Annual Report of the Commissioner of Competition for the year ending March 31, 2004

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Message from the Commissioner

I am very pleased to be the new Commissioner of Competition at this exciting and challenging time. I believe that significant changes are taking place in our environment and that the Bureau has a critical role to play in creating the best framework to respond to the impact of these changes on our economy.

During my first three months as Commissioner, I travelled through the 10 provinces, meeting with a wide variety of Canadians -- representatives of the business community, consumer groups, law enforcement agencies and the legal and academic communities. While you would think that the individuals in such a disparate group would be at odds on many issues, I found, in fact, a surprising degree of consensus on several of the fundamental forces at work in our economy, namely, the global economy, the accelerating pace of technological change and the continued trend toward deregulation.

Increasingly, Canadian businesses operate in a world in which markets extend beyond national boundaries. While this presents exciting new opportunities for us all, it also brings the Bureau some unique challenges, such as dealing with sophisticated cross-border scams and international cartels that engage in global price-fixing.

Technological changes are transforming markets, driven by computerization and the Internet. The accelerating pace of these changes is having a significant impact on businesses and consumers alike.

Movement by countries around the world towards deregulation and an increased reliance on market forces has been observed by many, including the International Competition Network, which brings together competition authorities in business and government from 75 countries (see chapter 5).

What does all this mean for the Bureau and the work we do? Primarily, it means we must work to understand and keep on top of these changes in the marketplace if we want to avoid creating unnecessary imbalances. To do this we must focus on three areas.

• We must broaden our dialogue with Canadians to improve our mutual understanding of how market developments may affect companies and individuals. With this in mind, we are creating one-day workshops on the impact on specific industry sectors of the challenges I described above, and are improving our outreach programs.
  
• We must increase Bureau transparency to heighten our accountability. On this front, we hope to make the best use of our scarce resources to both carry out and explain our enforcement activities.
  
• We must continue to retain high-quality staff and to recruit new employees to ensure the optimal mix of knowledge and skills for the future. To do this, we have appointed a champion to focus on recruitment and to work with universities to help identify top Canadian talent.

We launched all of these initiatives in 2003-2004, and they promise to keep the Bureau busy and productive for years to come. I have been supported in every regard by a hard-working, dedicated staff, without whom nothing would be possible. I look forward to the continuing challenges of the year ahead with enthusiasm and commitment.

Sheridan Scott
Commissioner of Competition