Competition Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-34)

Marginal note:Interim injunction

• 33 (1) On application by or on behalf of the Attorney General of Canada or the attorney general of a province, a court may issue an interim injunction forbidding any person named in the application from doing any act or thing that it appears to the court could constitute or be directed toward the commission of an offence under Part VI — other than an offence under section 52 involving the use of any means of telecommunication or an offence under section 52.01, 52.1 or 53 — or under section 66, pending the commencement or completion of a proceeding under subsection 34(2) or a prosecution against the person, if it appears to the court that

  • (a) the person has done, is about to do or is likely to do any act or thing constituting or directed toward the commission of the offence; and

  • (b) if the offence is committed or continued,

    • (i) injury to competition that cannot adequately be remedied under any other provision of this Act will result, or

    • (ii) serious harm is likely to ensue unless the injunction is issued and the balance of convenience favours issuing the injunction.

• Marginal note:Injunction — offences involving telecommunication

  (1.1) On application by or on behalf of the Attorney General of Canada or the attorney general of a province, a court may issue an injunction forbidding any person named in the application from doing any act or thing that it appears to the court could constitute or be directed toward the commission of an offence under section 52 involving the use of any means of telecommunication or an offence under section 52.01, 52.1 or 53, if it appears to the court that

  • (a) the person has done, is about to do or is likely to do any act or thing constituting or directed toward the commission of the offence;

  • (b) if the offence is committed or continued, serious harm is likely to ensue unless the injunction is issued; and

  • (c) the balance of convenience favours issuing the injunction.

• Marginal note:Injunction against third parties — offences involving telecommunication

  (1.2) On application by or on behalf of the Attorney General of Canada or the attorney general of a province, a court may issue an injunction ordering any person named in the application to refrain from supplying to another person a product that it appears to the court is or is likely to be used to commit or continue an offence under section 52 involving the use of any means of telecommunication or an offence under section 52.01, 52.1 or 53, or to do any act or thing that it appears to the court could prevent the commission or continuation of such an offence, if it appears to the court that

  • (a) a person has done, is about to do or is likely to do any act or thing constituting or directed toward the commission of the offence;

  • (b) if the offence is committed or continued, serious harm is likely to ensue unless the injunction is issued; and

  • (c) the balance of convenience favours issuing the injunction.

• Marginal note:Notice of application

  (2) Subject to subsection (3), at least 48 hours’ notice of an application for an injunction under subsection (1), (1.1) or (1.2) shall be given by or on behalf of the Attorney General of Canada or the attorney general of a province, as the case may be, to each person against whom the injunction is sought.

• Marginal note:Ex parte application

  (3) If a court to which an application is made under subsection (1), (1.1) or (1.2) is satisfied that subsection (2) cannot reasonably be complied with, or that the urgency of the situation is such that service of notice in accordance with subsection (2) would not be in the public interest, it may proceed with the application ex parte but any injunction issued under subsection (1), (1.1) or (1.2) by the court on ex parte application has effect only for the period, not exceeding 10 days, that is specified in the order.

• Marginal note:Terms of injunction

  (4) An injunction issued under subsection (1), (1.1) or (1.2)

  • (a) shall be in the terms that the court that issues it considers necessary and sufficient to meet the circumstances of the case; and

  • (b) subject to subsection (3), has effect for the period that is specified in the order.

• Marginal note:Extension or cancellation of injunction

  (5) On application by or on behalf of the Attorney General of Canada or the attorney general of a province, as the case may be, or by or on behalf of any person to whom the injunction is directed, on at least 48 hours’ notice of the application to all other parties to the injunction, a court that issues an injunction under subsection (1), (1.1) or (1.2) may, by order,

  • (a) despite subsections (3) and (4), continue the injunction, with or without modification, for any definite period that is specified in the order; or

  • (b) revoke the injunction.

• Marginal note:Duty of applicant

  (6) If an injunction is issued under subsection (1), (1.1) or (1.2), the Attorney General of Canada or the attorney general of a province, as the case may be, shall proceed as expeditiously as possible to institute and conclude any prosecution or proceedings arising out of the acts or things on the basis of which the injunction was issued.

• Marginal note:Punishment for disobedience

  (7) A court may punish any person who contravenes an injunction issued by it under subsection (1), (1.1) or (1.2) by a fine in the discretion of the court or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years.

• Marginal note:Definition of court

  (8) In this section, court means the Federal Court or a superior court of criminal jurisdiction as defined in the Criminal Code.

Marginal note:Prohibition orders

• 34 (1) Where a person has been convicted of an offence under Part VI, the court may, at the time of the conviction, on the application of the Attorney General of Canada or the attorney general of the province, in addition to any other penalty imposed on the person convicted, prohibit the continuation or repetition of the offence or prohibit the doing of any act or thing, by the person convicted or any other person, that is directed toward the continuation or repetition of the offence.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (2) Where it appears to a superior court of criminal jurisdiction in proceedings commenced by information of the Attorney General of Canada or the attorney general of the province for the purposes of this section that a person has done, is about to do or is likely to do any act or thing constituting or directed toward the commission of an offence under Part VI, the court may prohibit the commission of the offence or the doing or continuation of any act or thing by that person or any other person constituting or directed toward the commission of the offence.

• Marginal note:Prescriptive terms

  (2.1) An order made under this section in relation to an offence may require any person

  • (a) to take such steps as the court considers necessary to prevent the commission, continuation or repetition of the offence; or

  • (b) to take any steps agreed to by that person and the Attorney General of Canada or the attorney general of the province.

• Marginal note:Duration of order

  (2.2) An order made under this section applies for a period of ten years unless the court specifies a shorter period.

• Marginal note:Variation or rescission

  (2.3) An order made under this section may be varied or rescinded in respect of any person to whom the order applies by the court that made the order

  • (a) where the person and the Attorney General of Canada or the attorney general of the province consent to the variation or rescission; or

  • (b) where the court, on the application of the person or the Attorney General of Canada or the attorney general of the province, finds that the circumstances that led to the making of the order have changed and, in the circumstances that exist at the time the application is made, the order would not have been made or would have been ineffective in achieving its intended purpose.

• Marginal note:Other proceedings

  (2.4) No proceedings may be commenced under Part VI against a person against whom an order is sought under subsection (2) on the basis of the same or substantially the same facts as are alleged in proceedings under that subsection.

• Marginal note:Appeals to courts of appeal and Federal Court

  (3) The Attorney General of Canada or the attorney general of the province or any person against whom an order is made under this section may appeal against the order or a refusal to make an order or the quashing of an order

  • (a) from a superior court of criminal jurisdiction in the province to the court of appeal of the province, or

  • (b) from the Federal Court to the Federal Court of Appeal,

  as the case may be, on any ground that involves a question of law or, if leave to appeal is granted by the court appealed to within twenty-one days after the judgment appealed from is pronounced or within such extended time as the court appealed to or a judge thereof for special reasons allows, on any ground that appears to that court to be a sufficient ground of appeal.

• Marginal note:Appeals to Supreme Court of Canada

  (3.1) The Attorney General of Canada or the attorney general of the province or any person against whom an order is made under this section may appeal against the order or a refusal to make an order or the quashing of an order from the court of appeal of the province or the Federal Court of Appeal, as the case may be, to the Supreme Court of Canada on any ground that involves a question of law or, if leave to appeal is granted by the Supreme Court, on any ground that appears to that Court to be a sufficient ground of appeal.

• Marginal note:Disposition of appeal

  (4) Where the court of appeal or the Supreme Court of Canada allows an appeal, it may quash any order made by the court appealed from, and may make any order that in its opinion the court appealed from could and should have made.

• Marginal note:Procedure

  (5) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), Part XXI of the Criminal Code applies with such modifications as the circumstances require to appeals under this section.

• Marginal note:Punishment for disobedience

  (6) A court may punish any person who contravenes an order made under this section by a fine in the discretion of the court or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.

• Marginal note:Procedure

  (7) Any proceedings pursuant to an information of the Attorney General of Canada or the attorney general of a province under this section shall be tried by the court without a jury, and the procedure applicable in injunction proceedings in the superior courts of the province shall, in so far as possible, apply.

• Marginal note:Definition of superior court of criminal jurisdiction

  (8) In this section, superior court of criminal jurisdiction means a superior court of criminal jurisdiction as defined in the Criminal Code.

Marginal note:Court may require returns

• 35 (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in Part VI, where any person is convicted of an offence under that Part, the court before whom the person was convicted and sentenced may, from time to time within three years thereafter, require the convicted person to submit such information with respect to the business of that person as the court deems advisable, and without restricting the generality of the foregoing, the court may require a full disclosure of all transactions, operations or activities since the date of the offence under or with respect to any contracts, agreements or arrangements, actual or tacit, that the convicted person may at any time have entered into with any other person touching or concerning the business of the person convicted.

• Marginal note:Punishment

  (2) The court may punish any failure to comply with an order under this section by a fine in the discretion of the court or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years.

Marginal note:Recovery of damages

• 36 (1) Any person who has suffered loss or damage as a result of

  • (a) conduct that is contrary to any provision of Part VI, or

  • (b) the failure of any person to comply with an order of the Tribunal or another court under this Act,

  may, in any court of competent jurisdiction, sue for and recover from the person who engaged in the conduct or failed to comply with the order an amount equal to the loss or damage proved to have been suffered by him, together with any additional amount that the court may allow not exceeding the full cost to him of any investigation in connection with the matter and of proceedings under this section.

• Marginal note:Evidence of prior proceedings

  (2) In any action under subsection (1) against a person, the record of proceedings in any court in which that person was convicted of an offence under Part VI or convicted of or punished for failure to comply with an order of the Tribunal or another court under this Act is, in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, proof that the person against whom the action is brought engaged in conduct that was contrary to a provision of Part VI or failed to comply with an order of the Tribunal or another court under this Act, as the case may be, and any evidence given in those proceedings as to the effect of those acts or omissions on the person bringing the action is evidence thereof in the action.

• Marginal note:Jurisdiction of Federal Court

  (3) For the purposes of any action under subsection (1), the Federal Court is a court of competent jurisdiction.

• Marginal note:Limitation

  (4) No action may be brought under subsection (1),

  • (a) in the case of an action based on conduct that is contrary to any provision of Part VI, after two years from

    • (i) a day on which the conduct was engaged in, or

    • (ii) the day on which any criminal proceedings relating thereto were finally disposed of,

    whichever is the later; and

  • (b) in the case of an action based on the failure of any person to comply with an order of the Tribunal or another court, after two years from

    • (i) a day on which the order of the Tribunal or court was contravened, or

    • (ii) the day on which any criminal proceedings relating thereto were finally disposed of,

    whichever is the later.

PART V[Repealed, R.S., 1985, c. 19 (2nd Supp.), s. 29]

PART VIOffences in Relation to Competition

Marginal note:Conspiracies, agreements or arrangements between competitors

• 45 (1) Every person commits an offence who, with a competitor of that person with respect to a product, conspires, agrees or arranges

  • (a) to fix, maintain, increase or control the price for the supply of the product;

  • (b) to allocate sales, territories, customers or markets for the production or supply of the product; or

  • (c) to fix, maintain, control, prevent, lessen or eliminate the production or supply of the product.

• Marginal note:Penalty

  (2) Every person who commits an offence under subsection (1) is guilty of an indictable offence and liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 14 years or to a fine not exceeding $25 million, or to both.

• Marginal note:Evidence of conspiracy, agreement or arrangement

  (3) In a prosecution under subsection (1), the court may infer the existence of a conspiracy, agreement or arrangement from circumstantial evidence, with or without direct evidence of communication between or among the alleged parties to it, but, for greater certainty, the conspiracy, agreement or arrangement must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.

• Marginal note:Defence

  (4) No person shall be convicted of an offence under subsection (1) in respect of a conspiracy, agreement or arrangement that would otherwise contravene that subsection if

  • (a) that person establishes, on a balance of probabilities, that

    • (i) it is ancillary to a broader or separate agreement or arrangement that includes the same parties, and

    • (ii) it is directly related to, and reasonably necessary for giving effect to, the objective of that broader or separate agreement or arrangement; and

  • (b) the broader or separate agreement or arrangement, considered alone, does not contravene that subsection.

• Marginal note:Defence

  (5) No person shall be convicted of an offence under subsection (1) in respect of a conspiracy, agreement or arrangement that relates only to the export of products from Canada, unless the conspiracy, agreement or arrangement

  • (a) has resulted in or is likely to result in a reduction or limitation of the real value of exports of a product;

  • (b) has restricted or is likely to restrict any person from entering into or expanding the business of exporting products from Canada; or

  • (c) is in respect only of the supply of services that facilitate the export of products from Canada.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (6) Subsection (1) does not apply if the conspiracy, agreement or arrangement

  • (a) is entered into only by parties each of which is, in respect of every one of the others, an affiliate;

  • (b) is between federal financial institutions and is described in subsection 49(1); or

  • (c) is an arrangement, as defined in section 53.7 of the Canada Transportation Act, that has been authorized by the Minister of Transport under subsection 53.73(8) of that Act and for which the authorization has not been revoked, if the conspiracy, agreement or arrangement is directly related to, and reasonably necessary for giving effect to, the objective of the arrangement.

• Marginal note:Common law principles — regulated conduct

  (7) The rules and principles of the common law that render a requirement or authorization by or under another Act of Parliament or the legislature of a province a defence to a prosecution under subsection 45(1) of this Act, as it read immediately before the coming into force of this section, continue in force and apply in respect of a prosecution under subsection (1).

• Marginal note:Definitions

  (8) The following definitions apply in this section.

  competitor

  competitor includes a person who it is reasonable to believe would be likely to compete with respect to a product in the absence of a conspiracy, agreement or arrangement to do anything referred to in paragraphs (1)(a) to (c). (concurrent)

  price

  price includes any discount, rebate, allowance, price concession or other advantage in relation to the supply of a product. (prix)