The Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2023 (Bill C-59) yesterday received royal assent, implementing (1) key climate-related “truth-in-advertising” amendments to the Competition Act and (2) two important investment tax credits (ITCs) for clean technology and carbon capture utilization and storage. Omnibus Bill C-59 was introduced in the House of Commons in November 2023 (and amended several times since then) to implement certain provisions of the Fall Economic Statement (FES) tabled in Parliament in November 2023 (see our earlier bulletin here) and certain provisions of the budget tabled in March 2023 (Budget 2023) (see our earlier bulletin here). This bulletin summarizes the climate-related amendments to the Competition Act. A subsequent bulletin will cover the ITCs. Deceptive marketing practices. Part VII.1 of the Competition Act sets out a number of deceptive marketing practices that are considered “reviewable conduct” under the legislation, and therefore subject to scrutiny by the Competition Tribunal and the courts and related administrative remedies. For example, section 74.01(1)(a) contains a general prohibition on representations to the public that are materially false or misleading, and made for the purpose of promoting the supply or use of a product or a business interest (directly or indirectly). Where the Competition Tribunal or a court determines that a corporation is engaging (or has engaged) in reviewable conduct, it may order the corporation: not to engage in the conduct or substantially similar reviewable conduct; to publish a notice providing a description of the reviewable conduct and related details; and to pay an administrative monetary penalty in an amount not exceeding the greater of $10M (and, for each subsequent order, $15M) and three times the value of the benefit derived from the deceptive conduct (or 3% of the corporation’s annual worldwide gross revenues, if such an amount cannot be reasonably determined). Bill C-59 amendments. The…
