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ARTICLE · 16 JANUARY 2015

Fundamentals Of The Competition Bureau’s Immunity & Leniency Programs

Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP
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The Bureau's Immunity Program "has proven to be [its] single most powerful means of detecting criminal cartel activity."

CanadaAntitrust/Competition Law
Michelle Lally
Michelle Lally
Kaeleigh Kuzma
Kaeleigh Kuzma
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Around the globe, the number of cartels detected, fines imposed and even the amount of jail time served has increased exponentially in recent years, with the Canadian Competition Bureau also aggressively pursuing antitrust criminal enforcement (see our Criminal Enforcement in Canada: 2014 Year in Review). As indicated in the 2014 Competition Bureau Submission to the OECD Competition Committee Roundtable on the Use of Markers in Leniency Programs, "cracking down on domestic and international cartels has been, and continues to be, one of the Bureau's top enforcement priorities." The Bureau's Immunity Program "has proven to be [its] single most powerful means of detecting criminal cartel activity." The Bureau's Leniency Program complements its Immunity Program, and together these initiatives aim to create incentives for organizations and individuals to report to the Bureau potential criminal activity prohibited by the Competition Act and to cooperate in the prosecution of

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