The Canadian Competition Act prohibits various types of anti-competitive agreements between competitors. For example, it is a criminal offence for competitors to fix prices, allocate markets, and/or restrict output. Civil proceedings can also be brought against competitors who enter into any other type of agreement that has the effect of substantially preventing or lessening competition….
Cartel enforcement in Canada is heavily dependent on the use of informants. This is explained by two principal factors. First, cartel conduct is, by its very nature, secretive and carried out in the shadows of business life. Second, Canada’s Competition Bureau, which is responsible for investigating cartels, is subject to budget constraints that limit its…
Here is an interesting note by my colleague John Bodrug (jbodrug@dwpv.com) on the collective bargaining exemption under Canada’s Competition Act. ************************************************ A current investigation by the Canadian Competition Bureau into alleged illegal agreements among several residential low rise concrete forming contractors in Toronto, Ontario includes allegations that some provisions in a collective agreement between the…
Here is an item on an important decision of Canada’s Competition Tribunal written by my partners George Addy, Sandra Forbes, John Bodrug and Jim Dinning. It is especially relevant for trade associations – Mark On April 15, 2013, the Canadian Competition Tribunal released its decision dismissing the Commissioner of Competition’s application against the Toronto Real…
Competition Law in Canada – Top 10 Issues for 2013 This is a post of an article written by my partners Anita Banicevic, Richard Elliott, Charles Tingley and me **************************************** 2012 was a busy year for competition law and policy in Canada. Below we consider how some of the important developments in 2012 will shape…
The Canadian Track Record in Punishing Cartel Conduct Canada has a long history of pursuing and prosecuting cartels (more commonly referred to in Canadian competition law as “conspiracies”). The first criminal anti-cartel prohibition was enacted in Canada in 1889, one year prior to passage of the Sherman Act in the United States. Since that time,…
A NEW COMMISSIONER OF COMPETITION FOR CANADA The year just ended witnessed a changing of the guard at Canada’s Competition Bureau, with Melanie Aitken resigning as Commissioner of Competition in September 2012. Ms. Aitken was replaced on an interim basis by John Pecman, a seasoned Bureau veteran with over 28 years of enforcement experience. It…
Canada’s first competition legislation was enacted in 1889, with the intention of combatting the price-fixing and other anti-competitive conduct of so-called “combinations”. Trade and professional associations figured prominently among the “combinations” alleged to have engaged in this anti-competitive behaviour. As one observer commented at the time, “there are few branches of trade in this or…
Merger challenges are rare in Canada. The last contested merger case in Canada was in 2005. Typically, concerns about a prospective merger are resolved in negotiations between the Commissioner of Competition (the “Commissioner”) and the acquiring party, with some form of partial divestiture the usual remedy required. As such, it was a major development when…
