Commissioner appoints advisory panel on efficiencies

OTTAWA, March 18, 2005 - An advisory panel of experts, with backgrounds in business, economic policy and trade, has been appointed by the Commissioner of Competition to help assess the role that efficiencies should play in the context of Canada's economy in the 21st century.

The Advisory Panel on Efficiencies will consider the general economic and business implications of the current treatment of efficiencies under the Competition Act. It will also comment on the characteristics that Canada's competition policy framework should have, in order to ensure that efficiencies are properly addressed.

The Panel will consider the treatment of efficiencies in other jurisdictions and review the results of national consultations on efficiencies initiated by the Competition Bureau in September 2004. Its report will be published on the Bureau's Web site in June 2005. For more information on the Panel's mandate or its membership please visit the Bureau's Web site www.competitionbureau.gc.ca. To contact the Panel directly, the Chairman, Marcel Coté, may be reached at: 514-861-9031 or e-mail mcote@secor.ca.

The Competition Bureau is an independent law enforcement agency. We contribute to the prosperity of Canadians by protecting and promoting competitive markets and enabling informed consumer choice.

For media enquiries, please contact:

Tim Weil
Director of Strategic Communications
Communications Branch
819-953-9271

For general enquiries, please contact:

Information Centre
Competition Bureau
819-997-4282
1-800-348-5358