Tribunal Decision follows Competition Bureau investigation into bogus claims

Ottawa, September 25, 2006 — The Competition Tribunal has ruled that Gestion Finance Tamalia Inc. and its president, Sylvain Leblanc, who operated Les Centres de Santé Minceur, a chain of weight-loss clinics, contravened provisions of the Competition Act dealing with deceptive marketing practices.

In June 2005, the Competition Bureau filed an application with the Tribunal to prevent Mr. Leblanc and a number of companies from making misleading representations to the public regarding a weight-loss method involving a weight-loss device and natural products. The companies implicated were Gestion Finance Tamalia, Gestion Lebski, La Société de Financement Vanoit, Maigrissimo and 9083-8434 Quebec.

The Tribunal concluded that Gestion Tamalia and Mr. Leblanc made numerous false and misleading representations regarding the Cellotherm device and products known as Cure de départ, Noctoslim, Nopasim, which claimed to produce sensational results.

The Tribunal issued a 10-year prohibition order against Mr. Leblanc and Gestion Finance Tamilia Inc. and imposed administrative penalties of $20,000 and $50,000 respectively.

"The Competition Bureau is vigorously pursuing deceptive claims with regard to weight loss," said Raymond Pierce, Deputy Commissioner. "This is a good decision for consumers who are often desperate for a solution to their weight problems."

Claims about the performance or effectiveness of a product that are not based on adequate and proper testing, or claims which are false or misleading, are prohibited, according to the Competition Act.