Competition Bureau and RCMP to Cooperate on Investigations

The Competition Bureau has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) with the RCMP to facilitate the coordinated investigation and enforcement of Competition Act offences. According to a statement released by the Bureau, cooperation between the agencies will focus on anti-competitive agreements and practices that attract criminal sanctions under the Competition Act. This includes bid‑rigging and price‑fixing activities by organized crime groups, misleading representations of products or services, and deceptive marketing practices.

Matthew Boswell, who leads the Bureau’s Cartels and Deceptive Marketing Practices Branch, said “The RCMP is an extremely important ally in our efforts to fight criminal activity in the marketplace, and working with them provides the Bureau with additional strength to better protect Canadian consumers and businesses from white collar crime. This partnership will facilitate coordination in matters of mutual interest and allow both our agencies to better align our resources to more effectively combat crime.”

The MOU will remain in effect until 2020.