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ARTICLE · 27 SEPTEMBER 2019

The Impact Of Informer Privilege On The Competition Bureau's Immunity Program

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On September 12, 2019, the Supreme Court of Canada denied Sobeys Incorporated's ("Sobeys") and Metro Incorporated's ("Metro")

CanadaAntitrust/Competition Law
Justine Reisler
Justine Reisler
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On September 12, 2019, the Supreme Court of Canada denied Sobeys Incorporated's ("Sobeys") and Metro Incorporated's ("Metro") leave to appeal from a judgement of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ("ONSC") – ("Sobeys v. Commissioner") – dismissing their applications for disclosure of the identities of witnesses in the Competition Bureau's Immunity Program. Their request arose in the context of an ongoing inquiry by the Competition Bureau (the "Bureau") into an alleged conspiracy to fix the prices of fresh commercial bread in Canada contrary to section 45 of the Competition Act (the "Bread Conspiracy"), in which both Sobeys and Metro have been implicated, among other grocers and bread producers.

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