Bill C-681

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First Reading

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2nd Session, 41st Parliament,

62-63-64 Elizabeth II, 2013-2014-2015

house of commons of canada

BILL C-681

An Act to amend the Competition Act (Competition Prosecution Service)

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

SHORT TITLE

Short title

1. This Act may be cited as the Competition Prosecution Service Act.

R.S., c. C-34; R.S., c.19 (2nd Supp.), s. 19

COMPETITION ACT

2. The Competition Act is amended by adding the following after section 29.2:

PART II.1

COMPETITION PROSECUTION SERVICE

Interpretation

Definition of “prosecution”

29.21 In this Part, “prosecution” means a prosecution under the jurisdiction of the Attorney General of Canada, a proceeding respecting any offence, the prosecution — or prospective prosecution — of which is under the jurisdiction of the Attorney General of Canada, and any appeal related to such a prosecution or proceeding.

Director of the Competition Prosecution Service

Appointment

29.22 (1) The Governor in Council shall, on the recommendation of the Attorney General of Canada, appoint a Director of the Competition Prosecution Service (in this Act referred to as the “Director”).

Rank and status

(2) The Director has the rank and status of a deputy head of a department.

Duties and functions

(3) The Director, under and on behalf of the Attorney General of Canada,

(a) initiates and conducts prosecutions under any Act for the enforcement of which the Commissioner is responsible on behalf of the Crown, except where the Attorney General of Canada has assumed conduct of a prosecution under section 29.33;

(b) intervenes in any matter that raises a question of public interest that may affect the conduct of prosecutions or related investigations under any Act for the enforcement of which the Commissioner is responsible, except in proceedings in which the Attorney General of Canada has decided to intervene under section 29.32;

(c) issues guidelines to persons acting as prosecutors respecting the conduct of prosecutions under any Act for the enforcement of which the Commissioner is responsible;

(d) advises law enforcement agencies or investigative bodies in respect of prosecutions generally — or in respect of a particular investigation that may lead to a prosecution — under any Act for the enforcement of which the Commissioner is responsible;

(e) communicates with the media and the public on all matters respecting the initiation and conduct of prosecutions under any Act for the enforcement of which the Commissioner is responsible; and

(f) exercises any other power or carries out any other duty or function assigned to the Director by the Attorney General of Canada that is compatible with the office of Director.

Deputy Attorney General of Canada

(4) For the purpose of exercising the powers and performing the duties and functions referred to in subsection (3), the Director is the Deputy Attorney General of Canada.

Guidelines not statutory instruments

(5) For greater certainty, guidelines referred to in paragraph (3)(c) are not statutory instruments within the meaning of the Statutory Instruments Act.

Publication

(6) Any assignment under paragraph (3)(f) must be in writing and be published by the Attorney General of Canada in the Canada Gazette.

Agreements and arrangements

(7) The Director may, for the purposes of exercising the powers and performing the duties and functions referred to in subsection (3), enter into an agreement or arrangement on behalf of the Attorney General of Canada with the government of a province.

Tenure and term

29.23 (1) The Director holds office, during good behaviour, for a term of seven years, but may be removed by the Governor in Council at any time for cause with the support of a resolution of the House of Commons to that effect. The Director is not eligible to be reappointed for a further term of office.

End of term

(2) At the end of the Director’s term, the Director shall continue in office until his or her successor is appointed.

Full-time

(3) The Director shall engage exclusively in the duties and functions of his or her office under this Act or any other Act of Parliament and shall not hold any other office for reward or engage in any other employment for reward.

Incapacity or vacancy

(4) In the event of the incapacity of the Director or a vacancy in that office, the Governor in Council may authorize a Deputy Director of the Competition Prosecution Service to act as Director, but no person may act as Director for a period exceeding 12 months without the approval of the Governor in Council.

Remuneration and expenses

(5) The Director shall be paid the remuneration and expenses that are fixed by the Governor in Council. Once fixed, the remuneration may not be reduced.

Deputy Directors, Prosecutors and Other Staff

Deputy Director

29.24 (1) The Governor in Council shall, on the recommendation of the Attorney General of Canada, appoint one or more members of at least 10 years’ standing at the bar of any province to be Deputy Directors of the Competition Prosecution Service.

Selection committee

(2) The Attorney General of Canada may only make the recommendation after consultation with a selection committee consisting of the Director, a person representing the Federation of Law Societies of Canada and the Deputy Minister of Justice.

Powers, duties and functions — lawful deputy

(3) Under the supervision of the Director, a Deputy Director may exercise any of the powers and perform any of the duties or functions referred to in subsection 29.22(3) and, for that purpose, is a lawful deputy of the Attorney General of Canada.

Other powers, duties and functions

(4) Under the supervision of the Director, a Deputy Director may also act for or on behalf of the Director in the exercise of any of the other powers or the performance of any of the other duties or functions that the Director is authorized to exercise or perform under this or any other Act of Parliament.

Employed prosecutors

29.25 (1) The prosecutors that are necessary to enable the Director to perform any of the duties or functions of his or her office shall be appointed in accordance with the Public Service Employment Act.

Non-employed prosecutors

(2) The Director may also for that purpose retain, on behalf of Her Majesty, the services of barristers and, in the Province of Quebec, advocates to act as prosecutors and, with the approval of the Treasury Board, may fix and pay their fees, expenses and other remuneration.

Qualification

(3) A person appointed under subsection (1) or whose services are retained under subsection (2) must be a member of the bar of a province.

Other staff

29.26 (1) Any other officers and employees that are necessary to enable the Director to perform any of the duties and functions of his or her office shall be appointed in accordance with the Public Service Employment Act.

Technical assistance

(2) The Director may engage the services of persons having technical or specialized knowledge of any matter relating to the Director’s work to advise and assist the Director in performing any of the duties and functions of his or her office and, with the approval of the Treasury Board, may fix and pay the remuneration and expenses of those persons.

Delegation

29.27 (1) The Director may, subject to any restrictions or limitations that the Director specifies, authorize a prosecutor, a person acting as a prosecutor under subsection 29.25(2) or any person referred to in subsection 29.26(1) to act for or on behalf of the Director in the exercise of any of the powers or the performance of any of the duties or functions that the Director is authorized to exercise or perform under this or any other Act of Parliament, except the power to delegate under this subsection.

Agency

(2) Every person who is authorized under subsection (1) acts as an agent of the Director and is not required to prove such authorization.

Designation

(3) The Director, a Deputy Director and any person referred to in subsection 29.25(3) may be designated as an agent of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness under section 185 of the Criminal Code.

Directives

Directive from Attorney General of Canada —specific prosecution

29.28 (1) Any directive that the Attorney General of Canada issues to the Director with respect to the initiation or conduct of any specific prosecution must be in writing and be published in the Canada Gazette.

Directive —generally applicable

(2) The Attorney General of Canada may, after consulting the Director, issue directives respecting the initiation or conduct of prosecutions generally. Any such directives must be in writing and be published in the Canada Gazette.

Delay in publication —directive

29.29 (1) The Attorney General of Canada or the Director may, if he or she considers it to be in the interests of the administration of justice, direct that the publication in the Canada Gazette of a directive referred to in subsection 29.28(1) be delayed.

Limit on delay

(2) The publication of a directive may not be delayed beyond the completion of the prosecution or any related prosecution.

Directives not statutory instruments

29.3 For greater certainty, directives issued under section 29.28 are not statutory instruments within the meaning of the Statutory Instruments Act.

Issues of General or Public Interest

Duty to inform

29.31 The Director must inform the Attorney General of Canada in a timely manner of any prosecution, or intervention that the Director intends to make, that raises important questions of general interest.

Intervention

29.32 When, in the opinion of the Attorney General of Canada, proceedings raise questions of public interest, the Attorney General of Canada may, after notifying the Director, intervene in first instance or on appeal.

Assuming Conduct of Prosecution

Taking conduct of prosecution

29.33 (1) The Attorney General of Canada may only assume conduct of a prosecution after first consulting the Director. The Attorney General of Canada must then give to the Director a notice of intent to assume conduct of the prosecution and publish it in the Canada Gazette without delay.

Transfer of file

(2) The Director is required to turn the prosecution file over to the Attorney General of Canada and to provide any information that the Attorney General of Canada requires within the time specified.

Delay in publication

(3) However, publication may be delayed if the Attorney General of Canada or the Director considers it to be in the interests of the administration of justice.

Annual Report

Annual report

29.34 (1) The Director shall, not later than June 30 of each year, report to the Attorney General of Canada in respect of the activities of the office of the Director in the immediately preceding fiscal year.

Tabling in Parliament

(2) The Attorney General of Canada shall cause a copy of the Director’s report to be laid before each House of Parliament on any of the first 15 days on which that House is sitting after he or she receives the report.

TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS

Continuation of prosecutions

3. (1) Any prosecution under any Act for the enforcement of which the Commissioner of Competition is responsible, to which the Attorney General of Canada is a party and that is ongoing on the day on which this Act comes into force is continued by the Director of the Competition Prosecution Service without further formality.

Definition of “prosecution”

(2) In subsection (1), “prosecution” has the same meaning as in section 29.21 of the Competition Act, as enacted by section 2 of this Act.

Non-employed prosecutors

4. Any barrister or, in the Province of Quebec, any advocate whose services were retained, immediately before the day on which this Act comes into force, to act as a prosecutor for the Crown in connection with any matter under any Act for the enforcement of which the Commissioner of Competition is responsible is deemed, on that day, to have had his or her services retained under subsection 29.25 of the Competition Act, as enacted by section 2 of this Act, to act in connection with that matter.

CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENTS

R.S., c. A-1

Access to Information Act

5. Schedule I to the Access to Information Act is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order under the heading “OTHER GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS”:

Office of the Director of the Competition Prosecution Service

Bureau du directeur du Service des poursuites en matière de concurrence

R.S., c. J-2

Department of Justice Act

6. Subsection 3(2) of the Department of Justice Act is replaced by the following:

Deputy Attorney General

(2) The Deputy Minister is ex officio the Deputy Attorney General of Canada except in respect of the powers, duties and functions

(a) that the Director of Public Prosecutions is authorized to exercise or perform under subsection 3(3) of the Director of Public Prosecutions Act; and

(b) that the Director of the Competition Prosecution Service is authorized to exercise or perform under subsection 29.22(3) of the Competition Act.

R.S., c. F-11

Financial Administration Act

7. Schedule I.1 to the Financial Administration Act is amended by adding the fol-lowing in alphabetical order in column I:

Office of the Director of the Competition Prosecution Service

Bureau du directeur du Service des poursuites en matière de concurrence

and a corresponding reference in column II to the “Minister of Justice”.

8. Schedule IV to the Act is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:

Office of the Director of the Competition Prosecution Service

Bureau du directeur du Service des poursuites en matière de concurrence

R.S., c. P-21

Privacy Act

9. The schedule to the Privacy Act is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order under the heading “OTHER GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS”:

Office of the Director of the Competition Prosecution Service

Bureau du directeur du Service des poursuites en matière de concurrence

Published under authority of the Speaker of the House of Commons