In response to prevalent concerns about abuse of dominance, the Competition Bureau has newly updated their guidance and amendments to the use of dominance provisions in the Competition Act. Set to significantly broaden the provisions’ scope, this development is anticipated to augment the application of abuse of dominance provisions notably. Coupled with private access to the Competition Tribunal, private entities now hold the power to resolve commercial disputes applying the Competition Act, as detailed by Stikeman Elliott LLP.
The Competition Bureau, responsible for ensuring free market competition, has always been scrutinizing businesses that are viewed as dominant players in the market space, to prevent them from gaining an unfair competitive advantage. The Bureau’s amended guidance appears to provide more specific direction about what constitutes an abuse of dominance and when enforcement action might be warranted. This, no doubt, will lead to a more robust anti-competition regime.
The private access to the Competition Tribunal is a significant development. Private individuals and entities can now bring direct applications to the Tribunal asserting abuse of dominance. This improvement may result in a more comprehensive application of the Competition Act and potentially shift dominance disputes away from standard civil courts towards the Tribunal. It puts a new avenue of legal redress into the hands of aggrieved parties offering a new tool to resolve commercial disputes.
These changes coupled with private access to the Competition Tribunal might lead to a significant increase in the use of abuse of dominance provisions. It will also motivate entities to comply with the Competition Act to avoid the scrutiny of the Competition Bureau and potential legal action from private parties. The upshot of these amendments is likely going to be a more competitive market space, with dominant entities being more held in check.
Overall, this development is a reminder for legal professionals working in large corporations and law firms to regularly review their stances about competition law compliance. To avoid enforcement action, all corporations, dominant or otherwise, should ensure they are familiar with the updated guidance and amendment.