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

Introduction

The Competition Bureau works to support a dynamic, healthy, innovative and competitive marketplace in which Canadians can enjoy the benefits of competitive prices, product choice and quality services. The Bureau accomplishes this by promoting and maintaining competition.

The Bureau administers four pieces of federal legislation that help encourage and maintain competition in Canada: the Competition Act, the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act (non-food products), the Precious Metals Marking Act and the Textile Labelling Act. A competitive marketplace promotes the efficiency of the economy, expands opportunities for Canadian enterprises in world markets, ensures that small and medium-sized businesses have equal opportunities, and provides consumers with competitive prices, competitive product choice and accurate product information.

This report summarizes the Bureau's activities under these statutes for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2004. It is organized to mirror the Conformity Continuum, the approach the Bureau uses to promote and maintain competition in Canada. The Continuum operates on the assumption that most businesses compete using law abiding activities. Consequently, most want to comply with the law and support marketplace framework legislation. Strong communication and advocacy efforts are the Bureau's primary vehicles for achieving this compliance. As a result, the Bureau devotes a portion of its scarce resources to informing businesses and other stakeholders about the laws. Through its advocacy program, the Bureau plays an active role in promoting a pro-competitive marketplace and developing competition policy and legislation in Canada and internationally.

The Bureau's commitment to educating the players in the marketplace is complemented by the availability and promotion of several forms of voluntary compliance. These range from written opinions, which help businesses who want to avoid coming into conflict with the law, to alternative case resolutions, which correct anti-competitive behaviour in a timely and cost-effective fashion. Businesses and individuals who disregard the law or fail to take advantage of the opportunities for voluntary compliance are subject to adversarial action. This may mean prosecution by the Attorney General in criminal court or civil litigation by the Bureau before the Competition Tribunal or in civil court.

This report deals with its activities in the following areas:

• Policing Criminal Activities (chapter 2);
• Promoting Compliance With the Civil Provisions (chapter 3);
• Reviewing Mergers (chapter 4);
• Advocating for Competition and for International Coordination (chapter 5);
• Modernizing Competition Law (chapter 6); and
• How We Do It All (chapter 7).

In discussing the Bureau's activities over the past year, this report seeks to show how its work has benefited Canadians. For statistical data and legal references, please visit the Bureau's Web site (www.cb-bc.gc.ca).