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PRB 98-10E
NOTES ON BILL C-42
AN ACT TO AMEND THE TOBACCO ACT (BILL C-71)
Prepared by Mollie Dunsmuir
Law and Government Division
November 1998
On 3 June 1998, Bill C-42, an Act to amend
the Tobacco Act, was introduced in the House of Commons. The bill, which has only five
clauses, would extend the transitional period for the introduction of tobacco sponsorship
restrictions.
The Tobacco Act (which, as Bill
C-71, was given Royal Assent on 25 April 1997) regulates the composition, labelling and
promotion of tobacco products, as well as young persons’ access to them. Tobacco
product advertising, sponsorship, testimonials, points-of-sale display, and brand names on
accessories are all affected by the restrictions on promotion. However, the debate over
the effect that Bill C-71’s proposed restrictions would have on sponsorship funding
for art, cultural and sports organizations was particularly intense. In its final form,
the Act provided for a transitional period of one year before the main sponsorship
provisions came into effect, in the hope that these organizations could find alternative
funding.
Under Bill C-42, sponsorships that existed
as of 25 April 1997 would not be subject to any restrictions for two years. On-site
sponsorship promotion could continue for the next three years, subject to some
restrictions on promotional material furnished to the public. After this five-year period,
the promotion of tobacco sponsorships would be totally prohibited. Health groups, who
largely oppose any transitional provisions for tobacco sponsorships, have been somewhat
comforted by the provision for ultimate prohibition.
The first two clauses of Bill C-42, as
amended by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health, would, effective 1 October
2003, replace sections 24 and 25 of the Tobacco Act with complete prohibitions on
tobacco-related advertising arising from the sponsorship of artistic, cultural or sporting
events or facilities.
At present, section 24 of the Tobacco
Act allows the display of "a tobacco product-related brand element" to
promote the sponsorship of a person, event or permanent facility by a tobacco company,
subject to subsections (2) and (3) of section 24 and any regulations. Subsection 24(2)
limits the display of tobacco brand information to the bottom 10% of any promotional
material, and subsection 24(3) limits the publications in which, or the places where, such
information can be displayed. Clause 1 of Bill C-42 would prohibit promoting tobacco
company sponsorship of a person, event or permanent facility as of 1 October 2003.
At present, section 25 of the Tobacco
Act states that, subject to the regulations, a tobacco product-related brand element,
such as a brand name or logo, may appear on a permanent facility, such as a sports or
cultural building, provided the name or logo is part of the name of the facility. Clause
2(1) of Bill C-42 would prohibit the display of a tobacco product-related brand element,
or a tobacco manufacturer’s name, on a permanent facility if such a display would
associate the brand element or name with a sports or cultural event or activity. However,
under clause 2(2), the existing section 25 would until 1 October 2003 continue to apply to
brand elements that appeared on a permanent facility on the day the proposed legislation
came into force.
Clause 3 would repeal the
regulation-making power referred to in the present clauses 24 and 25; this would no longer
be necessary because Bill C-42 would replace regulation by prohibition. Clause 5(1)
provides that clause 3 would come into effect on 1 October 2003.
Clause 4 contains interim provisions for
sponsorships that were actively in existence in Canada on the date of the passage of Bill
C-71, 25 April 1997. The net effect would be that such sponsorships would be exempted from
compliance with the Tobacco Act for two years, followed by a further three-year
exemption for on-site promotion.
The existing subsections 24(2) and 24(3)
of the Tobacco Act came into force as of 1 October 1998; however, for sponsorships
that existed in Canada on 25 April 1997, and that had been active in the 15 months prior
to that date, these subsections would not apply until 1 October 2000. Moreover, these two
subsections would not apply to on-site promotions for five years, with the exception that
subsection 24(2) would limit tobacco-related information to the bottom 10% of the material
furnished to the public. People and entities participating in sponsored events would be
equally exempted, whether or not they had previously been involved in tobacco
product-related sponsorship.
Clause 5 provides the dates on which the
various provisions would come into force, as described above.
Any new or reactivated sponsorships would
be subject to the existing sections 24 and 25 of the Tobacco Act, which seriously
limit the promotion of such sponsorship.
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