Bill C-67

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First Reading

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	2nd Session, 35th Parliament, 45 Elizabeth II, 1996-97
	The House of Commons of Canada
	BILL C-
	An Act to amend the Competition Act and another Act in consequence
	Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:
R.S., c. C-34; R.S., c. 27 (1st Supp.), c. 19 (2nd Supp.), c. 34 (3rd Supp.), cc. 1, 10 (4th Supp.); 1990, c. 37; 1991, cc. 45, 46, 47; 1992, cc. 1, 14; 1993, c. 34; 1995, c. 1	COMPETITION ACT
	1. (1) The definition ``Director'' in sub section 2(1) of the Competition Act is re placed by the following:
``Director'' « directeur »	``Director'' means the Director appointed un der subsection 7(1);
	(2) Subsection 2(4) of the Act is amended by striking out the word ``and'' at the end of paragraph (a), by adding the word ``and'' at the end of paragraph (b) and by adding the following after paragraph (b):
	(c) a partnership is controlled by a person if the person holds an interest in the partner ship that entitles the person to receive more than fifty per cent of the profits of the partnership or more than fifty per cent of its assets on dissolution.
	2. Paragraph 5(2)(a) of the Act is re placed by the following:
	(a) a prospectus is required to be filed, accepted or otherwise approved pursuant to a law enacted in Canada or in a jurisdiction outside Canada for the supervision or regulation of trade in securities; or
1992, c. 1, s. 46	3. The headings before section 7 of the Act are replaced by the following:
	PART II
	ADMINISTRATION
	4. Subsections 7(1) and (2) of the Act are replaced by the following:
Director	7. (1) The Governor in Council may appoint an officer to be known as the Director, who shall be responsible for the administration and enforcement of this Act.
Oath of office	(2) The Director shall, before entering on the Director's duties, take and subscribe, before the Clerk of the Privy Council, an oath or solemn affirmation, which shall be filed in the office of the Clerk, in the following form:
	I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully, truly and impartially, and to the best of my judgment, skill and ability, execute the powers and trusts reposed in me as Director. (In the case where an oath is taken add ''So help me God''.)
	5. Subsection 8(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Deputy Directors	8. (1) One or more persons may be ap pointed Deputy Directors in the manner authorized by law.
R.S., c. 19 (2nd Supp.), s. 22	6. (1) Paragraphs 9(1)(a) and (b) of the Act are replaced by the following:
	(a) a person has contravened an order made pursuant to section 32, 33 or 34, or Part VII.1 or VIII,
	(b) grounds exist for the making of an order under Part VII.1 or VIII, or
	(2) Subparagraph 9(2)(b)(i) of the Act is replaced by the following:
	(i) the alleged contravention,
R.S., c. 19 (2nd Supp.), s. 23(2)	7. Subparagraphs 10(1)(b)(i) and (ii) of the Act are replaced by the following:
	(i) a person has contravened an order made pursuant to section 32, 33 or 34, or Part VII.1 or VIII,
	(ii) grounds exist for the making of an order under Part VII.1 or VIII, or
R.S., c. 19 (2nd Supp.), s. 24	8. Subparagraphs 15(1)(a)(i) and (ii) of the Act are replaced by the following:
	(i) a person has contravened an order made pursuant to section 32, 33 or 34, or Part VII.1 or VIII,
	(ii) grounds exist for the making of an order under Part VII.1 or VIII, or
R.S., c. 19 (2nd Supp.), s. 25	9. The headings before section 25 of the Act are repealed.
1993, c. 34, s. 50	10. (1) Subsection 33(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Interim injunction	33. (1) A court may, on application by or on behalf of the Attorney General of Canada or the attorney general of a province, issue an interim injunction forbidding any person named in the application from doing any act or thing that it appears to the court may constitute or be directed toward the commission of an offence, pending the commencement or completion of a proceeding under subsection 34(2) or a prosecution against the person, where it appears to the court, that the person has done, is about to do or is likely to do any act or thing constituting or directed toward the commission of an offence under Part VI or section 66 , and that
	(a) if the offence is committed or continued
	(i) injury to competition that cannot adequately be remedied under any other provision of this Act will result, or
	(ii) a person is likely to suffer, from the commission of the offence, damage for which the person cannot adequately be compensated under any other provision of this Act and that will be substantially greater than any damage that a person named in the application is likely to suffer from an injunction issued under this subsection in the event that it is subsequently found that an offence under Part VI or section 66 has not been committed, was not about to be com mitted and was not likely to be com mitted; or
	(b) in the case of an offence under section 52.1, if the offence is committed or contin ued,
	(i) injury to competition will result, or
	(ii) one or more persons are likely to suffer damage from the commission of the offence that will be substantially greater than any damage that persons named in the application are likely to suffer from an injunction issued under this subsection in the event that it is subsequently found that an offence under section 52.1 has not been committed, was not about to be committed and was not likely to be committed.
Deceptive telemarket- ing	(1.1) An injunction issued in respect of an offence under section 52.1 may forbid any person from supplying to another person a product that is or is likely to be used for the commission or continuation of such an of fence, where the person being supplied or, in the case of a corporation, any of its officers or directors, was previously
	(a) convicted of an offence under section 52.1 or an offence under section 52 in respect of conduct prohibited by section 52.1; or
	(b) punished for the contravention of an order made under this section or section 34 in respect of the commission, continuation or repetition of an offence referred to in paragraph (a).
	(2) Subsection 33(7) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Punishment for disobedience	(7) A court may punish any person who contravenes an injunction issued by it under subsection (1) by a fine in the discretion of the court or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years.
R.S., c. 19 (2nd Supp.), s. 28(1)	11. (1) Subsection 34(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Prohibitive orders	34. (1) Where a person has been convicted of an offence under Part VI, the court may, at the time of the conviction, on the application of the Attorney General of Canada or the attorney general of the province, in addition to any other penalty imposed on the person convicted, prohibit the continuation or repeti tion of the offence or prohibit the doing of any act or thing, by the person convicted or any other person, that is directed toward the continuation or repetition of the offence.
	(2) Subsection 34 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (2):
Prescriptive terms	(2.1) An order made under this section in relation to an offence may require any person
	(a) to take such steps as the court considers necessary to prevent the commission, con tinuation or repetition of the offence; or
	(b) to take any steps agreed to by that person and the Attorney General of Canada or the attorney general of the province.
Duration of order	(2.2) An order made under this section applies for a period of ten years unless the court specifies a shorter period.
Variation or rescission	(2.3) An order made under this section may be varied or rescinded in respect of any person to whom the order applies by the court that made the order
	(a) where the person and the Attorney General of Canada or the attorney general of the province consent to the variation or rescission; or
	(b) where the court, on the application of the person or the Attorney General of Canada or the attorney general of the province, finds that the circumstances that led to the making of the order have changed and, in the circumstances that exist at the time the application is made, the order would not have been made or would have been ineffective in achieving its intended pur pose.
Other proceedings	(2.4) No proceedings may be commenced under Part VI against a person against whom an order is sought under subsection (2) on the basis of the same or substantially the same facts as are alleged in proceedings under that subsection.
R.S., c. 34 (3rd Supp.), s. 8	(3) Subsections 34(3) and (3.1) of the Act are replaced by the following:
Appeals to courts of appeal and Federal Court	(3) The Attorney General of Canada or the attorney general of the province or any person against whom an order is made under this section may appeal against the order or a refusal to make an order or the quashing of an order
	(a) from a superior court of criminal jurisdiction in the province to the court of appeal of the province, or
	(b) from the Federal Court-Trial Division to the Federal Court of Appeal,
	as the case may be, on any ground that in volves a question of law or, if leave to appeal is granted by the court appealed to within twenty-one days after the judgment appealed from is pronounced or within such extended time as the court appealed to or a judge thereof for special reasons allows, on any ground that appears to that court to be a sufficient ground of appeal.
Appeals to Supreme Court of Canada	(3.1) The Attorney General of Canada or the attorney general of the province or any person against whom an order is made under this section may appeal against the order or a refusal to make an order or the quashing of an order from the court of appeal of the province or the Federal Court of Appeal, as the case may be, to the Supreme Court of Canada on any ground that involves a question of law or, if leave to appeal is granted by the Supreme Court, on any ground that appears to that Court to be a sufficient ground of appeal.
	(4) Subsection 34(6) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Punishment for disobedience	(6) A court may punish any person who contravenes an order made under this section by a fine in the discretion of the court or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years.
	12. (1) Subsections 52(1) and (2) of the Act are replaced by the following:
False or misleading representa- tions	52. (1) No person shall, for the purpose of promoting, directly or indirectly, the supply or use of a product or for the purpose of promoting, directly or indirectly, any business interest, by any means whatever, knowingly or recklessly make a representation to the public that is false or misleading in a material respect.
Proof of intent or recklessness not required	(1.1) For greater certainty, in establishing that subsection (1) was contravened, it is not necessary to prove that the accused intended to deceive or mislead any person or was reckless as to whether any person was de ceived or misled, or that any person was deceived or misled.
Representa- tions accompany- ing products	(2) For the purposes of this section, a representation that is
	(a) expressed on an article offered or displayed for sale or its wrapper or contain er,
	(b) expressed on anything attached to, inserted in or accompanying an article offered or displayed for sale, its wrapper or container, or anything on which the article is mounted for display or sale,
	(c) expressed on an in-store or other point- of-purchase display,
	(d) made in the course of in-store, door-to- door or telephone selling to a person as ultimate user, or
	(e) contained in or on anything that is sold, sent, delivered, transmitted or made avail able in any other manner to a member of the public,
	shall be deemed to be made to the public by and only by the person who causes the repre sentation to be so expressed, made or con tained, subject to subsection (2.1) .
Representa- tions from outside Canada	(2.1) Where a person referred to in subsec tion (2) is outside Canada, a representation described in paragraph (2)(a), (b), (c) or (e) is, for the purposes of subsection (1), deemed to be made to the public by the person who imports into Canada the article, thing or display referred to in that paragraph.
	(2) Subsections 52(3) and (4) of the English version of the Act are replaced by the following:
Deemed representa- tion to public	(3) Subject to subsection (2), a person who, for the purpose of promoting, directly or indirectly, the supply or use of a product or any business interest, supplies to a wholesaler, retailer or other distributor of a product any material or thing that contains a representation of a nature referred to in subsection (1) is deemed to have made that representation to the public.
General impression to be considered	(4) In a prosecution for a contravention of this section, the general impression conveyed by a representation as well as its literal meaning shall be taken into account in determining whether or not the representation is false or misleading in a material respect.
	(3) Paragraph 52(5)(b) of the Act is replaced by the following:
	(b) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding two hundred thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both.
	(4) Section 52 of the act is amended by adding the following after subsection (5):
Reviewable conduct	(6) Nothing in Part VII.1 shall be read as excluding the application of this section to a representation that constitutes reviewable conduct within the meaning of that Part.
Duplication of proceedings	(7) No proceedings may be commenced under this section against a person against whom an order is sought under Part VII.1 on the basis of the same or substantially the same facts as would be alleged in proceedings under this section.
	13. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 52:
Definition of ``telemarket- ing''	52.1 (1) In this section, ``telemarketing'' means the practice of using interactive tele phone communications for the purpose of promoting, directly or indirectly, the supply or use of a product or for the purpose of promoting, directly or indirectly, any business interest.
Required disclosures	(2) No person shall engage in telemarketing unless
	(a) disclosure is made, in a fair and reasonable manner at the beginning of each telephone communication, of the identity of the person on behalf of whom the commu nication is made, the nature of the product or business interest being promoted and the purposes of the communication;

Bill C-67

BILL C-

COMPETITION ACT

ADMINISTRATION