Annual Report - Organizational Structure of the Competition Bureau

The Bureau employs 297 people in the National Capital Region and 86 in seven regional offices. As the organizational chart below shows, the Bureau comprises six branches.

The Commissioner of Competition is head of the Competition Bureau and is responsible for administering and enforcing the Competition Act, the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act, the Precious Metals Marking Act and the Textile Labelling Act.

Mergers Branch reviews merger transactions to assess whether they are likely to prevent or substantially lessen competition.

Compliance and Operations Branch develops the Bureau's compliance program and enforcement policy. It also manages the Call Centre, and the Bureau's planning, resource management, administration and informatics activities.

Economics and International Affairs Branch coordinates international cooperation and policy development in many fora, and liaises with foreign authorities and other government departments and agencies. The Branch provides economic advice and analysis to the enforcement branches on specific cases, on economic policy issues, and on legislative changes and policy representations. The Branch also assists other government departments and agencies by providing competition policy advice and recommendations.

Civil Matters Branch administers and enforces the civil provisions of the Competition Act. In doing so, it reviews anti-competitive behaviours, such as abuse of dominant position, and restraints imposed by suppliers on customers, such as refusal to supply, exclusive dealing and tied selling. The Branch is also responsible for the Bureau's interventions before federal and provincial regulatory boards and tribunals.

Criminal Matters Branch administers and enforces the criminal provisions of the Competition Act relating to anti-competitive behaviours. These include conspiracies that have an undue impact on competition, bid rigging, price discrimination, predatory pricing and price maintenance. Until September 2000, the Branch was also responsible for the Amendments Unit.

Fair Business Practices Branch administers and enforces the misleading representations and deceptive marketing practices provisions of the Competition Act, including those on deceptive telemarketing, ordinary price claims and promotional contests. The Branch also administers and enforces the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act, the Precious Metals Marking Act and the Textile Labelling Act. The Branch's work is carried out by staff in a network of offices located in the National Capital Region, Atlantic Region, Quebec Region, Ontario Region, Prairie Region and Pacific Region.

Note: Some key organizational changes were made within the Competition Bureau at the beginning of the 2001-2002 fiscal year. In particular, the Bureau created a Communications Branch to ensure that the Bureau achieves its overall objective of transparency and that all Canadians recognize the pivotal role the Bureau plays in fostering a fair and competitive marketplace. As well, the Amendments Unit joined the Economics and International Affairs Branch, which became the Competition Policy Branch.