Annual Report of the Commissioner of Competition for the year ending March 31, 2002

Message from the Commissioner

This has been a noteworthy year, with competition issues occupying centre stage both nationally and internationally.

In Canada, competition was one of the key concerns of Parliament during 2001­2002. Both the Senate and the House of Commons held extensive hearings on Bill C-23, now called An Act to Amend the Competition Act and the Competition Tribunal Act, S.C. 2002, c.16, which came into force June 21, 2002. The Act includes several ground-breaking amendments to strengthen Canada's competition laws. For example, the new law:

• prohibits individuals and businesses from sending deceptive notices, including scratch and win cards, that target the most vulnerable members of society
• enables the Competition Bureau to gain access to evidence in other countries concerning civil competition matters
• broadens the scope under which the Competition Tribunal may issue temporary orders
• improves the processes by which the Competition Tribunal manages cases
• allows individuals and businesses to apply directly to the Competition Tribunal for relief from certain anti-competitive conduct
• provides additional measures to protect competition in Canada's airline industry.

As well, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology held round-table discussions on the Competition Act. These, in turn, led to a comprehensive report, A Plan to Modernize Canada's Competition Regime. The report's 29 recommendations touch a wide range of issues, including conspiracies, enforcement, the airline industry, price maintenance and discrimination, abuse of dominance and mergers.

The interest the discussions generated clearly shows that competition has emerged from the shadows into the political limelight.

Internationally, the establishment of the International Competition Network is of key importance. This new organization creates a single forum for more than 80 countries with competition regimes to meet and discuss a wide range of practical and policy issues of common concern. The Network promises to create consistency in enforcement policy and eliminate unnecessary or duplicate procedures, to the advantage of consumers and businesses around the world.

The ongoing turbulence in the airline industry is a good example of a competition concern that crosses national and international boundaries. Chapters 3 and 5 of this report discuss this issue in detail. Until we determine what constitutes predatory pricing in the airline industry, further turbulence can be expected in this important area of economic activity.

The growing interest in and importance of competition ensures that the Bureau will continue to have a critical role to play in Canada and on the international stage. As I begin my second mandate as Commissioner, I look forward to the next five years, which I expect will be as challenging and productive as the first have been. Let me emphasize, too, that none of the Bureau's achievements would have been possible without our dedicated and hardworking staff, who have contributed to all aspects of our activities over the past year.

Konrad von Finckenstein, QC