Awarding Costs Under Section 36 Of The Competition Act: 321665 Alberta Ltd. v. Exxonmobil Canada Ltd.

Article by James B. Musgrove, Lisa Parliament and Kate MacDonald, articling student

Introduction

In 321665 Alberta Ltd v ExxonMobil Canada Ltd,¹ the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench recently issued the first reported decision seriously considering a claimant's entitlement to costs under section 36 of Canada's Competition Act (the "Act").²

Section 36 grants a civil right of action for any person who has suffered loss or harm as a result of breach of the Act's criminal provisions. To date, there have been only a handful of cases where a claimant has been successful in establishing a section 36 claim outside the context of a settlement. This has resulted in a corresponding lack of jurisprudence interpreting and applying the language of section 36 that allows a successful claimant to recover, in addition to an amount equal to the claimant's proven loss or damage, an amount "not exceeding the full cost to him Of Any Investigation In Connection With The Matter And