Archive for the 'Compliance' Category
February 25, 2014
In an interesting and important decision issued by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on February 21st, the Court has now imposed a $500,000 civil administrative monetary penalty (“AMP”) against Rogers for failing to have performed adequate and proper testing in some Canadian markets for performance claims made in relation to its Chatr Wireless brand (see: Canada (Commissioner of Competition) v. Chatr Wireless Inc., 2014 ONSC 1146).
February 18, 2014
Earlier today, the German antitrust authority (Bundeskartellamt) announced that it had fined Germany’s three largest sugar manufacturers € 280 million in a market division / output restriction cartel case (see: Bundeskartellamt Imposes Fines on Sugar Manufacturers). According to the Bundeskartellamt, the infringements related to an agreement among the three manufacturers over about a fifteen-year period to limit German sugar sales to their respective home sales areas and export sugar rather than sell to customers within competitors’ sales areas.
February 17, 2014
Want your say in the ongoing Quebec competition/corruption law probe? The Charbonneau Commission has issued a call for public input on “stopping corruption” in Quebec. According to media releases earlier today (see e.g.: Charbonneau Commission calls for public input on halting corruption), public commentators have until June 20, 2014 and may send submit suggestions via the Charbonneau Inquiry’s website (see: here).
February 17, 2014
Helping their clients understand (and take steps to avoid) competition/antitrust law cartels is top of the list for outside and in-house competition counsel. The detection and enforcement of competition law cartels has also continued to receive increased enforcement attention in the past few years, both in Canada over the terms of the last two Commissioners of competition, as well as international antitrust agencies, notably in the EU and U.S.
February 16, 2014
When I deliver competition compliance seminars and talk to industry groups, I often discuss the fact that imprisonment is one possible criminal penalty under the Competition Act (though is, somewhat curiously, more commonly imposed for deceptive advertising than for price-fixing or other criminal competition law conduct). While that may soon change with the recent elimination of conditional sentences for cartel offences (e.g., price-fixing and other per se illegal agreements between competitors) and bid-rigging, several days ago the Competition Bureau announced that a Canadian court has once again imposed a prison sentence for misleading advertising.
January 29, 2014
Jarod Bona over at The Antitrust Attorney Blog has written a very good new note on competition law compliance and real estate services, and in particular some commonsense steps that real estate salespeople can take to avoid competition law risk. Given that many of the points discussed, including the importance of independently setting commissions, determining where to work (and for whom), the submission of bids (e.g., in the real estate foreclosure auction context) and dealing with competitors, apply equally in Canada, I thought I would reprint his note here (with permission).
January 29, 2014
On my daily media sweep earlier today, I came across what I thought was a very good new discussion of competition law and associations, including overviews of some of the more interesting and important recent U.S. cases. This new note by the U.S. firm Arent Fox, entitled Lessons for Associations From 2013 Antitrust Activities, discusses, among other things, the recent and ongoing Music Teachers National Association, American Quarter Horse Association and North Carolina “teeth whitening” cases (involving antitrust issues arising from membership rules, codes of ethics, standard setting, the application of the U.S. “state action immunity” doctrine, the U.S. parallel to the Canadian “regulated conduct defence”, and information sharing between association members).
January 28, 2014
I work on many competition compliance programs and with a variety of organizations ranging from corporations to trade and professional associations. Questions that often arise in the context of compliance include “what is required” and “what is effective”? In Canada, competition law compliance programs are not legislatively required under the Competition Act but the federal Competition Bureau (Canada’s competition law regulator) recommends that organizations adopt compliance programs and include five essential elements. In practice, effective compliance strategies can range from full programs (with a compliance manual, slide presentation, compliance policy and periodic training and education) to the adoption and use of compliance guidelines for key (and potentially high risk) activities.
Templates/precedents and checklists to run promotional contests in Canada
Templates/precedents and checklists to comply with Canadian anti-spam law (CASL)
