Competition Law And The Environment: Update

In late 2023, the Canadian government introduced legislation into Parliament (Bill C-59) that proposed significant amendments to the Competition Act (the "Act").

A number of the proposed changes to the Act relate to the environment. Two impact the Act's deceptive marketing provisions. First, Bill C-59 adds a new provision specific to statements/guarantees of a product's benefits for protecting the environment or mitigating the environmental and ecological effects of climate change. Second, the Bill will allow private parties to bring deceptive marketing applications at the Competition Tribunal. Currently, only the Competition Bureau can bring such an application.

Finally, the proposed amendments also contain a certification mechanism for environmental agreements. Under the proposed framework, the Bureau will be able to issue a certificate with respect to proposed environment-related collaborations, exempting them from the criminal and civil competitor