Archive for the 'Competition Law' Category
December 21, 2023
Practical Law Canada, Competition, of which I am Lawyer Editor, published a new Legal Update, which discusses the recent amendments to the Competition Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. C-34, enacted by Bill C-56, An Act to amend the Excise Tax Act and the Competition Act, S.C. 2023, c. 31. This Update includes a discussion of the key amendments, including to the abuse of dominance, merger and civil agreements provisions of the Competition Act, as well as implications for Competition Bureau and private enforcement and compliance risk.
Below is an extract of the new Legal Update with a link to the full Update.
December 16, 2023
On December 15, 2023, significant amendments to Canada’s federal Competition Act were passed, including important changes to Canada’s abuse of dominance (federal monopoly) law. This post discusses the December 2023 amendments in general and the key changes to the abuse of dominance provisions of the Competition Act in particular under sections 78 and 79.
November 2, 2023
On October 27, 2023, the province of Quebec made significant changes to its rules relating to publicity contests open to Quebec residents.
October 5, 2023
On September 27, 2023, the Canadian Competition Bureau (Bureau) announced that the Dufresne Group Inc. (TDG) (Dufresne Group), based in Manitoba, had agreed to settle an ordinary selling price (OSP) and urgency cue marketing related case for CDN $3.25 million (see: Competition Bureau, News Release, The Dufresne Group to pay $3.25 million penalty to settle Competition Bureau concerns over marketing claims).
September 26, 2023
On September 25, 2023, the Federal Court (Court), in Sunderland v. Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, 2023 FC 1293, per Crampton C.J., issued an important decision in a Canadian price-fixing conspiracy related class action against The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) and a number of Canadian real estate brokerages and franchisors.
May 21, 2023
On June 23, 2023, criminal amendments to the Competition Act will come into force. These amendments were enacted on June 23, 2022, as part of Bill C-19, the Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No.1.
They introduced sweeping amendments to Canada’s federal Competition Act, including significant increases to the civil and criminal penalties, new prohibitions on drip pricing and expansion of private right of access to the Competition Tribunal for abuse of dominance, among other things. For more information, see: Sweeping Canadian Competition Act Amendments Passed.
May 15, 2023
Practical Law Canada Competition, of which I am Lawyer Editor, has published a new Legal Update that discusses the Competition Bureau’s new online Competition Compliance Portal, which replaces its former Corporate Compliance Programs Bulletin.
Below is an excerpt with a link to the full Legal Update.
**********
This Legal Update discusses the Competition Bureau’s (Bureau) new Compliance Portal, which updates its competition law compliance program guidance from its former Corporate Compliance Programs Bulletin. The Update discusses the Bureau’s new Compliance Portal, key changes from its former compliance program guidance and compliance implications for companies and other organizations that need to comply with Canadian competition laws.
May 3, 2023
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 argues that Canada has had a long history of concentration and monopolization in key sectors, including transportation, telecom and banking, and that legislative reform has for the most part resisted increasing competition.
Templates/precedents and checklists to run promotional contests in Canada
Templates/precedents and checklists to comply with Canadian anti-spam law (CASL)
