Canada's Commissioner Of Competition Toughens Stance

Recent remarks by Canada's Interim Commissioner, John Pecman, reinforce the view that the Bureau is pursuing all avenues available to it under the Competition Act to fulfill its mandate of investigating and challenging civil and/or criminal anti-competitive practices. In this respect, the interim Commissioner noted three of the Bureau's priorities going forward:

• focused enforcement and strategic regulatory interventions designed to benefit Canadians;
• applying Canada's competition laws in a transparent and predictable manner; and
• developing trust through enhanced collaboration

In addition to these priorities, Mr. Pecman noted that the Bureau would assist in providing clarification on the Act's price maintenance provisions, issues that have arisen in the context of electronic document production, the Bureau's leniency program for those that cooperate in criminal investigations, and investigative procedures.