. Cineplex Inc. v. Commissioner of Competition [expert evidence on consumer behaviour]
In Cineplex Inc. v. Commissioner of Competition (Fed CA, 2026) the Federal Court of Appeal dismissed a Competition Act appeal, here brought against a Competition Tribunal finding that the appellant had "engaged in reviewable conduct by making pricing representations to the public that were false or misleading in a material respect" [CA ] - and issued a cease order, an administrative fine and costs.
The court considers the admissibility of expert evidence, here in a deceptive advertising context:
[151] That is, the jurisprudence holds that where a representation contains a disclaimer or a qualifying statement, courts are entitled to consider expert evidence regarding consumer behaviour and the relevance of the medium in question in shaping a consumer’s understanding of the representation. Expert evidence may also assist in assessing the impact of layout or design aspects on the intelligibility of disclaimers in order to determine the effect of that disclaimer on the general impression conveyed by the representation: see, for example, Purolator Courier Ltd. v. United Parcel Service Canada Ltd., [1995] O.J. No. 876, 1995 CanLII 7313 at paras. 43–62.
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