BID-RIGGING Bid-rigging is the other principal criminal offence under the CA. The bid-rigging offence applies to any agreement whereby a person (i) agrees not to submit a bid or tender in response to a call for bids or tenders; (ii) agrees to withdraw a bid or tender submitted in response to a call for bids or tenders; or (iii) submits a bid or tender that is arrived at by an agreement with another person, and that agreement is not disclosed to the person calling for the bid or tender before the time when such bid or tender is submitted or withdrawn. As with the criminal conspiracy offence, there is no requirement to show that the bid- rigging had any effect on competition. OTHER CRIMINAL OFFENCES Other criminal offences under the CA include telemarketing, double ticketing, pyramid selling, conspiracy relating to professional sport and certain agreements among federal financial institutions. Misleading advertising can also be a criminal offence if the misleading representation was made knowingly or recklessly.
PENALTIES FOR CRIMINAL OFFENCES UNDER THE COMPETITION ACT
Commission of a criminal offence under the CA can result in significant fines and, in some cases, imprisonment. For example, conspiracy is punishable by up to 14 years’ imprisonment, unlimited fines at the discretion of the court, or both. The trend in Canada is toward more frequent prosecutions of individuals and larger fines for conspiracy and bid-rigging offences. Unlike U.S. law, there is no limitation period relating to indictable criminal offences under the CA, such as conspiracy and bid-rigging.
The trend in Canada is toward more frequent prosecutions of individuals and larger fines for conspiracy and bid-rigging offences.
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Doing Business in Canada
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