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ARTICLE · 26 JUNE 2023

Wage-Fixing And No-Poaching Agreements Illegal On June 23, 2023

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Canada's new criminal prohibition on wage-fixing and no-poaching agreements will come into force on June 23, 2023. These new provisions under subsection 45(1.1) of the Competition Act (the Act)...

CanadaEmployment and HR
Gary Solway
Gary Solway
Adam Kalbfleisch
Adam Kalbfleisch
Zirjan (Zee) J. Derwa
Zirjan (Zee) J. Derwa
Katelyn Weller
Katelyn Weller
Kolding K. Larson
Kolding K. Larson
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Competition Bureau Publishes Related Enforcement Guidelines

Canada's new criminal prohibition on wage-fixing and no-poaching agreements will come into force on June 23, 2023. These new provisions under subsection 45(1.1) of the Competition Act (the Act) were enacted last year but did not immediately come into force.

The new laws will prohibit agreements between unaffiliated employers:

  • to fix, maintain, decrease or control wages or other terms of employment; or
  • to refrain from hiring or trying to hire one another's employees.

The penalties for contravening these new provisions will include imprisonment for up to 14 years or a fine to be set at the discretion of the court, or both. Employers could also be subject to damage lawsuits, including class action lawsuits, from private parties who claim to have suffered damages as a result of a breach of these new provisions.1

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