Recent Amendments to the Competition Act

OTTAWA, August 31, 1999 — The Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 1999, (MSLAA) which came into effect on June 17, 1999, contains a number of housekeeping amendments to the Competition Act, which are described in sections 44 to 53 and listed below. These changes bring about greater consistency between the French and English versions of the Competition Act, and improve some terminology in the French text.

The final text of the MSLAA may be viewed on the Parliamentary website: http://www.parl.gc.ca (Go to Parliamentary Business, Government Bills, House of Commons, Bill C-84).

One substantive change to note is in paragraph 10(1)(b) of the Competition Act, which sets out the circumstances which require the Commissioner to initiate an inquiry. The MSLAA replaces the phrase "whenever he believes on reasonable grounds that" to "whenever the Commissioner has reason to believe that". The change makes the English wording consistent with the French, and restores the wording that had been in place prior to the most recent issue of the Revised Statutes of Canada.

The other changes to the Competition Act are as follows:

• in paragraph 10(1)(b) of the French version, "chaque fois qu'il a des motifs raisonnables de croire" is replaced by "chaque fois qu'il a des raisons de croire"
• in a number of places in the French version, the term "entreprise unipersonnelle" is replaced by "entreprise individuelle", specifically
  • paragraph 2.(2)(c)
  • paragraphs 61.(2)(a) and (b)
  • subsection 77(4), after paragraph (c)
  • paragraph 77(5)(c)
  • paragraph 77(5)(d).
• in subsection 17.(1) of the French version, "...le commissaire ou son représentant autorisé doit, dès qu'il est pratique de le faire..." is replaced by "...le commissaire ou son représentant autorisé doit, dès que possible..."
• in subsection 22.(3) of the French version, "Dans le cas où une enquête menée à la suite d'une requête en application de l'article 9 est discontinuéé..." is replaced by "...Dans le cas où une enquête menée à la suite d'une demande faite en vertu de l'article 9 est discontinuée...
• in paragraph 31.(b) of the French version, "... ou ne pourrait être atténué par la suppression ou la réduction de ces droits,..." is replaced by "ou pourrait être atténué par la suppression ou la réduction de ces droits,..."
• in paragraph 49.(2)(c) of the French version, " relatif à une soumission pour des valeurs mobilières,..." is replaced by "relatif à une offre pour des valeurs mobilières..."
• in subsection 50.(1) of the French version, "... toute personne qui, s'adonnant à une entreprise, selon le cas..." is replaced by " toute personne qui, exploitant une entreprise, selon le cas..." >
• in paragraph 114(1)(b) of the French version, "au moins deux personnes morales proposent leur fusion mutuelle dans les circonstances visées au paragraphe 110(4)" is replaced by "au moins deux personnes morales proposent de fusionner dans les circonstances visées au paragraphe 110(4)..."

For further information, please contact:
Julie Hébert
819-953-4257