Canadian Lawyer InHouse

15 CANADIANLAWYERMAG.COM/INHOUSE JULY 2015 15 Q U I Z By Nikiforos Iatrou, partner; Graham Brown, associate, WeirFoulds LLP GO TO CANADIANLAWYERMAG.COM TO WATCH A WEIRFOULDS LLP LAWYER TALK ABOUT THIS QUIZ. 1 Competition Act compliance programs: (A) Assist in detecting contraventions of the Competition Act (B) Can be drafted by the Competiton Bureau at the request of a business (C) Will immunize your company against criminal prosecution (D) Inform the member organization and its employees/members about best practices and potential risk with respect to the Competition Act (E) A, B, and D above (F) A and D above 2 A breach of the Competition Act may result in: (A) Administrative monetary penalties (B) Fines (C) Imprisonment (D) All of the above 3 Larry owns and operates a tunnelling company. Larry's best friend, Gary, also owns and operates a tunnelling company. Larry and Gary agree that due to their longstanding friendship, they will not undercut each other's prices on jobs. To keep each other honest, they share information about their margins and prices and occasionally bow out of tendering processes. Larry and Gary say that their activity does not contravene the Competition Act because they are never the only two bidders on any given project. Larry and Gary are: (A) Correct (B) Incorrect 4 Gary's tunnelling company is going through some rough times. Larry does not want to see his friend's company go under, so he looks for ways to help him. Larry agrees with Gary to withdraw his low bid on a big subway project so that Gary will get the job. They agree that Gary will repay the favour in the future, but they are careful not to identify what that future project will be. (A) This is acceptable, so long as they don't identify which future project they've agreed on. (B) This is a violation of the Competition Act, but not a criminal violation. (C) This could result in jail time. (D) None of the above Competition Bureau cracks down on bid-rigging in construction industry Canada's Commissioner of Competition has publicly stated that the Competition Bureau will continue to intensify its focus on the construction industry, on the basis that the industry is "particularly susceptible to cartel activity." The Bureau's focus is on the prevention and prosecution of both bid-rigging and price-fi xing. To assist industry participants, the Bureau has repeatedly emphasized the need for industry participants and related trade associations to develop and implement compliance programs to teach their employees about the Competition Act and keep them on the right side of the law. Think your company doesn't need a compliance policy? Test your knowledge of competition law issues for construction companies with the questions below.

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