Proposed amendments to the Competition Act through Bill C-10, which was slated for its third reading in Parliament this week, would ‘send a chill’ through the already-troubled ad industry and lead to a decrease in spending, says a representative of the Association of Canadian Advertisers.

The amendment would increase penalties imposed by the Competition Tribunal for false or misleading advertising and deceptive marketing practices from $100,000 to $10 million, and to $15 million for subsequent violations. Maximum imprisonment terms would also rise from five to 14 years for criminal offences.

The changes are a part of Bill C-10, a series of provisions put forth by Finance Minister James Flaherty. The bill shares a name, but is otherwise unconnected to, proposals put forth last year regarding the Income Tax Act that touched off a storm of protests among TV- and filmmakers.

‘If any creative director now thinks that any kind of unique approach might be misconstrued as misleading, he will not use it. I think it will lead to a drop in advertising spend frankly, and that’s the last thing we need in this economy,’ says Bob Reaume, VP of policy and research at ACA.

From Media in Canada