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ARTICLE · 19 MARCH 2009

Additional Guilty Pleas In Quebec Gasoline Cartel Case

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On March 17, 2009, the Competition Bureau announced that two more individuals and one more company pleaded guilty to criminal charges for conspiracy to fix the price of gasoline in Victoriaville and Thetford Mines, Quebec.

CanadaAntitrust/Competition Law
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Blakes Foreign Investment Group
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Copyright 2009, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

Originally published in Blakes Bulletin on Competition, Antitrust & Foreign Investment, March 2009

On March 17, 2009, the Competition Bureau announced that two more individuals and one more company pleaded guilty to criminal charges for conspiracy to fix the price of gasoline in Victoriaville and Thetford Mines, Quebec. Charges against 13 individuals and 11 companies were laid in June 2008. Including these guilty pleas, to date, the total fines imposed in the case are over C$2.6-million, and of the five individuals who have pleaded guilty, three have been sentenced to terms of imprisonment totalling 32 months.

The possibility of criminal charges for conspiracy being laid is expected to increase in the future. In this regard, the conspiracy provisions of the Competition Act were amended on March 12, 2009, when Bill C-10 received royal assent, though the criminal provisions do not come into force until 2010. Hardcore

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