Competition Bureau Releases Consultation Draft Of Price Maintenance Enforcement Guidelines

On March 20, 2014, the Competition Bureau (Bureau) released for public comment draft enforcement guidelines on the price maintenance provisions found in section 76 of the Competition Act (Draft Guidelines). The Draft Guidelines are the first official statement of the Bureau's approach to enforcement of the civil price maintenance provisions since they were introduced in 2009 at the same time as the repeal of the criminal per se price maintenance offence previously found in section 61 of the Competition Act. While further clarification on several aspects of the Draft Guidelines would be helpful, the Draft Guidelines are a welcome development for Canadian businesses. Most important, the Draft Guidelines make clear the Bureau's view that resale price maintenance is a common and in many cases pro-competitive market practice.