A compliance program is not truly effective unless it’s evaluated regularly, and the compliance measures are suitably revised. Regulators and enforcers often speak about the importance of this principle and how seeking feedback from stakeholders is a critical tool for this exercise. At the Canadian Competition Bureau, we don’t just recommend compliance guidance to the market. We take these principles to heart.
We recently evaluated our compliance guidance and realized that it was time to revise it. Apart from the evolution of the market and the changes in law which took place since the last update in 2015, we took into account what our international counterparts have been doing as well as the results of recent public opinion research, which demonstrated that stakeholders have limited awareness and understanding of competition law compliance and of the Bureau.
To help bridge the awareness gap, we’ve updated our compliance guidance materials with “accessibility” and “inclusivity” in mind. The revised materials are drafted in plain language, give an overview of the law, include illustrative case studies and provide concrete tips on how an entity can create and run a credible and effective compliance program, irrespective of its size and resources.
We’ve launched a public consultation on our draft Compliance Portal to gather feedback from stakeholders on the format and substance of the revised materials. We’ve provided various simple means to provide feedback (questionnaire, email, meeting, etc.), and we’ve even done a podcast to give some context around our revamped materials.
Honest feedback from stakeholders is essential to ensure that the compliance guidance is as accessible and impactful as possible. If you have a minute, we’d like to hear from you about our new compliance portal.
The consultation is open till June 9, 2023.
