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

Short Title

Marginal note:Short title

1 This Act may be cited as the Competition Act.

PART IPurpose and Interpretation

Purpose

Marginal note:Purpose of Act

1.1 The purpose of this Act is to maintain and encourage competition in Canada in order to promote the efficiency and adaptability of the Canadian economy, in order to expand opportunities for Canadian participation in world markets while at the same time recognizing the role of foreign competition in Canada, in order to ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises have an equitable opportunity to participate in the Canadian economy and in order to provide consumers with competitive prices and product choices.

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

• 2 (1) In this Act,

  article

  article means real and personal property of every description including

  • (a) money,

  • (b) deeds and instruments relating to or evidencing the title or right to property or an interest, immediate, contingent or otherwise, in a corporation or in any assets of a corporation,

  • (c) deeds and instruments giving a right to recover or receive property,

  • (d) tickets or like evidence of right to be in attendance at a particular place at a particular time or times or of a right to transportation, and

  • (e) energy, however generated; (article)

  business

  business includes the business of

  • (a) manufacturing, producing, transporting, acquiring, supplying, storing and otherwise dealing in articles, and

  • (b) acquiring, supplying and otherwise dealing in services.

  It also includes the raising of funds for charitable or other non-profit purposes. (entreprise)

  Commission

  Commission[Repealed, R.S., 1985, c. 19 (2nd Supp.), s. 20]

  Commissioner

  Commissioner means the Commissioner of Competition appointed under subsection 7(1); (commissaire)

  computer system

  computer system has the same meaning as in subsection 342.1(2) of the Criminal Code; (ordinateur)

  data

  data means representations, including signs, signals or symbols, that are capable of being understood by an individual or processed by a computer system or other device; (données)

  Director

  Director[Repealed, 1999, c. 2, s. 1]

  electronic message

  electronic message means a message sent by any means of telecommunication, including a text, sound, voice or image message; (message électronique)

  entity

  entity means a corporation or a partnership, sole proprietorship, trust or other unincorporated organization capable of conducting business; (entité)

  information

  information includes data; (renseignement)

  locator

  locator means a name or information used to identify a source of data on a computer system, and includes a URL; (localisateur)

  merger

  merger[Repealed, R.S., 1985, c. 19 (2nd Supp.), s. 20]

  Minister

  Minister means the Minister of Industry; (ministre)

  monopoly

  monopoly[Repealed, R.S., 1985, c. 19 (2nd Supp.), s. 20]

  product

  product includes an article and a service; (produit)

  record

  record means a medium on which information is registered or marked; (document)

  sender information

  sender information means the part of an electronic message — including the data relating to source, routing, addressing or signalling — that identifies or purports to identify the sender or the origin of the message; (renseignements sur l’expéditeur)

  service

  service means a service of any description whether industrial, trade, professional or otherwise; (service)

  subject matter information

  subject matter information means the part of an electronic message that purports to summarize the contents of the message or to give an indication of them; (objet)

  supply

  supply means,

  • (a) in relation to an article, sell, rent, lease or otherwise dispose of an article or an interest therein or a right thereto, or offer so to dispose of an article or interest therein or a right thereto, and

  • (b) in relation to a service, sell, rent or otherwise provide a service or offer so to provide a service; (fournir ou approvisionner)

  trade, industry or profession

  trade, industry or profession includes any class, division or branch of a trade, industry or profession; (commerce, industrie ou profession)

  Tribunal

  Tribunal means the Competition Tribunal established by subsection 3(1) of the Competition Tribunal Act. (Tribunal)

• Marginal note:Affiliation

  (2) For the purposes of this Act,

  • (a) one entity is affiliated with another entity if one of them is the subsidiary of the other or both are subsidiaries of the same entity or each of them is controlled by the same entity or individual;

  • (b) if two entities are affiliated with the same entity at the same time, they are deemed to be affiliated with each other; and

  • (c) an individual is affiliated with an entity if the individual controls the entity.

• Marginal note:Subsidiary entity

  (3) For the purposes of this Act, an entity is a subsidiary of another entity if it is controlled by that other entity.

• Marginal note:Control

  (4) For the purposes of this Act,

  • (a) a corporation is controlled by an entity or an individual other than Her Majesty if

    • (i) securities of the corporation to which are attached more than 50% of the votes that may be cast to elect directors of the corporation are held, directly or indirectly, whether through one or more subsidiaries or otherwise, otherwise than by way of security only, by or for the benefit of that entity or individual, and

    • (ii) the votes attached to those securities are sufficient, if exercised, to elect a majority of the directors of the corporation;

  • (b) a corporation is controlled by Her Majesty in right of Canada or a province if

    • (i) the corporation is controlled by Her Majesty in the manner described in paragraph (a), or

    • (ii) in the case of a corporation without share capital, a majority of the directors of the corporation, other than ex officio directors, are appointed by

      • (A) the Governor in Council or the Lieutenant Governor in Council of the province, as the case may be, or

      • (B) a Minister of the government of Canada or the province, as the case may be; and

  • (c) an entity other than a corporation is controlled by an entity or individual if the entity or individual, directly or indirectly, whether through one or more subsidiaries or otherwise, holds an interest in the entity that is not a corporation that entitles them to receive more than 50% of the profits of that entity or more than 50% of its assets on dissolution.

Marginal note:Binding on agents of Her Majesty in certain cases

2.1 This Act is binding on and applies to an agent of Her Majesty in right of Canada or a province that is a corporation, in respect of commercial activities engaged in by the corporation in competition, whether actual or potential, with other persons to the extent that it would apply if the agent were not an agent of Her Majesty.

Marginal note:Defects of form

3 No proceedings under this Act shall be deemed invalid by reason of any defect of form or any technical irregularity.

Marginal note:Collective bargaining activities

• 4 (1) Nothing in this Act applies in respect of

  • (a) combinations or activities of workmen or employees for their own reasonable protection as such workmen or employees;

  • (b) contracts, agreements or arrangements between or among fishermen or associations of fishermen and persons or associations of persons engaged in the buying or processing of fish relating to the prices, remuneration or other like conditions under which fish will be caught and supplied to those persons by fishermen; or

  • (c) contracts, agreements or arrangements between or among two or more employers in a trade, industry or profession, whether effected directly between or among the employers or through the instrumentality of a corporation or association of which the employers are members, pertaining to collective bargaining with their employees in respect of salary or wages and terms or conditions of employment.

• Marginal note:Limitation

  (2) Nothing in this section exempts from the application of any provision of this Act a contract, agreement or arrangement entered into by an employer to withhold any product from any person, or to refrain from acquiring from any person any product other than the services of workmen or employees.

4.1 [Repealed, 2009, c. 2, s. 407]

Marginal note:Underwriters

• 5 (1) Section 45 does not apply in respect of an agreement or arrangement between persons who are members of a class of persons who ordinarily engage in the business of dealing in securities or between such persons and the issuer of a specific security, in the case of a primary distribution, or the vendor of a specific security, in the case of a secondary distribution, if the agreement or arrangement has a reasonable relationship to the underwriting of a specific security.

• Marginal note:Definition of underwriting

  (2) For the purposes of this section, underwriting of a security means the primary or secondary distribution of the security, in respect of which distribution

  • (a) a prospectus is required to be filed, accepted or otherwise approved pursuant to a law enacted in Canada or in a jurisdiction outside Canada for the supervision or regulation of trade in securities; or

  • (b) a prospectus would be required to be filed, accepted or otherwise approved but for an express exemption contained in or given pursuant to a law mentioned in paragraph (a).

Marginal note:Amateur sport

• 6 (1) This Act does not apply in respect of agreements or arrangements between or among teams, clubs and leagues pertaining to participation in amateur sport.

• Marginal note:Definition of amateur sport

  (2) For the purposes of this section, amateur sport means sport in which the participants receive no remuneration for their services as participants.

PART IIAdministration

Marginal note:Commissioner of Competition

• 7 (1) The Governor in Council may appoint an officer to be known as the Commissioner of Competition, who shall be responsible for

  • (a) the administration and enforcement of this Act; and

  • (b) the administration and enforcement of the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act, the Precious Metals Marking Act and the Textile Labelling Act.

  • (c) [Repealed, 2012, c. 24, s. 79]

  • (d) [Repealed, 2012, c. 24, s. 79]

• Marginal note:Oath of office

  (2) The Commissioner shall, before taking up the duties of the Commissioner, take and subscribe, before the Clerk of the Privy Council, an oath or solemn affirmation, which shall be filed in the office of the Clerk, in the following form:

  I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully, truly and impartially, and to the best of my judgment, skill and ability, execute the powers and trusts reposed in me as Commissioner of Competition. (In the case where an oath is taken add “So help me God”.)

• Marginal note:Salary

  (3) The Commissioner shall be paid such salary as may be from time to time fixed and allowed by the Governor in Council.

Marginal note:Deputy Commissioners

• 8 (1) One or more persons may be appointed Deputy Commissioners of Competition in the manner authorized by law.

• Marginal note:Powers of Deputy

  (2) The Governor in Council may authorize a Deputy Commissioner to exercise the powers and perform the duties of the Commissioner whenever the Commissioner is absent or unable to act or whenever there is a vacancy in the office of Commissioner.

• Marginal note:Powers of other persons

  (3) The Governor in Council may authorize any person to exercise the powers and perform the duties of the Commissioner whenever the Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioners are absent or unable to act or, if one or more of those offices are vacant, whenever the holders of the other of those offices are absent or unable to act.

• Marginal note:Inquiry by Deputy

  (4) The Commissioner may authorize a Deputy Commissioner to make inquiry regarding any matter into which the Commissioner has power to inquire, and when so authorized a Deputy Commissioner shall perform the duties and may exercise the powers of the Commissioner in respect of that matter.

• Marginal note:Powers of Commissioner unaffected

  (5) The exercise, pursuant to this Act, of any of the powers or the performance of any of the duties of the Commissioner by a Deputy Commissioner or other person does not in any way limit, restrict or qualify the powers or duties of the Commissioner, either generally or with respect to any particular matter.