Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: Canada Competition Bureau head updates bar association on recent work, advocates for shared compliance, (Oct 3, 2013)

By Tobias J. Gillett, J.D., LL.M.

Canada Commissioner of Competition John Pecman today delivered remarks before the Canadian Bar Association’s Fall Conference at the Ottawa Convention Centre in Ontario, in which he described the Competition Bureau’s “shared compliance” approach to enforcement, and outlined some recent developments at the Competition Bureau.

Pecman noted that “shared compliance” was an aspect of his vision for a “Bureau without borders,” in which the Bureau’s “enforcement reach is not strictly limited by resources or constrained by international or domestic jurisdictional boundaries.” According to Pecman, the Competition Bureau can promote compliance through its tools, such as publications, advocacy, persuasion, and enforcement; the legal community can promote compliance by making their clients aware of their obligations under the Competition Act; and the business community can promote compliance by instituting credible and effective compliance programs.

Pecman cited a number of recent examples of the shared compliance approach, including consent agreements with Interac, Agrium, Air Canada and United/Continental, Waste Mangement and RCI, BCE and Astral, and Hyundai and Kia, and guilty pleas by Hershey in the chocolate matter, Yazaki and Furukawa in the motor vehicle components matter, Cathay and LATAM in the air cargo matter, JTEKT in the bearings matter, and three individuals in the Octane Quebec matter. He expressed his hope that the Bureau would be able to collaborate with Visa, MasterCard, and others in the credit card industry on addressing competition issues in the supply of credit card services.

The Competition Bureau will be establishing a working group to solicit views on its approach to updating and rebranding its Conformity Continuum and Compliance Bulletin, Pecman announced. In addition, he noted today’s release for comments of the Bureau’s draft bulletin on Communications during Inquiries. The bulletin, part of the Bureau’s Action Plan on Transparency, an effort to promote a more transparent, efficient, and responsive Bureau, provides an outline of the manner in which the Bureau ordinarily communicates with parties, stakeholders, and the public during an inquiry.

Pecman also cited other recent revisions to the Bureau’s information publications, including updates to the Bureau’s Confidentiality Bulletin “to address a variety of additional topics, to bring them in line with current practice, and to align the language in them.” He also referred to the Bureau’s updates to the frequently asked questions documents for its Immunity and Leniency programs to achieve similar goals.

The Commissioner also noted the Bureau’s public consultation regarding ways in which the Bureau could target its efforts to advocate for greater competition, pursuant to its commitment to increase its use of strategic interventions. The Bureau will consider four questions in evaluating feedback, including: (1) “Will our efforts have clear, tangible benefits for consumers?,” (2) “Will we be contributing in a useful way?,” (3) “Does an effective forum exist for the Bureau to present its findings and is there a high level of interest from consumers?,” and (4) “Will we be able to gauge the impact of our advocacy efforts?” The Bureau will continue its consultation until November 8.

Finally, Pecman described the Competition Bureau’s new selection process it will implement to select non-governmental advisors it will invite to attend the next ICN Conference in April. The process will look at factors such as whether a candidate plays an active leadership role in the ICN or a working group, or has a specific role at the event; ensuring a fair rotation or representatives; and ensuring diversity of representation among stakeholders.

News: Antitrust