Canada (June 13, 1923)
Score = 9
Governed by: The Combines Investigation Act, 1923[1] ("the Act").
- note - in 1919, a short-lived statute was passed, the Combines and Fair Prices Act. Within 3 years, it was struck down by the Privy Council.[2] The 1923 act soon followed.
- note - Canadian Criminal Code Act 498, which affects some agreements between companies that restrain trade, is also in place. However, there is near-complete overlap between the offenses in the Criminal Code and in the 1923 statute, and the Criminal statute does not change the scoring.[3][4]
| Category | Subcategory | Score | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scope | Extraterritoriality | 0 | |
| Remedies | Fines | 1 | Article 26(a) provides for fines of up to $10,000 for individuals, $25,000 for corporations. |
| Prison Sentences | 1 | 26(a) provides for prison sentences of up to 2 years. | |
| Divestitures | 0 | ||
| Private Enforcement | 3rd Party Initiation | 1 | Article 5 of the Act provides that any group of at least 6 British subjects who are Canadian residents may initiate an investigation. |
| Remedies Available to 3rd Parties | 0 | ||
| 3rd Party Rights in Proceedings | 0 | ||
| Merger Notification | Voluntary | 0 | |
| Mandatory | 0 | ||
| Pre-merger | 0 | ||
| Post-merger | 0 | ||
| Merger Assessment | Dominance | 0 | |
| Restriction of Competition | 1 | Article 2(a)(3)(v) states that mergers which restrict competition may face penalties. | |
| Public Interest (Pro D) | 0 | ||
| Public Interest (Pro Authority) | 0 | ||
| Other | 0 | ||
| Efficiency | 0 | ||
| Dominance[5] | Limits Access | 1 | |
| Abusive Acts | 1 | Article 2(a) bans acts by monopolies which may be to the detriment of consumers or other producers. | |
| Price Setting | 0 | ||
| Discriminatory Pricing | 0 | ||
| Resale Price Maintenance | |||
| Obstacles to Entry | |||
| Efficiency Defense | 0 | ||
| Restrictive Trade Practices | Price Fixing | 1 | Article 2(a)(3)(iii) bans agreements which set prices (or resale prices). |
| Tying | 0 | ||
| Market Division | 0 | ||
| Output Restraint | 1 | Article 2(a)(3)(ii) prohibits agreements which limit production. | |
| Market Sharing | 0 | ||
| Eliminating Competitors | 1 | Article 2(a)(3)(v) bans agreements which prevent or lessen competition. | |
| Collusive Tendering/Bid-Rigging | 0 | ||
| Supply Refusal | 1 | Article 2(a)(3)(v) prohibits arrangements which control supply. Article 2(a)(3)(1) bans agreements which limit facilities for supply. | |
| Efficiency Defense | 0 |
References
- ↑ Statutes of Canada, 1923, chapter 9
- ↑ the case, Re Board of Commerce Act and Combines and Fair Prices Act, 1919, can be found in 60 Dominion Law Reports 517 (1921).
- ↑ For the full text of the statute, see http://books.google.com/books?id=wAYvAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA626&lpg=PA626&dq=canada+criminal+code+498&source=web&ots=Z-7kFZCJXR&sig=K_Ydrnd5MoTtD4jKhXjkZMk4-u0&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result#PPA627,M1
- ↑ For a non web-based, official statute, Revised Statutes of Canada 1927, section 36, provision 498.
- ↑ in section 2a of the 1923 Act, acts against public interest by monopolies are prohibited, but no actual acts which would be contrary to the public interest are specified