Good evening, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. Thank you for the invitation to appear before you this evening.
My name is Matthew Boswell. As you've heard, I am the commissioner of competition for Canada. Joining me is my amazing colleague Anthony Durocher, the deputy commissioner responsible for competition promotion.
The Competition Bureau is an independent law enforcement agency that protects and promotes competition for the benefit of Canadian consumers and businesses. We do this because competition drives lower prices and innovation while fueling economic growth.
We administer and enforce the Competition Act by investigating and taking action to address anti-competitive business practices that harm consumers, competition and our economy. These include price-fixing, deceptive marketing and abuse of market power. We also review mergers to ensure they do not substantially harm competition. Finally, we advocate for pro-competitive government policies and regulations. We believe that our experience as Canada's only competition law enforcement agency affords us an important voice in identifying the limits and issues surrounding the act's application on a day-to-day basis.
In March of this year, we made a public submission to the government's consultation on the future of competition policy in Canada. We identified a number of areas where the bureau believes reform is required, informed by our experience in administering and enforcing the act. In fact, we made over 50 recommendations to the government for its consideration. We are pleased that some of our suggestions could be implemented through Bill C-56.
These suggestions include:
First, there is the updating of our market study powers, including the ability to compel information when warranted. That would permit us to better investigate certain industries as necessary.
Second, there is the repealing of the efficiencies defence, which will strengthen the Bureau’s position to challenge anti-competitive mergers for the benefit of all Canadians.
On introducing a vertical collaboration provision, while such a change was not part of our recommendation package to the government's consultation, the bureau welcomes this addition to tackle potentially anti-competitive conduct.
Further, we were encouraged by Parliament's decision to potentially expand the scope of Bill C-56 to allow this committee to make additional amendments to the act, most notably to increase the penalty amounts for the abuse of dominance provision, to give the commissioner of competition the ability to initiate market study inquiries, and to revise the legal test for abuse of dominance prohibition orders.
We believe these amendments mark a key step in modernizing Canada's competition law and ensuring the bureau can better protect and promote competition in Canada. A more competitive economy will benefit all Canadians by offering more choice and greater affordability for consumers and businesses.
If these proposed amendments become law, the Bureau will take care to ensure that its approach going forward with respect to their application is communicated clearly and transparently to businesses and stakeholders alike. We are keenly aware of the importance of predictability in this realm.
We look forward to discussing these proposed amendments today with you.
Thank you. We look forward to your questions.