I can tell you, Madam Chair, that under certain aspects of our law, we do have the ability to bring criminal prosecutions. In fact, we do bring those.
In terms of how it works, when we investigate, we're akin to a police force, conducting a thorough investigation and following the evidence where it leads. We then refer the results of our investigation to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada. Certain particular offences set out in the Competition Act are criminal. Perhaps the most well known are what we refer to as “cartel” offences, which are agreements between competitors to fix the price, restrict supply or allocate markets. We also have bid rigging, which is criminal.
Over approximately the last 10 years, as a result of our criminal prosecutions, companies have paid approximately $120 million or more in corporate fines. Dozens of individuals have been found guilty of criminal offences.
It's not the whole act, but there are certainly criminal offences within the act.