Antitrust Criminal Enforcement White Paper: Immunity, Leniency and Lessons Learned

Learn how the Commissioner of Competition plans to make significant changes to the immunity and leniency programs in 2016.

The Commissioner of Competition experienced a less than average year in 2015, largely due to the Public Prosecution Service in Canada’s failure to secure two significant domestic convictions in price-fixing and bid-rigging respectively.

These results prompted the Competition Bureau to launch a comprehensive review of the immunity program as well as a major internal review. The reviews will help assess what can be learned from those “failed prosecutions” and examine their implications for both domestic and international price-fixing investigations.

Our white paper, Competition Criminal Enforcement in Canada:  The Year in Review 2015, examines these findings and highlights several areas where we will see major changes in the immunity and leniency programs in 2016, with greater emphasis put on securing convictions. Key topics include:

• The Bureau’s enforcement activity
• The Public Service in Canada’s failure to secure convictions in R. v. Durward and R.V. Nestlé
• The Bureau’s public statements and new compliance guidelines