Guidelines explain how agency enforces Competition Act
The Competition Bureau is giving Canadian HR professionals who coordinate compensation surveys, sit on industry association committees, or maintain hiring arrangements with competitors a chance to make their voices be heard on the issues of wage-fixing and no-poaching agreements.
The independent law enforcement agency has launched a consultation for stakeholders that will end Sept. 13, 2026.
The Competition Bureau is seeking public feedback on its proposed Cartel Enforcement Guidelines, which explain how the agency enforces the cartel provisions of the Competition Act.
Those provisions address illegal business agreements, such as bid-rigging, price-fixing, market allocation, supply restriction, and wage-fixing and no-poaching agreements.
According to the Competition Bureau, these agreements are criminal offences under the Act "and can lead to significant penalties, including fines and imprisonment." The guidelines are meant to offer "practical and accessible information as well as examples" to help businesses and legal practitioners comply with the law.
The Competition Bureau says the guidance is "particularly relevant for businesses that interact with competitors and other businesses through collaborations or joint ventures" — a category that can include employers who share labour-market data or coordinate on hiring practices.
Why is the update happening now?
The proposed guidelines follow amendments to the Competition Act made between 2022 and 2025, which the Competition Bureau says strengthened the framework for addressing anti-competitive conduct, including illegal business agreements and abuse of market power.
In response, the Bureau is issuing two updated enforcement documents. The Cartel Enforcement Guidelines will replace relevant sections of the existing Competitor Collaboration Guidelines, as well as the Bureau's separate Enforcement Guidelines on wage-fixing and no-poaching agreements.
The second document, the Anti-Competitive Conduct and Agreements Enforcement Guidelines, covers the Act's civil provisions. That guidance already went through its own public consultation, which has closed.
Until final versions are published, the proposed Cartel Enforcement Guidelines reflect how the Bureau intends to approach enforcement in the meantime.
The Competition Act
The Competition Act is Canada's main law governing competitive conduct in the marketplace, and it's enforced by the Competition Bureau.
The section HR professionals should know best is section 45, the Act's criminal conspiracy provision — and specifically subsection 45(1.1), added through 2022 federal budget legislation and in force since June 23, 2023.
The Competition Bureau's own guidance explains the purpose plainly: "Maintaining and encouraging competition among employers results in higher wages and salaries, as well as better benefits and employment opportunities for employees," and the amendment "protects competition in labour markets by prohibiting agreements between employers to fix wages and restrict job mobility."
The statutory language itself is specific. Subsection 45(1.1) provides that "Every person who is an employer commits an offence who, with another employer who is not affiliated with that person, conspires, agrees or arranges to fix, maintain, decrease or control salaries, wages or terms and conditions of employment" — or to agree not to solicit or hire each other's employees.
The latest amendments to come into force did so on March 26, 2026, through Bill C-15, the Budget Implementation Act, 2025, No. 1. The bill narrowed the scope of the Act's anti-greenwashing provisions as part of a broader "Climate Competitiveness Strategy," receiving royal assent that day. Specifically, the changes are, as noted by MLT Aikins:
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Revised section 74.01(2)(b) so that environmental benefit claims about a business or business activity must still be based on "adequate and proper substantiation," but that substantiation no longer has to follow an "internationally recognized methodology."
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Added provisions to sections 74.01 and 103.1 preventing private parties from seeking leave from the Competition Tribunal to pursue remedies over another party's environmental claims about its business or business activities.
How can stakeholders submit feedback?
The Bureau is inviting businesses, legal practitioners, procurement authorities, academics, and other interested parties to submit comments by September 13, 2026. Feedback can be emailed to [email protected].
Submissions will be published on the Bureau's website unless the sender requests confidentiality. The Bureau says it will review all feedback before publishing final guidelines.
More Canadian businesses are closing than opening, with exits outpacing entries for six consecutive quarters – a reversal that threatens job creation, wage growth and career mobility across Canada, according to a previous report.
