New Conspiracy and Competitor Collaborations Laws Come into Force

Effective March 12, 2010, Canada's new dual-track regime – comprised of a criminal track and an administrative civil track – for conspiracies and collaborations between competitors comes into force. The new regime was enacted (along with other significant changes to the Competition Act) on March 12, 2009, through Bill C-10; the regime's coming into force was delayed by one year to facilitate a transition to the new regime.¹

The new regime replaces the previous s. 45 of the Competition Act (the "Act"), which criminally prohibited persons from conspiring or agreeing to "unduly" harm competition. The "undue" standard effectively imposed a competitive-effects test that had to be established for there to be a criminal offence. Under the new s. 45 (i.e. the criminal track), there is no competitive-effects test; hence, in this regard, its application has been broadened. At the same time, however, the new s. 45 is also narrower than the previous s. 45 in that the new