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Competition
Guay, François
Smart & Biggar
/Fetherstonhaugh
(514) 954-1500
fguay@smart-biggar.ca
Mr. Guay's IP litigation
practice focuses on
patents, trademarks,
industrial designs,
copyright, unfair com-
petition, trade secrets
and computer-related
technology. His briefs
embrace extraordinary
recourses such as in-
junctions and seizures.
Halfnight, Jamieson
Halfnight & McKinlay
Professional
Corporation
(416) 361-3082
jhalfnight@halfnightlaw.com
Recognized as one
of the top insurance
lawyers in Canada, Mr.
Halfnight conducts a
specialty insurance
and reinsurance litiga-
tion practice, advising
clients both in Canada
and internationally, and
appearing in both trial
and appellate courts.
Hausman, David A.
Fasken Martineau
DuMoulin LLP
(416) 868-3486
dhausman@fasken.com
Mr. Hausman practises
exclusively in the field of
securities litigation. He
represents investment
dealers, public compan-
ies, mutual funds and
directors & officers in
regulatory and civil pro-
ceedings and internal
investigations across
Canada.
Gunn, QC, FCIArb,
Angus M.
Borden Ladner
Gervais LLP
(604) 640-4084
agunn@blg.com
Mr. Gunn's practice
emphasizes commercial
dispute resolution, with
a focus on appellate liti-
gation and international
and domestic arbitra-
tion and mediation. He
also lectures at UBC's
Allard School of Law
and is very active
in the pro bono
community.
Harrison, Robert S.
Fasken Martineau
DuMoulin LLP
(416) 865-4384
rharrison@fasken.com
Mr. Harrison's trial
and appeal practice
includes securities and
environmental law,
financial institutions,
shareholders' remedies,
insurance, directors'
and officers' liability, IP,
professional negligence,
class actions and
insolvencies.
Hitchman, Carol V.E.
Gardiner Roberts LLP
(416) 865-8259
chitchman@grllp.com
Ms. Hitchman is a part-
ner in the Technology
& Intellectual Property
Group at Gardiner Rob-
erts LLP. Her practice
focuses primarily on
intellectual property liti-
gation, which includes
experience as a litigator
and a Patent and
Trade-mark Agent.
that have a credible and effective program in place, even if
they are involved in a violation of the Act.
e Bulletin "sets the bar relatively high in terms of expec-
tations of what clients should do to have effective compli-
ance programs in place," says Anita Banicevic, a partner at
Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP in Toronto. Some of
the new requirements,
like having an officer
tasked to report to the
Board on compliance
matters, "might catch
companies by surprise,"
Banicevic says.
Particularly demand-
ing may be the require-
ment for an anti-trust
audit. "You have to take
a look at your business and see if there are any [anti-compet-
itive] issues coming up. It's not something that's widely done
in Canada or even the US," says Banicevic.
Large corporations in Canada would have compliance
programs in place that are "pretty comprehensive and rigor-
ous," says Randal Hughes, a partner at Bennett Jones LLP
in Toronto. "But the Bulletin may be aimed at smaller busi-
nesses or businesses that have grown from smaller to larger
and that may not have had a recognition of the importance
of compliance with competition laws."
Companies have previously benefited from leniency –
avoiding higher fines or criminal prosecution – if they co-
operated with the Bureau. What's new is the fine reduction
available if a company allows the Bureau to evaluate whether
it had a credible and effective compliance program in place.
is is a more formal process than existed in the past.
"You may want to take advantage of fine reduction," says
Banicevic, "but are you prepared to allow the Bureau to look
at your files? Is that worth it to you from a business risk per-
spective? It's a risk/reward analysis at that point."
e Bureau cites three recent cases involving the Ontario
water heater industry as "perfect examples of shared compli-
ance." e Bureau reached resolutions with Reliance Com-
fort Limited Partnership in an abuse of dominance case,
with EnerCare Inc. in a mergers case, and with National
Energy Corporation in a false or misleading representations
case. "ese resolutions strengthen competition and con-
LEXPERT®Ranked Lawyers
"THE [COMPETITION BUREAU] SETS THE BAR
RELATIVELY HIGH IN TERMS OF EXPECTATIONS
OF WHAT CLIENTS SHOULD DO TO HAVE EFFECTIVE
COMPLIANCE PROGRAMS IN PLACE."
– Anita Banicevic, Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP
