5 Things All Companies Need To Know About The Competition Bureau's Updated Corporate Compliance Programs Bulletin

In June, the Competition Bureau released its updated Corporate Compliance Programs bulletin¹. The bulletin is intended to ensure compliance with the Canadian Competition Act². It sets out the benefits for companies who put in place and follow "credible and effective" competition law compliance programs, as well as the basic elements of such programs. Here are the top 5 things all companies need to know about the Competition Bureau's updated bulletin:

1. Having a credible and effective compliance program in place at the time a breach occurs may mitigate criminal or civil consequences

Predictably, the revised bulletin reminds us that by having a robust competition law compliance program in place, companies can better prevent contraventions of the Competition Act and thereby avoid the serious consequences that may flow from a breach (e.g. time and expense responding to an investigation, multi-million dollar fines and monetary penalties, jail time for individuals