On June 23, 2022, the Competition Act (the
“Act”) was amended as a
result of the Budget Implementation
Act, 2022 (the
“Amendments”). Some of the changes to
the Act are not in effect yet, thus giving firms
precious time to adjust and prepare. Of note, these impending
changes include the criminalization of wage-fixing and no-poach
agreements between employers, which may impact many firms'
current practices.
The impetus for these significant changes likely stems from the
2016 joint statement issued by the U.S. Department of Justice
(“DOJ”) and U.S. Federal Trade
Commission, which indicated that going forward, the U.S. DOJ would
criminally investigate no-poaching or wage-fixing agreements that
are unrelated or unnecessary to a larger legitimate collaboration
between the employers.1