The ''Competition Act'' is a Canadian federal law governing

competition law Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...

in Canada. The Act contains both

criminal In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...

and

civil Civil may refer to: *Civic virtue, or civility *Civil action, or lawsuit * Civil affairs *Civil and political rights *Civil disobedience *Civil engineering *Civil (journalism), a platform for independent journalism *Civilian, someone not a membe ...

provisions aimed at preventing

anti-competitive Anti-competitive practices are business or government practices that prevent or reduce competition in a market. Antitrust laws differ among state and federal laws to ensure businesses do not engage in competitive practices that harm other, usuall ...

practices in the

marketplace A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a '' souk'' (from the Arabic), ' ...

. The Act is enforced and administered by the

Competition Bureau The Competition Bureau (french: Bureau de la concurrence) is the competition regulator in Canada. It is an independent Canadian law enforcement agency that ensures that markets operate in a competitive, innovative manner. Headed by the Comm ...

, and cases are adjudicated by the

Competition Tribunal The Competition Tribunal is a federal adjudicative body in Canada that makes findings in regard to competition laws under the Competition Act. Restrictive Trade Practices Commission The tribunal was first known under its former name, the Restrict ...

History

The first legislation in Canada dealing with competition was first introduced in 1889. The legislation prohibited conspiracies and agreements by businesses in restraint of trade. Inspired by the American

Sherman Antitrust Act The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 (, ) is a United States antitrust law which prescribes the rule of free competition among those engaged in commerce. It was passed by Congress and is named for Senator John Sherman, its principal author. Th ...

, the legislation was mostly incorporated into the Canadian

Criminal Code A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that migh ...

two years later. In 1912, the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...

ruled that the purpose of the legislation was protect the public interest in free competition. The provisions remained in the Criminal Code until 1960, when the federal government introduced the Combines Investigation Act. In 1986, the legislation was again amended and renamed the Competition Act by the conservative government of

Brian Mulroney Martin Brian Mulroney ( ; born March 20, 1939) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993. Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studied political sci ...

Administration

The administration and enforcement of the Competition Act is done by the

, which is also responsible for the administration and enforcement of the

Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or uses purchased goods, products, or services primarily for personal, social, family, household and similar needs, who is not directly related to entrepreneurial or business activities. T ...

, the

Textile Labelling Act Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, different #Fabric, fabric types, etc. At f ...

and the

Precious Metals Marking Act Precious may refer to: Music * Precious (group), a British female pop group Albums * ''Precious'' (Chanté Moore album), 1992 * ''Precious'' (Cubic U album), 1998 * ''Precious'' (Ours album), 2002 * ''Precious'' (Precious album), 2000 * ...

Competition Tribunal

The Competition Tribunal is a specialized administrative body that has exclusive jurisdiction to hear certain competition matters.

References

External links

* Canadian federal legislation Competition law 1986 in Canadian law {{Canada-law-stub

History

Administration

Competition Tribunal

See also

References

External links