May 12, 2010
The Competition Bureau announced today that Solvay Chemicals has been fined Cdn. $2.5 million in relation to a hydrogen peroxide price-fixing conspiracy.
According to the Bureau, Solvay Chemicals Inc. conspired with competitors to fix the price of hydrogen peroxide in Canada between July 1998 and December 1999, during which time its sales were approximately $15 million. In making the announcement, the Bureau stated that Solvay was the second party to plead guilty to fixing the price of hydrogen peroxide in Canada (together with Akzo Nobel Chemicals International BV, which pleaded guilty in November 2008 and was fined $3.15 million for its involvement in the conspiracy).
The Bureau also stated that its investigation of other companies allegedly involved in this conspiracy was ongoing, while reiterating that detecting and eliminating criminal cartels remained one of its top enforcement priorities.
Under the federal Competition Act, agreements between competitors (and potential competitors) to fix prices, allocate or divide markets or restrict output are criminal offences. In addition, as a result of recent amendments to the Competition Act that came into force in March, 2010, the penalties for contravention of the criminal conspiracy provisions of the Competition Act have been significantly increased to include fines of up to $25 million (per count) and/or imprisonment for up to fourteen years.
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