Thomas Liquidation Inc. Fined $130,000 for One Count of Misleading Advertising Under the Competition Act

OTTAWA, February 7, 1995 — George N. Addy, Director of Investigation and Research of the Bureau of Competition Policy, announced today that American-based Thomas Liquidation Inc. pleaded guilty to one charge under s. 52(1)(a) of the Competition Act and was fined $130,000 in Ontario Provincial Court (Criminal Division) in Toronto.

“This case is the first in which international agreements have been used to cause an American corporation and individual to attend a Canadian Criminal Court and answer charges under the Competition Act. It should send a message to advertisers that Canada will not hesitate to use the extradition process to enforce the Act. The action taken in this case is in line with the Bureau’s commitment to international cooperation in detecting and fighting unfair and deceptive marketing practices,” Addy said.

This case relates to representations contained in a letter circulated by Thomas Liquidation Inc. to approximately 700,000 Toronto-area residents between March and April, 1992 regarding a liquidation sale of the inventory of Pascal’s Furniture. The representations promoted a “court authorized store closing” and included statements that the company was “being forced to close both of its Toronto store locations and sacrifice inventory” and customers could “save as you have never saved before”. It was determined that this savings claim was untrue. Further, within the first two weeks of the five month sale, virtually all of the Pascal’s inventory had been sold and the stock was being supplemented with merchandise obtained from other U.S. and Canadian sources. It was also determined that Pascal’s Furniture was not forced into closing its stores nor was it required to sacrifice inventory.

For more information, please contact:
Rachel Larabie-LeSieur
819-997-1231