With consolidation expected throughout the financial services sector, the federal government has proposed amendments that aim to strengthen anti-trust laws.

The proposed amendments are part of Bill C-23, An Act to Amend the Competition Act and the Competition Tribunal Act.

They are designed to strengthen the Competition Act, and will: allow Canadians to have private access to the federal Competition Tribunal for competition complaints in four areas:

  • refusal to deal, exclusive dealing, tied selling and market restriction;
  • introduce stringent safeguards to prevent strategic litigation in private access cases;
  • strengthen the Competition Bureau’s power to ensure that Canada’s dominant airline does not abuse its market position; and
  • broaden the temporary cease and desist powers contained in the Competition Act.



    Under the current system, the Commissioner of Competition is the only one who can bring a competition complaint before the tribunal.

    Competitors who wish to pursue competition cases directly, on their own behalf, will now be able to do so for certain anti-competitive behaviour.

    It is expected that private access will be used mainly by small and medium sized enterprises to resolve local or limited private matters, which would normally not be taken forward by the commissioner.

    Bill C-23 also proposes amendments designed to limit strategic litigation, where one competitor would use the legal process to injure another.