Log in or register
Share on LinkedInShare on LinkedIn

ARTICLE · 09 JULY 2013

Criminal Conviction In Website Scam: First Conviction For Violating A Registered Consent Agreement

McMillan LLP
McMillan LLP
Contributor
McMillan LLP

McMillan LLP

The firm : McMillan LLP is one of Canada’s leading national law firms with offices in Montreal,...

View firm profile
Explore more from McMillan LLP

It was announced on June 25 that Matthew Hovila of Edmonton was convicted by a jury of engaging in criminal conduct under the Competition Act arising from his operation of a website business.

CanadaAntitrust/Competition Law
Daniel Edmondstone
Daniel Edmondstone
Janine MacNeil
Janine MacNeil
Author LinkedIn connections

It was announced on June 25 that Matthew Hovila of Edmonton was convicted by a jury of engaging in criminal conduct under the Competition Act arising from his operation of a website business.

Mr. Hovila operated online job opportunities scams through oilcareer.com and governmentaljobs.com. According to press reports, complaints were first received in 1999 and the Bureau commenced its investigation of Mr. Hovila's businesses in 2000. The services offered at these websites were described as "resume distribution services."

The Commissioner alleged that false and misleading representations were made to consumers with respect to the size and scope of the business, the identity and number of potential employers to which resumes were distributed, the relationship that the websites enjoyed with the potential employers, a supposed endorsement by an independent watchdog agency, the price at which the services were ordinarily sold and the availability of either a risk-free

We operate a free-to-view policy, asking only that you register in order to read all of our content. Please login or register to view the rest of this article.

Register for freeORLog in

Related Articles

Legal Intelligence Newsletters: sign up for the latest legal and regulatory news on your chosen topics

Read more about

Related Comparative Guides

See more popular content from

Article

Competition Bureau Reaches Consent Agreement With Empire Company Limited Regarding Grocery Property Controls

The Competition Bureau of Canada has entered into a consent agreement with Empire Company Limited, parent of major grocery chains including Sobeys and Safeway, restricting the company's use of property controls that limit competition. This agreement prohibits Empire from enforcing certain restrictive covenants and exclusivity clauses that prevent other grocers from operating nearby, despite Empire's earlier voluntary commitments. The Bureau's action signals heightened regulatory scrutiny of property control
CanadaAntitrust/Competition Law
Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
Article

Cassels On Competition: October 2026

More particularly, the Plaintiff had argued that the drip pricing provision in subsection 52(1.3) of the Competition Act requires “all-inclusive pricing” and forbids all forms of “fragmented or segmented pricing,” and that Ticketmaster’s partitioned price representations are thus prohibited as a criminal conduct and amount to false or misleading representations covered by the criminal misleading advertising provision in section 52
CanadaAntitrust/Competition Law
Cassels
Cassels
Article

Greenwashing In Canada: What The Competition Bureau’s 2026 Updated Environmental Claims Guidelines Mean For Your Business

Canada's Competition Bureau has released updated guidelines addressing environmental claims and greenwashing under the Competition Act. The guidelines establish six compliance principles and clarify how businesses must substantiate environmental benefit claims following recent legislative amendments, including changes introduced by Bill C-15 that provide greater flexibility in substantiation methods while maintaining evidence requirements.
CanadaAntitrust/Competition Law
WeirFoulds LLP
WeirFoulds LLP
Article

Kalibrate Consent Agreement Targets Third-Party Information Sharing As Abuse Of Dominance

On September 24, 2026, the Competition Bureau (Bureau) announced it had entered into a consent agreement with Kalibrate Canada Inc. (Kalibrate) to address concerns regarding Kalibrate’s collection and distribution of detailed retail fuel data through its Kalibrate Market Intelligence product (KMI). More broadly, the matter signals the Bureau’s willingness to challenge information-sharing arrangements under multiple provisions of the Competition Act (Act), including through abuse of dominance where the intermediary itself is alleged to be dominant.
CanadaAntitrust/Competition Law
Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
Article

Pre-Merger Notification Guide: Canada’s Competition Act

This comprehensive guide examines the pre-merger notification requirements under Canada's Competition Act, providing essential information for parties considering transactions that may trigger mandatory filing obligations. The guide outlines the thresholds, procedures, and compliance considerations that businesses must navigate when planning mergers and acquisitions in the Canadian market.
CanadaAntitrust/Competition Law
Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP
Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP
Article

Powering Up: Grid Access, Strategic Screening And Canada’s Emerging Data Centre Regimes

Canada is rapidly becoming a key destination for data centre investment, fueled by artificial intelligence and cloud computing growth. However, this expansion places unprecedented demands on electricity grids, water resources, and local communities. As federal and provincial governments introduce new frameworks to manage these resource challenges, developers and investors must navigate an increasingly complex landscape where power strategy...
CanadaEnergy and Natural Resources
McMillan LLP
McMillan LLP
Article

Cleared For Investment: Canada Opens The Door To Private Capital At Its Largest Airports

Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced plans to seek private investment through long-term concessions to operate Canada's four largest airports: Toronto Pearson, Vancouver, Montréal-Trudeau and Calgary. While the government would retain ownership of underlying land and assets, this represents a fundamental shift from the current not-for-profit airport authority model that has governed these facilities since the 1990s.
CanadaTransport
McMillan LLP
McMillan LLP
Article

Building Momentum: Canada Advances Major Projects Under The Building Canada Act

The federal government has published notices proposing to add the Mackenzie Valley Highway and Roberts Bank Terminal 2 to Schedule 1 of the Building Canada Act as projects of national interest. These potential listings, following a similar notice for the West Coast Oil Pipeline, provide the first practical indications of how the government may use the Act to advance major infrastructure projects through streamlined federal approvals while maintaining Indigenous consultation and environmental assessment requ
CanadaGovernment, Public Sector
McMillan LLP
McMillan LLP
Article

WorkSafeBC Seeks Feedback On Proposed Workplace Harassment, Violence, Psychological Health And Safety Requirements

WorkSafeBC has launched a public consultation on proposed amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation that would introduce comprehensive new requirements for addressing workplace harassment, violence, and psychosocial hazards. The proposed Part 4.1 would replace current provisions with an expanded framework requiring employers to develop harassment prevention programs, implement control measures for violence incidents, and identify and assess psychosocial hazards that could expose workers to
CanadaEmployment and HR
McMillan LLP
McMillan LLP