The Competition Act includes criminal and civil provisions that apply to agreements between competitors. An agreement between competitors (or potential competitors) to fix prices, allocate customers or territories or control production or supply is per se illegal. A limited ancillary restraints defence is available. Corporations and individuals convicted of violating Canada’s criminal cartel provision face substantial fines, imprisonment for up to fourteen years, and private actions by injured parties to recover damages. These offences are high enforcement priorities for the Competition Bureau, which has adopted a “first-in” immunity program that has been very effective in international cases with an impact on the Canadian market.

The civil competitor agreement provision applies to other agreements between competitors that do not fix prices, allocate customers or markets or restrict capacity. These other agreements are subject to prohibition (or to other remedial orders with the consent of the parties) if they are found to be likely to prevent or lessen competition substantially in a market.

We have unparalleled experience defending corporations and individuals subject to criminal investigation. Our services include immunity and other leniency cooperation applications, as well as vigorous jurisdictional and substantive defences to prosecutions and follow-on civil litigation.

In our advisory practice, we evaluate and recommend strategies for reducing the legal risks associated with various forms of joint ventures and other competitor collaborations, and work with trade associations and their members to help them conduct their activities within legally permissible boundaries.

	Representative Transactions/Cases
			Air Cargo
			DRAM
			Hydrogen Peroxide

	Publications / Presentations
	March 2010 A New Cartel Regime in Canada Competition Law Bulletin Sorcha O'Carroll, Mark Opashinov
	March 2009 Canada Chapter in Getting the Deal Through - Cartel Regulation 2009 Global Competition Review A. Neil Campbell, D. Martin Low QC, Mark Opashinov, J. William Rowley QC
	March 2008 Canada Chapter in Getting the Deal Through - Cartel Regulation 2008 Global Competition Review A. Neil Campbell, D. Martin Low QC, J. William Rowley QC
	February 2008 Canada's New Immunity Bulletin: Key Issues for Counsel 2008 International Cartel Workshop, San Francisco, CA D. Martin Low QC, Sorcha O'Carroll
	October 2007 A Clearer, Less Ambiguous Immunity Program in Canada Competition Law Bulletin D. Martin Low QC, Sorcha O'Carroll, Mark Opashinov
	April 2007 Increasing the Bite Behind the Bark: Extradition in Antitrust Cases Article: The Antitrust Source D. Martin Low QC, J. William Rowley QC
	October 2006 Private Equity Faces Antitrust Scrutiny Competition and Antitrust Client Alert
	October 2006 Carrots and sticks: the application of Canada's leniency programme to international cartels Article: Competition Law International, October 2006 A. Neil Campbell, D. Martin Low QC
	April 2006 Conspiracy Class Actions: Evidence on the Motion for Certification Article David W. Kent
	Spring 2006 Cross-Border Class Action Settlements: Unwilling Litigants in the U.S. Courts Article: International Antitrust Bulletin - ABA Section of Antitrust Law David W. Kent
	February 2006 The Long-Arm Grasp of Canadian Cartel Law Enforcement ABA/IBA International Cartel Workshop, London A. Neil Campbell, D. Martin Low QC
	August 2005 Canadian Cartel Enforcement: Essential Elements, Recent Developments, and the Trend Towards International Cooperation ABA Annual Meeting - August 4 - 9, 2005 D. Martin Low QC
	November 01, 2004 Cartel Enforcement in Canada Instituto Brasileiro de Estudos das Relações de Concorrência e de Consumo, Costa do Sauípe, Bahia, Brazil D. Martin Low QC
	October 2004 Jurisdiction and Litigation Developments in Canadian Competition Laws New York City Bar Association Antitrust Committee Seminar (October 2004) and Practising Law Institute Antitrust Conference (May 2004) A. Neil Campbell, J. William Rowley QC
	Fall 2004 Cartels/Criminal Enforcement: Canadian Developments ABA Section of Antitrust Law, 2004 Fall Forum D. Martin Low QC
	September 2004 Developments in Canadian Cartel Enforcement British Institute of International and Comparative Law: Seventh Meeting of the Competition Law Forum - Criminalization & Leniency September 15, 2004, London, England D. Martin Low QC
	September 2004 International Cartel Enforcement: Issues of Canadian Jurisdiction The CBA 2004 Annual Fall Conference on Competition Law September 23 - 24, 2004, Ottawa/Hull, Canada D. Martin Low QC
	May 2004 Cartel Enforcement, Immunity and Jurisdiction: Some Recent Canadian Developments International Bar Association, Communications and Competition Law Conference D. Martin Low QC
	May 2004 Excerpt from Confronting Cartels Proactively Counsel to Counsel, Antitrust Compliance - Brief Advice, May 2004 John F. Clifford
	April 2004 Cartel Enforcement in Canada Global Competition Forum D. Martin Low QC
	February 2004 International Cartel Enforcement: The Limits of Personal Jurisdiction The ABA International Cartel Workshop - Section of Antitrust Law - The Plaza Hotel, New York City, February 5 - 6, 2004 D. Martin Low QC
	November 2003 Riding the Cartel Tiger: Treble Damages, Discovery and the Impact on Amnesty The Fall Forum ABA Section on Antitrust Law Washington, D.C. D. Martin Low QC
	November 2003 The Commissioner's Proposals for Section 45 Reform and Perceptions of "Business Chill": Out of the Cold and Into the Freezer Competition Reform -- Again The Discussion Paper and Bill C-249 John F. Clifford
	October 2003 The architects of enforcement Global Competition Review, Cartel Roundtable, Volume 6 Issue 9 D. Martin Low QC
	May 2003 Indirect Purchaser Price Fixing Claims- A Canadian Approach International Bar Association Business Law International David W. Kent
	February 2003 Putting Canada in its Place: Canada and International Cartel Enforcement British Chamber of Commerce in Belgium / Howrey Simon Europe “Understanding Cartel Enforcement” Conference Casey W. Halladay, D. Martin Low QC
	January 2003 Canada chapter in Cartel Regulation 2003: Getting the Deal Through London: Global Competition Review, 2002 David W. Kent, D. Martin Low QC, J. William Rowley QC
	September 27, 2002 If it Ain’t Broke … Opinion on Proposed Conspiracy Reform, The Globe and Mail D. Martin Low QC
	August 2002 Canada Takes Steps Toward Conspiracy Reform Antitrust Report John F. Clifford
	Spring 2002 Canada’s Cartel Laws: Set to Change? American Bar Association International Antitrust Bulletin

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