COMPETITION COMMISSION ISSUES DRAFT GUIDELINES FOR THE DETERMINATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTIES FOR PROHIBITED PRACTICES

The Competition Commission (“Commission”) has issued draft Guidelines for the Determination of Administrative Penalties (“Guidelines”) for public comment. The Guidelines have been prepared in order to provide objectivity and transparency in the method of determining administrative penalties. It presents the general methodology that the Commission will follow in determining administrative penalties for purposes of concluding consent orders and settlement agreements and recommending an administrative penalty in a complaint referral before the Competition Tribunal (“Tribunal”). The Guidelines are based on and in some respects expand on the steps set out in Southern Pipelines.1 These Guidelines are not intended to prevent the Commission from exercising its discretion on a case-by-case basis.