On March 12, 2009, the most significant amendments in 20 years to Canada’s Bill-C10 Competition Act and Investment Canada Act received Royal assent. All parts of the Bill C-10 amendment will take immediate effect except the new hybrid/dual track conspiracy provisions which will be delayed for a year. Some of the provisions that will have immediate effect include:

•“two-stage” merger review based on the US
•a size of transaction threshold increase during pre-merger notification
•decriminalization of predatory pricing, price discrimination, and promotional allowances
•a substantial increase in monetary penalties for the abuse of dominance and penalties for deceptive marketing practices and misleading advertising

The Investment Canada Act’s amendments also went into immediate effect except the provision dealing with the increased threshold for review for direct investments by WTO members. This provision will come into effect when the Governor in Council, Canada’s federal cabinet, decides to fix a date. Canada’s Competition Bureau and the Investment Review Division of Industry has not stated when it will be providing the guidelines on how these new provisions will be enforced.

Camelia C. Mazard
202-589-1837
cmazard@dbmlawgroup.com