It seems rather de rigueur at the moment for the Interim Commissioner of Competition to make the rounds of the big firms – in the latest stop on Mr. Pecman’s policy dance card, he stopped in Toronto yesterday to discuss in a bit more detail the Bureau’s current policies, enforcement focus and a few ongoing cases (see: Remarks by John Pecman). For other recent remarks by Mr. Pecman since he assumed the Interim Commissioner position last fall, see: here, here and here.
In this, the Interim Commissioner’s fourth speech since taking the post last fall, a few interesting points to note include a confirmation that the Bureau is interested in “incrementally increasing” its competition advocacy efforts (in addition to enforcement) in some key industries including the digital economy and retail and health sectors, re-stating the Bureau’s recent announcement that it would now use compulsory section 11 court orders in formal inquiries in all but exceptional cases (not voluntary information requests) and describing a loss in a Quebec court in one of its ongoing bid-rigging cases.
The Interim Commissioner also set out the following four factors the Bureau would consider in deciding whether to initiate regulatory interventions in particular sectors: (i) whether a forum exists and there is a high level of public interest, (ii) whether the Bureau would be contributing in a useful way (e.g., bringing forward unique arguments), (iii) being able to gauge the impact of advocacy efforts, and (iv) clear, tangible benefits for Canadians.
On the advertising and marketing law front, the Interim Commissioner also discussed the Ontario Court of Appeal decision upholding the lower court’s penalty finding in the recent Yellow Page Marketing case and the Bureau’s response filed in the CRTC’s wireless code consultations for mobile wireless providers.
All in all, while the Interim Commissioner reiterated previously announced policies, he also provided a bit more detail on the Bureau’s anticipated increase in advocacy / regulatory intervention efforts and further confirmed the Bureau’s continued focus on enforcement and key priorities, including the digital economy and mobile.
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