REPRISAL ACTIONS
(SECTIONS 107.1-107.6 OF THE COMPETITION ACT)
As a result of amendments to the Competition Act on June 20 2024 under Bill C-59, new provisions to prohibit “reprisal actions” were enacted (sections 107.1-107.6 of the Competition Act).
Under these new provisions, actions taken by companies and other types of organizations to penalize, punish, discipline, harass or disadvantage any person because of their communications or cooperation with the Competition Bureau would be subject to potential court orders and monetary penalties.
In this regard, under these new reprisal action provisions, an application can be brought by either the Commissioner of Competition (who heads Canada’ federal Competition Bureau) or a person directly and substantially affected by an alleged reprisal action.
The potential penalties for violating these reprisal action provisions include prohibition orders to stop a person from continuing the conduct (section 107.2 of the Competition Act) and administrative monetary penalties of, for an individual, up to $750,000 ($1 million for subsequent orders) and, for corporations, up to $10 million ($15 million for subsequent orders) (section 107.3 of the Competition Act).
According to the Competition Bureau, these new reprisal action provisions will provide “an additional layer of protection for whistleblowers, complainants, industry participants and others that come forward and provide assistance under the Competition Act” (see: Competition Bureau, Guide to the June 2024 amendments to the Competition Act (June 25, 2024)).
The new reprisal action provisions of the Competition Act are in addition to existing safeguards for people that report violations of the Competition Act to the Competition Bureau, including the whistleblower provisions of the Act (see: Competition Complaints, Whistleblowers and Whistleblower FAQs).
For more information about enforcement under the Competition Act, see: Competition Law Enforcement and Immunity and Leniency Programs.
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SERVICES AND CONTACT
We are a Toronto based competition and advertising law firm offering business and individual clients efficient and strategic advice in relation to competition/antitrust, advertising, Internet and new media law and contest law. We also offer competition and regulatory law compliance, education and policy services to companies, trade and professional associations and government agencies.
Our experience includes advising clients in Toronto, across Canada and the United States on the application of Canadian competition and regulatory laws and we have worked on hundreds of domestic and cross-border competition, advertising and marketing, promotional contest (sweepstakes), conspiracy (cartel), abuse of dominance, compliance, refusal to deal and pricing and distribution matters. For more information about our competition and advertising law services see: competition law services.
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For more information about our firm, visit our website: Competitionlawyer.ca
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