Competition Bureau Publishes Updated Bulletin on Corporate Compliance Programs

OTTAWA, October 24, 2008 — The Competition Bureau today published its Bulletin on Corporate Compliance Programs. The Bulletin describes the Bureau's approach to programs designed to ensure compliance with the Competition Act, the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act, the Textile Labelling Act and the Precious Metals Marking Act (the Acts).

The updated Bulletin will help businesses design their corporate compliance programs. It features tools that can be adapted to the specific needs of businesses in order to put in place a compliance program that is credible and effective, including a Corporate Compliance Program framework, a template Certification Letter, and a Due Diligence checklist.

The Bureau first issued a Bulletin on Corporate Compliance Programs in 1997, and revised it in 2006 to reflect amendments to the Competition Act. The Bureau held public consultations in Summer 2006, and again in Spring 2008, to identify areas for improvement and to ensure the Bureau's compliance tools were both practical and relevant to the Canadian business community.

A working group composed of senior Bureau officers, representatives of the Department of Justice and the Canadian Bar Association also contributed to the new Bulletin as part of the Task Force on Collaboration between the Competition Bureau and the Canadian Bar Association's National Competition Law Section.

The Competition Bureau is an independent agency that contributes to the prosperity of Canadians by protecting and promoting competitive markets and enabling informed consumer choice.

For media enquiries, please contact:
Phil Norris
Communications Officer
External Relations and Public Affairs Branch
819-953-8230

For general enquiries, please contact:
Information Centre
Competition Bureau
819-997-4282
Toll free: 1-800-348-5358
TDD (hearing impaired): 1-800-642-3844
compbureau@cb-bc.gc.ca