I would indeed, Mr. Chair. Basically, NDP-7 amends 236(2) of Bill C-59, so that sellers would bear the burden of proving that discounts are genuine. That follows a recommendation by the Competition Bureau.
Fake discounts are a common deceptive marketing practice. In some cases, businesses promote a price as being a discount when, in fact, the advertised price is just the ordinary price of the product. That conduct is prohibited under the ordinary selling price provisions of the Competition Act. That's in section 74, in a couple of different places.
Currently, Mr. Chair, the Competition Bureau bears the burden of proving that discount claims are false or misleading. This means that if a seller makes a claim like “$50 off the regular price of $100”, the bureau would have to obtain the data and run the numbers to verify whether the claim is truthful or not and be prepared to prove it in court, which can be a difficult burden. This is not the most efficient approach, given that the company is the one making the savings claim based on its own sales history and is best positioned to back it up if challenged. Therefore, we would recommend that this amendment be made.