Archive for the 'Events' Category
The Canadian Society of Association Executives (CSAE) will be holding its annual National Conference in Ottawa on November 1-3, 2012.
I am pleased to be co-presenting a seminar on Practical Competition Law and Compliance Case Studies for Trade and Professional Associations with the co-author (Mark Katz) of our new associations book (The Competition Law Guide for Trade Associations in Canada):
“Although most association activities are benign from a competition law perspective, they can raise serious issues in a variety of circumstances that occur on a regular basis. This presentation will review the key provisions of Canada’s Competition Act relevant to trade and professional associations and offer practical guidance on how to reduce risk based on a series of practical and interactive case studies derived from actual Canadian and international examples.
The focus of the case studies will be on real-life association activities that can attract liability if not conducted in an appropriate fashion. Issues to be covered include: (i) when will a purely voluntary or suggested fee tariff/schedule become problematic; (ii) ways associations can engage in joint negotiations or advocacy initiatives on behalf of members without raising competition issues; (iii) how associations can reduce the risk of engaging in information exchanges (e.g., research or benchmarking exercises); (iv) how to structure association membership restrictions and discipline procedures; and (v) what to do to distinguish pro-competitive standard-setting from conduct that can raise competition concerns.
Last week the Advertising Standards Canada released its fourth annual Compliance Report on the Canadian Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (see: Advertising Standards Canada releases 2011 Compliance Report on Canadian Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative).
The Initiative was launched by members of Canada’s food and beverage industry in 2007 in an effort to shift the landscape of advertising directed to children under 12 to the promotion of “better-for-you products”.
Under this Initiative, which includes advertising in all major media (as well as children focused media such as video, computer games and DVDs), participants have committed to either not direct advertising primarily to children under 12 or shift advertising to promote products that are “consistent with the principles of sound nutrition guidance.” The Initiative includes specific nutrition criteria (e.g., foods that reflect the dietary guidelines of Canada’s Food Guide or nutrient content claims of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s Guide to Food Labelling and Advertising). Participants in this initiative have also agreed to certain other commitments, such as reducing the use of 3rd party licensed characters used to promote non-Initiative approved products, not advertising in elementary schools or paying for product placements in programs directed at children.
According to the ASC, some participants have stopped child-directed advertising altogether (the 19 food and beverage company participants include Burger King, Campbell’s, Coke, General Mills, Hershey, Kellogg, Kraft, Mars, McDonald’s, Nestle, Pepsi, Post, Unilever and Weston). Others have launched new “better-for-you” advertising initiatives. No product in the ASC’s Initiative is more than 200 calories and every meal is less than 600 calories.
The regulation and self-regulation of food and children’s advertising and labeling is governed in Canada by, among other things, the federal Competition Act, Food and Drugs Act and Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act, as well as the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s Guide to Food Labelling and Advertising and the ASC’s Broadcast Code for Advertising to Children and Canadian Code of Advertising Standards (which contains specific rules relating to advertising for children).
For a copy of the ASC’s new report see: Canadian Children’s Food & Beverage Advertising Initiative.
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On September 20, 2012, the Competition Bureau issued new final Abuse of Dominance Guidelines (see: Competition Bureau Issues Abuse of Dominance Guidelines).
The Bureau’s new Guidelines replace its former 2001 Guidelines and are the result of some fairly significant public consultations, including comments from the Canadian and U.S. competition/antitrust law bars and criticism for, among other things, providing significantly less guidance than in the past (see: here).
The Bureau’s new Abuse of Dominance Guidelines also replace a number of final and draft sector and conduct specific guidelines and bulletins (the Draft Enforcement Guidelines on Abuse of Dominance in the Airline Industry, The Abuse of Dominance Provisions as Applied to the Grocery Sector, Information Bulletin on the Abuse of Dominance Provisions as Applied to the Telecommunications Industry and Predatory Pricing Enforcement Guidelines).
Some of the aspects of the Bureau’s new Guidelines that caught my eye include:
Length. The most striking feature of the new Guidelines is their length – they are substantially shorter and provide significantly less analysis and examples compared to the former Guidelines. Gone as well is the prior appendix summarizing Canadian abuse of dominance cases to date, which had included summaries of the relevant facts, markets, anti-competitive acts and remedies ordered (or negotiated) in abuse of dominance cases since Canada’s modern abuse of dominance provisions were introduced in 1986.
Absence of bright-line safe harbours. The new Guidelines provide little comfort around market share thresholds for single or joint dominance. In this regard, the Bureau takes the position, with respect to single firm dominance, that a market share of less than 35% will generally not prompt further examination; a market share between 35% and 50% will generally only prompt further examination if it appears that a firm is likely to increase its market share through the alleged anti-competitive conduct within a reasonable time; and a market share of more than 50% will generally prompt further examination. With respect to joint dominance, the Bureau takes the position in the new Guidelines that a combined market share of 65% or more will generally prompt further examination. While the Bureau has raised the threshold over which it will generally more closely examine conduct (from 35% to 50%), the new final Guidelines do not adopt recommendations made during the comment period to adopt bright-line safe harbours below which it would not commence enforcement. In this regard, the Bureau has essentially preserved its position from its previous 2001 Guidelines that it could conclude that market power exists below 35% (though it is difficult to see the circumstances where this would be so).
Potential for investigation in the absence of dominance. Despite criticism from some during the comment period, the Bureau has retained language in the final Guidelines that it may investigate abuse of dominance allegations even where a firm does not “presently appear to have market power.” The Bureau also states: “While the Bureau will not commence an application under section 79 of the Act where a firm does not presently appear to have market power, the Bureau will generally investigate allegations of abuse of dominance if it appears a firm is likely to obtain market power through an alleged practice of anti-competitive acts within a reasonable period of time.” As has been pointed out by some commentators, it is not clear where the authority for this approach originates given that the first element under section 79 requires that one or more firms substantially or completely control a market (or markets) – i.e., the requirement is current, not prospective, market power. It would also seem that at least one possible obvious result could be smaller firms (with shares under 35%) facing a Bureau investigation where the Bureau’s view was that alleged anti-competitive acts could lead to market power within a “reasonable period of time”. This aspect of the final Guidelines would both seem to markedly expand the circumstances in which the Bureau may take enforcement action and also provide significantly less comfort to smaller firms that, while they may not yet possess anywhere near the market presence to be reasonably considered dominant, may be engaged in vigorous competitive behavior that generates complaints or Bureau attention.
CANADIAN CASL (ANTI-SPAM LAW) PRECEDENTS
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September 13, 2012
The Canadian Corporate Counsel Association recently published a new article on Canada’s impending (but when?) new anti-spam legislation, entitled Canada’s Anti-spam Law: Filtering Relationships (by Yves Faguy).
Global Conference on Environmental Taxation – BC Carbon Tax Panel – National Centre for Business Law
The University of British Columbia, Faculty of Law will be co-hosting a special panel on British Columbia carbon tax as part of the 13th Global Conference on Environmental Taxation (September 21, 2012 at the University of British Columbia, Faculty of Law – Allard Hall).
From UBC Faculty of Law:
“Research that has been a part of the previous twelve meetings of the Global Conference on Environmental Taxation (GCET) have helped form a theoretical and empirical foundation for environmental taxation. GCET work has been at the frontier of applied work on environmental taxation, and has rigorously examined the ramifications of environmental taxation in different jurisdictions, industries, and ecological settings. GCET has hosted a truly wide range of theoretical and applied policy research, providing global leadership in policy discussions on environmental policy instrument choice.
The University of British Columbia Faculty of Law, the UBC National Centre for Business Law, and the UBC Centre for Law and the Environment are proud to host the 13th GCET. The theme for the 2012 GCET will be Environmental Taxation: Barriers, Opportunities, and the Potential for Inducing Technological Innovation. The tripartite focus of the conference will be (1) the political, psychological, institutional and other barriers to adoption of environmental taxation, (2) emerging developments and new opportunities for introduction of environmental taxation, and (3) the potential for environmental taxation to induce technological innovation for the abatement of pollution. We wish to highlight a special call for papers, on the potential for environmental taxation to promote technological innovation for greenhouse gas abatement. Three papers will be selected for a special plenary session, and one paper will be selected for a special prize of $1000 (Cdn) and a travel allowance to be applied toward travel to this conference. For further details, please see the call for abstracts and papers.
Advertising Standards Canada will be holding two upcoming workshops on the basics of Canadian food related advertising regulations in Montreal (September 19th) and Toronto (September 25th). These two hour workshops will address common questions relating to Canadian food advertising related regulations, including how to compare foods, “common names”, how to claim that products are “fresh” / “natural” or “healthy”, nutrient content claims and health claims.
For more information see: The ABC’s of Food Advertising Regulations.
In advance of its upcoming “Canada in the Pacific Century” conference to be held in Ottawa this fall, the Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE) has published another new paper discussing Canada’s role in a world where the role of the U.S. as a major trading partner is increasingly in doubt and the importance to Canadian businesses to understand Asia seems to grow exponentially with each passing day.
With two current resource plays by Asian state owned enterprises, a recent trade mission having just been completed by Canada’s Trade Minister to South-East Asia and a major China trade mission by Canada’s PM earlier this year, Canada/Asia relations are very much in the spotlight.
Introduction:
“For 250 years, Canada’s strong economic links with its neighbour to the south have been a cornerstone of its growth and prosperity. While the United States will continue to be a major economic partner and critical ally for Canada, it is vital that Canada build equally strong links with Asia.
During the period from 2010 to 2025, Asia is projected to generate 33 percent of global economic growth. China, the world’s second-largest economy, is urbanizing 100 times faster than the United Kingdom did in the 19th century, and is expected to rival the United States in economic terms by 2020-2030. India, too, is urbanizing rapidly. Seven new “smart” cities are planned for the Delhi-Mumbai corridor and more than 215 million people are expected to migrate from villages to cities by 2015.
From the Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE):
“On September 24-25, 2012, the Canadian Council of Chief Executives will host “Canada in the Pacific Century”, a conference bringing together leaders from business, government, academia, and other key groups to discuss Asia’s rise and the implications for Canada.”
For the updated Agenda see:
Templates/precedents and checklists to run promotional contests in Canada
Templates/precedents and checklists to comply with Canadian anti-spam law (CASL)
