Competition Bureau

The Competition Bureau is responsible for the administration and enforcement of the Competition Act, the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act, the Textile Labelling Act, and the Precious Metals Marking Act. As an independent law enforcement agency, it ensures that Canadian businesses and consumers prosper in a competitive and innovative marketplace.

The basic operating assumption of the Competition Bureau is that competition is good for both business and consumers. The types of anti-competitive activities investigated by the Competition Bureau include: price fixing, bid-rigging, false/misleading representations, deceptive notice of winning a prize, abuse of a dominant position, exclusive dealing, tied selling, market restrictions, refusal to deal, mergers, multi-level marketing plans and schemes of pyramid selling, deceptive telemarketing, deceptive marketing practices.

The Competition Bureau is not a consumer protection agency and cannot act on your behalf to obtain reimbursement or to settle a dispute between two parties. The Bureau does not deal with:

• Bad service dealings with a person or business
• Billing problems
• Collection Agency harassment/problems
• Contractual disputes
• Information enquiry about a person and/or businesses standing or legitimacy
• Refund issues
• Store return and/or refund policy
• Unethical behavior issues

However if your complaint falls within the scope of the  Competition Act, the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act, the Textile Labelling Act, and the Precious Metals Marking Act, you can file a complaint by email, phone or fax. Read How to File a Complaint. The Bureau conducts its investigations in private and keeps confidential the identity of the source and the information provided. However, if someone has important evidence about breaches to any of the laws under the Bureau's jurisdiction, that person may be asked to testify in court or before the Competition Tribunal.