Canadian Tire has been ordered to pay just under $1.3 million after pleading guilty to 74 counts of violating sections of Quebec’s Consumer Protection Act related to false advertising.
Crown prosecutor Jérôme Dussault says the Canadian retail giant agreed to the settlement after initially pleading not guilty.
At the Montreal courthouse, Quebec court Judge Simon Lavoie approved the agreement, which includes fines and costs ranging from $15,625 to $18,150 per count.
The case stems from a six-month investigation by the province’s consumer protection office in 2021.
The office concluded Canadian Tire had attempted to convince consumers that sale items were on deep discount by including an artificially inflated regular price on its advertising material….