The Government of Canada has proposed legislation to amend the
Competition Act (the "Act") to,
among other things, (i) expand the scope of what constitutes
misleading advertising, and (ii) permit private parties to commence
civil litigation against alleged misleading advertising (and seek
different types of monetary awards in some circumstances). These
changes create new compliance obligations and strategic
considerations for advertisers in Canada.
Here are four things to know about this new legislation and
misleading advertising in Canada:
New Type of Misleading Advertising – Environmental
Claims
At present, the Act's civil provisions provide that
advertising can be "misleading" if it is
"misleading in a material respect" or if it
makes claims related to the "performance, efficacy or
length of life of a product that is not based on an adequate and
proper test thereof, the proof of which lies on the"
advertiser. It can be difficult to establish that
