Amendments to the Competition Act: The Competition Bureau Holds Information Sessions and Technical Consultations

OTTAWA, June 10, 2009 — Following the passage of significant changes to the Competition Act, the Competition Bureau of Canada is pleased to announce that it is holding a number of information sessions and technical consultations across the country.

The Competition Act is an important law that touches all businesses and consumers in Canada. These latest amendments include changes to the law regarding:

• Deceptive marketing
• Serious cartels and conspiracies such as price-fixing
• Abuse of a dominant position
• The process for reviewing mergers

The Competition Bureau’s information sessions are an opportunity for business leaders to get up to speed on the amendments and develop a better understanding of how the changes will affect their business. As well, we hope to gather input on how the Bureau can implement these new provisions most effectively. Participants will not need any legal training to understand the content of the information sessions. Following on earlier sessions that were held in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, sessions are now scheduled in Calgary (June 18), and Halifax (June 26). Please contact Jonathan Bishop either by phone at 819-994-6493 or by email at public.affairs@bc-cb.gc.ca for more information.

In addition, as part of its commitment to developing the most effective and efficient ways to implement the new amendments, the Bureau will be holding technical roundtables to discuss draft Competitor Collaboration Guidelines issued on May 8, 2009. The objective of these roundtables is to work through the draft guidelines with competition law experts. Currently, sessions are scheduled in Montreal (June 17), Calgary (June 18), Toronto (June 24) and Halifax (June 26). For more information please contact David Faye, either by phone at 819-994-7064 or by email at
david.faye@bc-cb.gc.ca.

For media enquiries, please contact:
Kim Peterson
Director, Strategic Communications
Public Affairs Branch
819-953-9271

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