Good morning. My name is Martin Simard, and I report to Mark Schaan.

There are six recommendations. I don't know how much time we have, but I can quickly explain why the government introduced this bill. The rest will be up to the committee.

First, the commissioner is proposing an amendment regarding drip pricing or last-minute price changes. That's not necessarily within the scope of this bill. This recommendation came from a [Inaudible—Editor] two years ago. The commissioner suggested changing what was done two years ago, because there was an oversight. However, in Bill C‑59, we simply reproduced what had been done, because we wanted all provisions on equal footing. That's why the amendment proposed by the commissioner is not in Bill C‑59.

Next, with respect to greenwashing, as Mr. Schaan mentioned, this just recommends that greenwashing be considered as a factor. Therefore, it doesn't suggest a specific amendment.

In terms of the ordinary selling price of products, the commissioner suggests reversing the burden of proof. In Bill C‑59, the government seeks to correct a concordance error between the English and French versions. This meant that, to prove that someone was posting a sham discount, people had to look at the entire marketplace to determine the average price of the product in question. The bill corrects that by requiring instead that the past prices posted by sellers themselves be used to determine whether a discount is genuine. So the government wants to clarify that.

However, the commissioner wants us to go further and make companies responsible for keeping a price list and proving that they offer genuine discounts. The government didn't go that far. All the government said was that it had to be based on the prices set by the seller. Here, we're taking into account the fact that not all SMEs have a price list, and that could be a burden for them. Currently, the commissioner's power of examination gives him access to large companies' price lists. That's why the government didn't go any further.

Furthermore, with respect to mergers, the commissioner suggests setting a percentage by default and reversing the burden of proof there as well. Currently, the Competition Tribunal cannot prevent a merger solely on the basis of market share. In Bill C‑59, the government removes this barrier, which would allow the tribunal to make intuitive presumptions if market share has become very high. Once again, the commissioner wants us to go further and set a percentage in the act. To our knowledge, no other countries are doing that. Bill C‑59 is in line with what the United States is doing, which is allowing the courts and jurisprudence to evolve.

Basically, in order for a merger to be challenged before the Competition Tribunal, it has to significantly reduce competition. The commissioner proposes requiring that the solutions put forward in the event of a challenge, such as the sale of a company's shares, be used to fully restore competition. The government didn't go that far because a merger can only be challenged if it has a significant impact on competition. It's therefore not clear why the solution to a problematic merger should mean that it has no effect on competition. That's why the government didn't go as far. Once again, the commissioner will be able to present his view on this.

Finally, the commissioner expressed doubts about the new environmental certification process established in Bill C‑59. I can tell you why the government wants to establish the process. A number of companies and environmental groups have told us that getting together to stop the sale of certain toxic products to protect the environment could be considered a cartel and therefore a criminal offence under the Competition Act. The government therefore recommends that a pre-authorization system be set up within the Competition Bureau. That way, people will be able to tell the Competition Bureau that they want to agree not to sell certain toxic products to protect the environment, and the commissioner will then be able to issue a letter saying that they are not at risk of criminal charges. The commissioner will be able to explain why he has doubts. I think his concern is that people will hide behind fake environmental concerns to create a cartel.

However, in the government's view, all the bases are covered. The commissioner has full discretionary powers, so when in doubt, he can simply not issue the letter.

However, we've heard from businesses and environmental groups that criminal penalties can deter companies from engaging in environmentally friendly collaborative efforts. That's why, once again, the system that allows for these collaborative efforts is administered at the commissioner's discretion.

Transcript

Discussions (0)