Help Wanted: Priorities for a New Competition Commissioner

Report of the C.D. Howe Institute Competition Policy Council

 

There’s a major job vacancy coming soon in Ottawa: The Commissioner of Competition. The current Commissioner, John Pecman, will be retiring from his role as the head of the Competition Bureau this spring. This is a unique opportunity for the federal government to reflect on the performance of the Competition Bureau and articulate a set of priorities for the new Commissioner.

 

There should be two long-term priorities for the new Commissioner of Competition, according to the majority view of the C.D. Howe Institute’s Competition Policy Council, which held its fifteenth meeting on April 24, 2018. The first priority is to improve the timeliness and efficiency of the Bureau’s operations. The new Commissioner should conduct a review of the existing management structure and enforcement policies within the Bureau to improve the timeliness, efficiency, predictability and transparency of processes, specifically with respect to merger review and criminal enforcement. The second is to ensure that the new Commissioner vigorously pursues his or her mandate to act as an independent, strong and relevant public advocate for competition.