian competition law or our competition law services visit our Blog Homepage, Competition Law Services, Canadian Competition Law, Competition Act Amendments, Merger Control, Merger Control FAQs, Abuse of Dominance, Conspiracy,  Advertising and Marketing, Promotional Contests, Trade Associations, Refusal to Deal,  Investment Canada Act, Canadian Competition Law Compliance, Private Actions, Bid Rigging or Global Competition Law and Policy pages or visit our website at www.NortonStewart.com.

CONTACT US

We provide Canadian competition law services to Canadian and international clients.  For more information about our Canadian competition law and consulting services contact us at steve@nortonstewart.com, info@competitionlawcanada.com or call us on +1 604 687 0555 or +1 778 867 5558.