Canada's New Cartel Offence – What Does It Mean For You?

What are the legislative amendments to the criminal cartel provisions?

Effective March 12, 2010, Canada's existing conspiracy provisions will be replaced by a per se criminal offence for agreements between competitors to fix prices, affect production or supply levels of a product, or allocate sales, customers or territories. Unlike the current conspiracy offence, the new offence does not require proof that the conspiracy, if implemented, would prevent or lessen competition unduly. The new offence will, however, still require proof (beyond a reasonable doubt) of an agreement between competitors that falls into one of the categories listed above.

Maximum penalties under the new conspiracy offence are 14 years imprisonment and a C$25 million fine, a significant increase from the previous maximum of five years and C$10 million.