Competition Watchdog Can Flag Internal Trade Barriers

Summary#

This bill amends the Competition Act to let the Commissioner of Competition recommend fixes to barriers to trade within Canada that, in the Commissioner’s view, unduly harm competition. It also requires federal institutions to publicly respond to those recommendations within 120 days; provincial institutions may respond. The Commissioner must publish responses, or note if none is received, on a public website (Bill s.10.1(8)-(12)).

• Lets the Commissioner recommend changes to any law, regulation, rule, order, or by-law that limits trade within Canada and affects competition (s.10.1(8)).
• Requires the Commissioner to send the report with recommendations to the institution’s head (s.10.1(9)).
• Requires federal institutions to respond within 120 days of report publication; their responses must be published (s.10.1(10)).
• Allows provincial institutions to respond within 120 days; any response or a notice of no response must be published (s.10.1(11)).
• Defines “institution” to include federal and provincial departments, Crown corporations, and municipalities; “head” includes ministers and mayors (s.10.1(12)).

What it means for you#

• Households

  • No change to consumer rights or prices is mandated. Any impact would come only if governments later change laws or rules after a recommendation (s.10.1(8)-(11)).
  • You will be able to read any federal and provincial responses, or a notice of no response, on a public website after each market or industry inquiry report (s.10.1(10)-(11)).

• Businesses

  • No new compliance duties. The bill does not change business rules directly.
  • You may get more visibility into internal trade barriers identified in market or industry inquiry reports and how governments respond within 120 days of report publication (s.10.1(8)-(11)).

• Federal institutions (departments, agencies, Crown corporations)

  • If named in a recommendation, your head must provide a response within 120 days of the report’s publication; the Commissioner will publish it (s.10.1(10), s.10.1(12)(a)-(b)).
  • The law does not require you to change any law or policy; it requires a response. No penalties are stated for content of the response (s.10.1(10)).

• Provincial institutions and municipalities

  • If named in a recommendation, your head may respond within 120 days. Whether you respond or not will be publicly noted (s.10.1(11), s.10.1(12)(b)-(c)).
  • No requirement to change laws or policies is created by this bill (s.10.1(11)).

• Competition Bureau/Commissioner of Competition

  • Gains explicit authority to recommend actions to address internal trade barriers found during market or industry inquiries, and must transmit the report to the institution head and publish any responses or a notice of no response (s.10.1(8)-(11)).

• Timing

  • The 120‑day clock starts when the Commissioner publishes a market or industry inquiry report that includes recommendations (s.10.1(10)-(11)).
  • No changes occur unless and until an inquiry report is issued and recommendations are made (s.10.1(8)-(11)).

Expenses#

• Estimated net cost: Data unavailable.

• Fiscal and administrative details

  • No direct appropriations, taxes, fees, fines, or penalties are created by the bill. Data unavailable for any incremental administrative costs to the Competition Bureau or responding institutions (Bill s.10.1(8)-(12)).
  • No publicly available fiscal note identified. Data unavailable.

Proponents' View#

• Increases transparency and accountability by requiring federal institutions to issue and have published a response within 120 days when the Commissioner flags an internal trade barrier (s.10.1(10)).
• Creates a clear channel for the Commissioner to recommend fixes to laws and rules that “unduly” affect competition, including at municipal and Crown corporation levels (s.10.1(8), s.10.1(12)).
• Ensures official notice and public visibility by requiring the Commissioner to send the report to the institution head and to publish responses or non-response notices (s.10.1(9)-(11)).
• Sets a concrete, uniform timeline (120 days) that can speed consideration of competition-related barriers across markets and industries (s.10.1(10)-(11)).

Opponents' View#

• Limits impact on provinces and municipalities because they are not required to respond; this may reduce practical effect outside federal institutions (s.10.1(11)).
• Imposes a response deadline on federal institutions without providing resources in the bill; could add administrative workload (s.10.1(10)). Data unavailable on costs.
• Provides no enforcement mechanism or penalties for missing deadlines or for declining to change a rule, which may weaken compliance and follow-through (s.10.1(10)-(11)).
• Relies on the Commissioner’s judgment of what “unduly affects” competition, which may be contested by institutions receiving recommendations (s.10.1(8)).