Can I be held responsible if a client gives me a fake ad to print?

The situation

I run a small local printing shop in Ontario, and I am currently facing a bit of a nightmare. Back in early March, a regular customer of mine, who runs a small marketing programme, came into my shop. He handed me a digital file for a series of twenty colourful flyers that he wanted printed immediately for a local promotion. He paid me a total of $450 via bank transfer for the labour and materials. At the time, I checked his business details, took down his full name and his office address in Toronto, and recorded everything in my ledger as per my usual business routine. I genuinely believed he was a legitimate advertiser. However, last week, I received a formal notice claiming that these flyers contained misleading information that violates competition rules. The person who filed the complaint is now trying to hold my printing business liable for the content of the advertisement. I have already tried explaining to the complainant that I only printed what was provided to me and that I acted in good faith, but they aren't listening. I am unsure if I am legally on the hook for the contents of an advertisement I simply printed for a client, provided I kept their contact details on file.

Detailed Analysis

Under the Competition Act, while making false or misleading representations is generally prohibited^[3], there are specific protections for service providers like you.

Because you run a printing shop, you fall under a legal protection designed to shield people who simply distribute or print ads for others. The law states that a person is not liable if they "obtained and recorded the name and address of that other person and accepted the representation or advertisement in good faith for printing, publishing or other distribution in the ordinary course of his or her business"^[1].

In your specific situation, you appear to meet all the requirements for this defense. First, you acted in "good faith," which means you honestly believed the customer was a legitimate advertiser. Second, you followed your "ordinary course of business" by recording his full name and his Toronto office address in your ledger. Third, you were performing a standard service—printing twenty colourful flyers for a $450 fee.

Additionally, for certain types of reviewable conduct (which refers to specific types of business practices regulated by the Act), the law explicitly states that these rules "do not apply to a person who prints or publishes or otherwise disseminates a representation... on behalf of another person in Canada" if they have recorded the client's name and address and acted in good faith^[2].

Because you have already documented the client's details and acted without knowledge of the misleading content, you have a strong legal basis to deny liability. It is unsettled whether the complainant's specific claims fall under sections that might bypass these protections, but based on the facts provided, your record-keeping should protect you.

Statutory Citations

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