Archive for the 'Events' Category
We welcome the delegates to the upcoming International Bar Association’s 2010 Annual Conference in Vancouver, which will be held from October 3-8, 2010.
From the President of the IBA:
“I warmly invite you to join us at the International Bar Association’s 2010 Annual Conference in Vancouver. Our huge network of international lawyers will surely enjoy gathering in Vancouver, with its vibrant business climate, diverse cultural background, and spectacular natural beauty. It is a perfect place for us to spend time together and share our knowledge and experience. I am pleased to note that the Prime Minister of Canada has been invited to open our conference!”
Some highlights of the upcoming IBC conference include:
The largest gathering of the international legal community in the world – a meeting place of more than 4,000 lawyers and legal professionals from around the world.
More than 200 working sessions covering all areas of practice relevant to international legal practitioners.
The opportunity to generate new business with many of the leading firms in the world’s key cities.
Registration fee which entitles delegates to attend as many working sessions throughout the week as they wish.
Continuing legal education and continuing professional development.
A variety of social functions providing ample opportunity to network and see the city’s key sights.
Integrated guest programme.
Excursion and tours programme.
For more information see: International Bar Association Conference – Vancouver (Home), About Vancouver, Registration Information, Registration Fees and Conference Information, Program Search, Tours and Accommodation, Rule of Law Symposium, About the IBA, Preliminary List of Participants, Exhibitors.
CANADIAN COMPETITION LAW LINKS
For more information about Canadian competition law or our competition law services visit our: Abuse of Dominance, Advertising and Marketing Law, Bid Rigging, Canadian Competition Law, Canadian Competition Law Compliance, Canadian Competition Law Home, Competition Act Amendments, Competition Bureau Investigations, Competition Law Courses and Conferences, Competition Law Litigation, Competition Law Publications, Competition Law Resources, Competition Law Services, Conferences, Conspiracy and Competitor Collaborations, Conspiracy – FAQs, Global Competition / Antitrust Law Resources, Global Competition Law Updates, Investment Canada Act, Merger Control, Merger Control FAQs, Private Actions, Promotional Contests, Publications, Refusal to Deal, Team, Trade Associations or Trade Association Cases pages.
CONTACT US
We provide a full range of Canadian competition/antitrust law and consulting services to domestic and international clients. Contact Us
According to Reuters, Chinese state officials have ordered state companies to meet with investment bankers to explore options to potentially block BHP’s $39 billion hostile bid for Potash Corp. Late last week Reuters reported:
“In response to the directive, Sinochem is holding meetings with several banks, the source said on Friday, including Citigroup, HSBC and Morgan Stanley.
The order from Beijing underscores the seriousness with which China is taking the potential BHP-Potash tie up and its implications for the pricing and supply of the crop nutrient, despite obstacles to launching a successful counter-bid.
‘They are being instructed,’ the source said, adding the order was issued late last week. ‘The chairman of Sinochem has been asked to speak to other banks.’
A Wall Street Journal report on Thursday said Sinochem had hired HSBC to advise on options pertaining to Potash Corp.
One option being discussed is the possibility of Sinochem linking with China’s $300 billion sovereign wealth fund CIC, according to a second banking source familiar with the matter.
The most likely scenario is that China will consider buying a blocking stake, rather than attempt a complete takeover of Potash Corp, said both sources who were not authorized to speak publicly due to the sensitive nature of the discussions.
Assuming a consortium pays a 20 percent premium to Potash’s market price, a 15 percent stake would cost about $8.3 billion.”
Options for Chinese firms include launching a competing hostile bid for Potash Corp., acquiring a blocking stake in Potash Corp. or using Canada’s foreign investment rules to oppose the transaction. Such grounds may include arguments that the investment would not be of “net benefit” to Canada or, likely more remotely, that the investment threatens Canada’s national security (though it is difficult to see how potash could have any national security implications).
It seems rather doubtful, however, that strategies not involving competing acquisitions would be successful, particularly given BHP’s apparent willingness to provide satisfactory commitments (i.e., undertakings) in connection with the transaction and the difficulty of seeing how control of potash could be key to Canada’s national security. It seems even less likely, despite the recent Government proceedings against U.S. Steel (for allegedly failing to comply with its undertaking in connection with its acquisition of Stelco), that the current Conservative Government would oppose the transaction, particularly given that Canada’s foreign investment law regime was liberally amended last year as part of sweeping amendments to the Investment Canada Act to encourage more foreign investment and bring Canada in line with its other major trading partners.
As a practical matter as well, only one transaction has publicly been blocked out of more than 1500 applications for review since 1985.
Despite the widespread current debate, it remains to be seen whether any competing bidders will yet emerge in the play for Potash Corp., or whether the Chinese will indeed be successful in blocking or otherwise holding up the deal.
CANADIAN COMPETITION LAW LINKS
For more information about Canadian competition law or our competition law services visit our: Abuse of Dominance, Advertising and Marketing Law, Bid Rigging, Canadian Competition Law, Canadian Competition Law Compliance, Canadian Competition Law Home, Competition Act Amendments, Competition Bureau Investigations, Competition Law Courses and Conferences, Competition Law Litigation, Competition Law Publications, Competition Law Resources, Competition Law Services, Conferences, Conspiracy and Competitor Collaborations, Conspiracy – FAQs, Global Competition / Antitrust Law Resources, Global Competition Law Updates, Investment Canada Act, Merger Control, Merger Control FAQs, Private Actions, Promotional Contests, Publications, Refusal to Deal, Team, Trade Associations or Trade Association Cases pages.
CONTACT US
We provide a full range of Canadian competition/antitrust law and consulting services to domestic and international clients. Contact Us
We are pleased to launch our new global competition/antitrust law resource pages including: Global Competition Law – Links & Resources, Global Competition/Antitrust Agencies, Global Competition/Antitrust Law Books, Global Competition/Antitrust Law Updates, Competition/Antitrust News Links and Global Competition/Antitrust Law Organizations.
We will continue posting Canadian competition/antitrust law updates and will be expanding our international competition law updates to include updates from our friends and contacts in Asia, the U.S., Europe, Africa and the Pacific.
CANADIAN COMPETITION LAW LINKS
For more information about Canadian competition law or our competition law services visit our: Abuse of Dominance, Advertising and Marketing Law, Bid Rigging, Canadian Competition Law, Canadian Competition Law Compliance, Canadian Competition Law Home, Competition Act Amendments, Competition Bureau Investigations, Competition Law Courses and Conferences, Competition Law Litigation, Competition Law Publications, Competition Law Resources, Competition Law Services, Conferences, Conspiracy and Competitor Collaborations, Conspiracy – FAQs, Global Competition / Antitrust Law Resources, Global Competition Law Updates, Investment Canada Act, Merger Control, Merger Control FAQs, Private Actions, Promotional Contests, Publications, Refusal to Deal, Team, Trade Associations or Trade Association Cases pages.
CONTACT US
We provide a full range of Canadian competition/antitrust law and consulting services to domestic and international clients. Contact Us
The 2010 Canadian Bar Association Annual Competition Law Fall Conference will be held from September 30 to October 1, 2010 in Gatineau, Quebec.
The 2010 Fall Competition Law Conference is presented by the Canadian Bar Association’s National Competition Law Section will highlight fundamental changes made to Canada’s competition laws in 2009 and 2010:
“Competition law in Canada has never been as important as it is today. Fundamental changes in 2009 and 2010 to the Competition Act have ushered in a new era of enforcement, with key amendments to the law regarding cartels and merger review, new penalties for abuse of dominance and increased penalties for misleading advertising. Moreover, recent court decisions have potentially broadened the scope for Competition Act based class actions. The Investment Canada Act has also witnessed significant recent changes, including the introduction of a national security review process.
Please join us at the CBA Competition Law Section’s 2010 Annual Fall Competition Law Conference, which will bring together an outstanding roster of leading Canadian and international competition lawyers, economists and government officials to discuss the current and future state of Canadian competition law. In addition to a variety of information-packed sessions, the conference also features a lunch address from the Commissioner of Competition, Melanie L. Aitken, as well as a dinner address (for dinner registrants) by Andrew Coyne, National Editor of Maclean’s.”
For more information about the 2010 Fall Competition Law Conference see: 2010 Annual Competition Law Fall Conference.
CANADIAN COMPETITION LAW LINKS
For more information about Canadian competition law or our competition law services visit our: Abuse of Dominance, Advertising and Marketing Law, Bid Rigging, Canadian Competition Law, Canadian Competition Law Compliance, Canadian Competition Law Home, Competition Act Amendments, Competition Bureau Investigations, Competition Law Courses and Conferences, Competition Law Litigation, Competition Law Publications, Competition Law Resources, Competition Law Services, Conferences, Conspiracy and Competitor Collaborations, Conspiracy – FAQs, Global Competition / Antitrust Law Resources, Global Competition Law Updates, Investment Canada Act, Merger Control, Merger Control FAQs, Private Actions, Promotional Contests, Publications, Refusal to Deal, Team, Trade Associations or Trade Association Cases pages.
CONTACT US
We provide a full range of Canadian competition/antitrust law and consulting services to domestic and international clients. Contact Us
On July 16, 2010, the Competition Tribunal issued a scheduling order setting hearing dates for the main application in the CREA abuse of dominance case.
On February 8, 2010, the Canadian Competition Bureau filed an abuse of dominance application against one of Canada’s largest single industry trade associations – The Canadian Real Estate Association.
According to the Bureau, CREA’s has used its MLS Rules to maintain control of the market for residential real estate brokerage services in Canada and, in particular, to inhibit or prevent non-traditional business models, including fee-for-service and flat fee models, from providing additional choices to consumers.
The MLS abuse of dominance case, which is one of less than ten contested abuse of dominance cases in Canada in the past twenty-five years, raises a number of interesting questions, including the appropriate market definition when the target is a trade association not engaged in the services at issue, whether (and based on what test) a network or other asset should be considered an essential input and whether (and to what extent) trade-mark rights can be unilaterally exercised without triggering competition law scrutiny.
For more on the CREA abuse of dominance case and pleadings in this case, see: Competition Tribunal.
CANADIAN COMPETITION LAW LINKS
For more information about Canadian competition law or our competition law services visit our: Abuse of Dominance, Advertising and Marketing Law, Bid Rigging, Canadian Competition Law, Canadian Competition Law Compliance, Canadian Competition Law Home, Competition Act Amendments, Competition Bureau Investigations, Competition Law Courses and Conferences, Competition Law Litigation, Competition Law Publications, Competition Law Resources, Competition Law Services, Conferences, Conspiracy and Competitor Collaborations, Conspiracy – FAQs, Global Competition / Antitrust Law Resources, Global Competition Law Updates, Investment Canada Act, Merger Control, Merger Control FAQs, Private Actions, Promotional Contests, Publications, Refusal to Deal, Team, Trade Associations or Trade Association Cases pages.
CONTACT US
We provide a full range of Canadian competition/antitrust law and consulting services to domestic and international clients. To contact us see: Contact Us.
The 2nd International Conference on Competition Law 2010 (ICCL2010) is being organized in New Delhi, India for the 12th and 13th of November, 2010.
Building on the success and the foundation laid by the first International Conference on Competition Law (ICCL), the upcoming Second International Conference on Competition Law being organised jointly by the International Academy of Law and the World Council for Corporate Governance in association with the India’s Ministry of Law & Justice and Competition Appellate Tribunal aims to examine the status of Competition Law in various jurisdictions, with particular reference to the emerging economies such as India.
India is amongst the most recent entrants into the league of competition law jurisdictions, which number over 100 today. The Indian law has completed the first year of its enforcement. The conference will thus enable a review of the developments in the enforcement of the Indian law, and its future course of progress. ICCL2010 will also dwell on the topical issue of balancing competition law and policy with sustainable development in a fast-growing economy. The question that will often feature in the discussions will be: does competition law need to be different or to be enforced differently in a developing economy such as India? How should this be reconciled with India’s development goals and policies?
On the expert panels will be leading authorities from the field of competition/antitrust law from across the globe including judges, competition officials, policy makers, academics, in-house counsel, private practitioners and corporate leaders. As in the previous year, also participating would be heads/members of the Competition Appellate Tribunal, the Competition Commission of India and officers of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. ICCL2010 is thus designed as a platform to bring together competition law experts and authorities from around the world along with other stakeholders with the view to share knowledge and experiences in this important area of economic law recently introduced in India.
For more information see: International Academy of Law and World Council for Corporate Governance.
For more information about Canadian competition law or our competition law services visit our Blog Homepage, Competition Law Services, Canadian Competition Law, Competition Act Amendments, Merger Control, Merger Control FAQs, Abuse of Dominance, Conspiracy, Advertising and Marketing, Promotional Contests, Trade Associations, Refusal to Deal, Investment Canada Act, Canadian Competition Law Compliance, Private Actions, Bid Rigging or Global Competition Law and Policy policy pages.
CONTACT US
We provide a full range of Canadian competition/antitrust law and consulting services to domestic and international clients. Contact Us.
We are pleased to announce this new LL.M. program in Brussels being launched by our Belgian friends Charles Gheur and Nicolas Petit.
The Federation of Enterprises in Belgium (University of Liege, Belgium) is launching the first Brussels-based LL.M. in competition law and economics.
The BSC is organised under the aegis of the Federation of Enterprises in Belgium (“FEB”). Its primary purpose is to provide a high-profile, specialised course leading to a LL.M. in Competition Law and Economics. This course has been especially designed so as to be fully compatible with the requirements of professional practice.
Over the past decades, the European Union (“EU”) competition rules have become a critical legal issue for companies in all sectors of the economy. With rules covering a variety of practices including cooperation and distribution agreements, abuse of dominance, unfair trade practices and State aid, firms in the EU and elsewhere face increased antitrust exposure and, in turn, a significant challenge in terms of compliance. In addition to this, the introduction of industrial economics into the various areas of EU competition policy has considerably increased the degree of analytical sophistication of antitrust proceedings.
To meet the growing demand for training in this discipline, we have established a full-fledged LL.M. programme which provides – unlike most Brussels-based seminars and conferences – (i) a comprehensive and structured teaching programme, with periodic assessments, and (ii) multidisciplinary courses in both competition law and economics.
For the website of the programme see: here.
CONTACT US
We provide a full range of Canadian competition/antitrust law and consulting services to domestic and international clients. Contact Us.
We are delighted to announce that Steve Szentesi and Tom Hakemi will be co-teaching a new Canadian competition law course for the University of British Columbia Faculty of Law, to be launched Spring, 2011.
Canadian Competition Law will be a survey course covering the key areas of competition law in Canada including criminal conspiracies (cartels), merger control, abuse of dominance (monopolies), misleading advertising and deceptive marketing and the application of the Investment Canada Act to foreign investment in Canada. Also covered will be key economic concepts important to determining whether and to what extent the federal Competition Act (the “Act”) may apply to a range of business activities.
The recent sweeping amendments to Canada’s competition law will also be summarized, with reference to key international jurisprudence and recent developments to assist with the interpretation of Canada’s competition law regime.
While key Canadian case law and economic theory will be canvassed, including recent Canadian competition law class actions and the recent abuse of dominance case in the real estate sector, the course will also include practical approaches to competition law rules relevant to commercial and business law clients. These will include the application and strategic considerations in relation to Canada’s merger control rules, advising commercial clients of the scope and application of Canada’s new two-track conspiracy regime (e.g., in relation to joint ventures and trade association activities) and counselling business clients as to how to achieve their marketing objectives without contravening the misleading advertising and deceptive marketing provisions of the Act.
The course will be taught by experienced competition law and commercial litigation counsel and may be supplemented with recent materials from key international jurisdictions including the United States, the European Union and key emerging jurisdictions in Asia (e.g., Singapore, China and India).
CONTACT US
We provide a full range of Canadian competition/antitrust law and consulting services to domestic and international clients. Contact Us.
Steve Szentesi will be chairing and speaking and Tom Hakemi will be speaking at an upcoming CLE BC competition law seminar on March 18, 2010 in Vancouver at the Coast Coal Harbour Hotel: Canada’s New Competition & Foreign Investment Law 2010. This upcoming half day practitioner-oriented seminar, which will be held one week after the final amendments to Canada’s Competition Act come into force, will review the major changes to Canada’s competition and foreign investment law regimes. From CLE BC:
“Recent amendments to Canada’s Competition Act are the most significant changes in 25 years. These changes now make familiarity with the key concepts of competition law essential to counsel in a wide variety of practice areas that traditionally did not deal with competition issues. You will learn issues that should raise red flags in your practice and learn the practice points that you need to know as counsel. Each topic will discuss a major area of change. The new rules, guidelines, penalties and practice points. The course will include discussions of the new merger notification, Investment Canada Act, criminal conspiracy, abuse of dominance and misleading advertising rules and related new Competition Bureau enforcement guidelines. Join us and discover this new aspect of your practice.”
The recent sweeping amendments include fundamental changes to the merger, criminal conspiracy, abuse of dominance, misleading advertising and criminal pricing provisions of the Competition Act. The recent amendments are also expected to have a significant impact on private competition law actions and class actions in Canada as a result of lowering the bar to establish criminal conspiracies under section 45 of the Competition Act.
The program for this half day seminar, which will include speakers from five Vancouver law firms, will include:
New U.S.-style Two-track Conspiracy Regime: (i) new “hard core” criminal cartel offences, (ii) new civil provisions for anti-competitive agreements, (iii) increased penalties, (iv) impacts on trade associations and common commercial agreements, (v) new Competition Bureau enforcement guidelines, (vi) impacts on private actions and class actions and (vii) key practice points for counsel.
Misleading Advertising, Pricing & Distribution Practices: (i) the new misleading advertising rules, (ii) new penalties, (iii) new bid rigging rules, (iv) repeal of the criminal predatory pricing and price discrimination sections, (v) new civil price maintenance and private access provisions and (vi) key practice points for counsel.
Merger Review & Notification: (i) new two-stage merger notification process, (ii) changes to merger control thresholds, waiting periods and forms, (iii) supplementary information requests, (iv) implications for M&A agreements, (v) how to manage substantive merger clearance within the new regime and (vi) managing your client’s expectations about timing and costs.
Investment Canada Act Amendments: (i) changes to the Investment Canada Act, (ii) state owned enterprise guidelines, (iii) new national security test for foreign investment, (iv) privilege and disclosure and (v) interplay between Competition Act and Investment Canada Act.
CANADIAN COMPETITION LAW LINKS
For more information about Canadian competition law or our competition law services visit our Blog Homepage, Competition Law Services, Canadian Competition Law, Competition Act Amendments, Merger Control, Merger Control FAQs, Abuse of Dominance, Conspiracy, Advertising and Marketing, Promotional Contests, Trade Associations, Refusal to Deal, Investment Canada Act, Canadian Competition Law Compliance, Private Actions, Bid Rigging, Canadian Competition Law Resources, Competition Law Links or Global Competition Law and Policy pages or visit our website at www.NortonStewart.com.
CONTACT US
We provide Canadian competition law services to clients across Canada and internationally. For more information about our Canadian competition law and consulting services contact us at steve@nortonstewart.com, info@competitionlawcanada.com or call us at +1 604 687 0555 or +1 778 867 5558.
DISCLAIMER
The materials and information on CANADIAN COMPETITION LAW are provided as legal information about Canadian competition law. Reading and accessing this information does not create a lawyer-client relationship. The information on our blog does not constitute legal advice or a legal opinion on any issue. In addition, the information and materials on this website will change based on new competition law developments and, as such, may not be current as of the date of access. As such, we take no responsibility for the accuracy or currency of the competition law information or materials on our blog, which should not be relied upon without receiving legal advice from competent legal counsel.
The Alliance for Canadian Real Estate Education (ACRE) and The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) will be launching a national competition law course for Canadian REALTORS: Competition Law & REALTORS.
This half-day competition law course, prepared by ACRE and CREA and aimed at Canadian real estate professionals, will provide an overview of Canadian competition law as it applies to organized real estate in Canada. Topics will include: (i) how the criminal conspiracy, misleading advertising, price maintenance, deceptive telemarketing and abuse of dominance rules of the Competition Act apply to the real estate industry in Canada (ii) an overview of the recent amendments to the Competition Act and how they apply to Canadian real estate professionals, (iii) basic compliance guidelines (do’s and don’ts) for real estate agents, (iv) guidelines for real estate board and association meetings, (v) practical competition law case studies and (vi) Canadian competition law compliance resources.
This new national course that we have designed will be launched this spring.
CANADIAN COMPETITION LAW LINKS
For more information about Canadian competition law or our competition law services visit our Blog Homepage, Competition Law Services, Canadian Competition Law, Competition Act Amendments, Merger Control, Merger Control FAQs, Abuse of Dominance, Conspiracy, Advertising and Marketing, Promotional Contests, Trade Associations, Refusal to Deal, Investment Canada Act, Canadian Competition Law Compliance, Private Actions, Bid Rigging, Canadian Competition Law Resources, Competition Law Links or Global Competition Law and Policy pages or visit our website at www.NortonStewart.com.
CONTACT US
We provide Canadian competition law services to clients across Canada and internationally. For more information about our Canadian competition law and consulting services contact us at steve@nortonstewart.com, info@competitionlawcanada.com or call us at +1 604 687 0555 or +1 778 867 5558.
DISCLAIMER
The materials and information on CANADIAN COMPETITION LAW are provided as legal information about Canadian competition law. Reading and accessing this information does not create a lawyer-client relationship. The information on our blog does not constitute legal advice or a legal opinion on any issue. In addition, the information and materials on this website will change based on new competition law developments and, as such, may not be current as of the date of access. As such, we take no responsibility for the accuracy or currency of the competition law information or materials on our blog, which should not be relied upon without receiving legal advice from competent legal counsel.
The Institute for European Legal Studies (IEJE, University of Liege, Belgium) and Professor Nicolas Petit, co-director of the IEJE, is organizing a half-day conference on the Google book settlement. This half day conference will be held in Brussels on February 12, 2010. The programme has been designed to reflect the breadth of opinions on the complex issues this matter raises in relation to the intersection of IP and competition law. Speakers for this event will include European Commission officials, high level antitrust scholars, in-house counsel and antitrust/competition law practitioners.
For more information and the programme for this event see: IELS Program – Google Book Settlement Conference
CANADIAN COMPETITION LAW LINKS
For more information about Canadian competition law or our competition law services visit our Blog Homepage, Competition Law Services, Canadian Competition Law, Competition Act Amendments, Merger Control, Merger Control FAQs, Abuse of Dominance, Conspiracy, Advertising and Marketing, Promotional Contests, Trade Associations, Refusal to Deal, Investment Canada Act, Canadian Competition Law Compliance, Private Actions, Bid Rigging, Canadian Competition Law Resources, Competition Law Links or Global Competition Law and Policy pages or visit our website at www.NortonStewart.com.
CONTACT US
We provide Canadian competition law services to clients across Canada and internationally. For more information about our Canadian competition law and consulting services contact us at steve@nortonstewart.com, info@competitionlawcanada.com or call us at +1 604 687 0555 or +1 778 867 5558.
DISCLAIMER
The materials and information on CANADIAN COMPETITION LAW are provided as legal information about Canadian competition law. Reading and accessing this information does not create a lawyer-client relationship. The information on our blog does not constitute legal advice or a legal opinion on any issue. In addition, the information and materials on this website will change based on new competition law developments and, as such, may not be current as of the date of access. As such, we take no responsibility for the accuracy or currency of the competition law information or materials on our blog, which should not be relied upon without receiving legal advice from competent legal counsel.
Steve Szentesi will be speaking at the upcoming Canadian Bar Association Business Law Subsection Lunch at the Sutton Place Hotel in Vancouver on November 25, 2009. The topic will be Canada’s New Competition Law and will include highlights of the recent Competition Act amendments including the new criminal conspiracy rules, new merger control rules, changes to the abuse of dominance provisions and criminal pricing provisions, increased penalties for false or misleading representations and new Investment Canada Act and national security test for foreign investment.
Significant and sweeping changes were recently made to Canada’s competition laws.
Some of the key changes include:
Criminal conspiracy provisions. New criminal conspiracy provisions have been enacted for price fixing, market allocation and output restriction agreements. Canada has now adopted a “per se” U.S. style criminal conspiracy provision, which means that as of early next year it will not be necessary to show any adverse market effects in order to establish a criminal conspiracy under the Act for “hard-core” cartel agreements (i.e., agreements to allocate markets or customers, fix prices or restrict or limit output/production). The practical impact of this fundamental change is that whereas formerly only large market participants were potentially exposed to criminal liability, small players (i.e., companies with small market shares) now also face potential criminal liability. The recent amendments will also make it easier in theory for private parties to commence damages actions for alleged criminal conduct under the conspiracy provisions of the Act (section 45). Moreover, the recent amendments have resulted in a degree of uncertainty regarding the treatment of many common forms of commercial agreements including franchise, licence and dual distribution agreements.
Criminal conspiracy penalties. Significantly increased penalties under the criminal conspiracy provisions have been enacted, with fines of up to CDN $25 million (per count) and/or imprisonment for up to 14 years, which will come into force in March next year. These penalties are significantly amplified from the former CDN $10 million and five years and signal both the continuing importance to the Bureau of detecting and deterring cartels and what may be a more vigorous enforcement approach following the recent appointment of a new Commissioner of Competition.
Civil provision for anti-competitive agreements. Under the newly amended Act, agreements among competitors that are not caught by the new per se criminal provisions will be potentially reviewable under a new civil section for other types of anti-competitive agreements. Such agreements may include non-compete, research and development, joint purchasing, joint production, joint selling and commercialization agreements. Under this recently enacted provision, which is part of the new “two-track” conspiracy regime (consisting of a per se criminal provision and a civil provision), the federal Competition Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) will have the power, on application by the Commissioner of Competition (the “Commissioner”), to make remedial orders where it is established that the agreement prevents or lessens (or is likely to prevent or lessen) competition in one or more relevant markets. In this regard, the new civil provision for anti-competitive agreements will be brought into alignment with substantive merger review under the Act. Under the new rules, the Tribunal will have the power make orders: (i) prohibiting any person, whether or not a party to the agreement, from doing anything under the agreement or (ii) requiring any person, with consent, to take any other action. Unlike the criminal provisions, however, no monetary penalties can be imposed and no private right of action will be possible.
Private actions. As a result of the recent amendments, and in particular based on the repeal of the “undueness” requirement for criminal conspiracies (i.e., removing the necessity of showing anti-competitive effects), it will now in theory be easier for private plaintiffs and the Bureau to establish the elements of a criminal conspiracy under section 45. This change, together with recent favourable case law to certification proceedings for competition law class actions in Canada, is expected to lead to an increase in competition law based private actions.
Bid rigging. New criminal bid rigging rules have been enacted, which are relevant to companies involved in competitive tenders. These include a new bid rigging offence in addition to the existing offences (for agreements to withdraw a bid that has already been made) and increasing the maximum prison sentence for bid-rigging to fourteen years (increased from the former five years). The previous unlimited fines for bid rigging, which can be set in the discretion of the court, remain unchanged.
Misleading advertising penalties. Significantly increased penalties under the civil misleading advertising provisions have been introduced. These include “administrative monetary penalties” (essentially civil fines) of up to CDN $750,000 for individuals and CDN $10 million for corporations that breach the misleading advertising provisions of the Act.
Merger review and notification. Fundamental changes have been made to Canada’s merger review and notification regime. The key changes include: (i) increasing the “size of transaction” threshold for merger notification, (ii) introducing a U.S. style two-phase merger review and notification process with a single initial waiting period, (iii) introducing a U.S. “second request” style of supplementary information request for complex mergers, (iv) shortening the period during which the Bureau may challenge a completed merger and (v) introducing a single uniform merger notification form. While the law relating to the substantive analysis of mergers has not changed, the new U.S. style two-phase notification and review regime is expected to introduce additional delay and expense for complex mergers in Canada (i.e., those subject to second requests issued by the Bureau). While some aspects of the new merger notification regime remain unclear, the Bureau has recently introduced new guidelines setting out its approach to the new process.
Criminal price maintenance, predatory pricing and price discrimination repealed. The former criminal price maintenance, predatory pricing and price discrimination provisions under the Act have been repealed. These provisions were widely criticized as being unsound in relation to current economic thinking and as well as being overbroad in potentially sanctioning conduct with no adverse market effects. While predatory pricing and price discrimination will now be dealt with under the civil abuse of dominance provisions, the former criminal price maintenance provision has been replaced with a civil section together with a new right of private access allowing private parties to seek Tribunal remedial orders.
Administrative monetary penalties for abuse of dominance. Significant “administrative monetary penalties” have been introduced for the first time for contravention of the civil abuse of dominance provisions under the Act of CDN $10 million (CDN $15 million for subsequent contraventions). The introduction of what are essentially civil fines for abuse of dominance is both controversial and significant – controversial in respect that abuse of dominance is not conduct that is per se illegal, but rather prohibited only when extensive economic analysis shows that a dominant player has abused its dominant position in one or more relevant markets; the change is significant because firms now potentially face significant penalties for aggressive competitive conduct, whereas formerly the most that could be obtained was a Tribunal order to cease the conduct. Among the many potential impacts of this change is that it may have a chilling effect on some forms of perfectly legitimate competitive conduct or alter the analysis in settlement negotiations with the Bureau.
CANADIAN COMPETITION LAW LINKS
For more information about Canadian competition law or our competition law services visit our Blog Homepage, Competition Law Services, Canadian Competition Law, Competition Act Amendments, Merger Control, Merger Control FAQs, Abuse of Dominance, Conspiracy, Advertising and Marketing, Promotional Contests, Trade Associations, Refusal to Deal, Investment Canada Act, Canadian Competition Law Compliance, Private Actions, Bid Rigging, Canadian Competition Law Resources, Competition Law Links or Global Competition Law and Policy pages or visit our website at www.NortonStewart.com.
CONTACT US
We provide Canadian competition law services to clients across Canada and internationally. For more information about our Canadian competition law and consulting services contact us at steve@nortonstewart.com, info@competitionlawcanada.com or call us at +1 604 687 0555 or +1 778 867 5558.
DISCLAIMER
The materials and information on CANADIAN COMPETITION LAW are provided as legal information about Canadian competition law. Reading and accessing this information does not create a lawyer-client relationship. The information on our blog does not constitute legal advice or a legal opinion on any issue. In addition, the information and materials on this website will change based on new competition law developments and, as such, may not be current as of the date of access. As such, we take no responsibility for the accuracy or currency of the competition law information or materials on our blog, which should not be relied upon without receiving legal advice from competent legal counsel
OUR BOOKS
The Competition Law Guide for Trade Associations in Canada is a practical and concise summary of Canadian competition law as it applies to trade, professional and other associations.
OUR COURSES
Competition Law and REALTORS®: What You Say and Do Matters was designed by ACRE with the assistance of CREA to help Canadian REALTORS® understand and comply with Canadian competition law.
This course is available
to members of Canadian
real estate boards.
For more information see ACRE