On October 3, 2014, the Commissioner of Competition (“Commissioner”) announced the appointment of Rambod Behboodi as the Deputy Commissioner of the Competition Promotion Branch – the new branch within the Competition Bureau (“Bureau”) that will be created as part of the Bureau’s realignment initiative, where its existing eight branches will be consolidated into four. The Competition Promotion Branch will serve as the external face of the Bureau and will be comprised of what is currently known as the Enforcement Policy & Economic Branch, the Legislative and International Affairs Branch and the Public Affairs Branch. The appointment is for a two-year secondment effective November 3, 2014.
Mr. Behboodi is a lawyer by training and he has been the General Counsel and Executive Director, General Legal Services at the Department of Finance since 2009. He has worked in various government departments prior to 2009, including the Privy Council Office and the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, the Competition Bureau, and in private practice. He also has diplomatic experiences in serving abroad on Canadian missions.
The Bureau first announced the realignment initiative at the 2014 Competition Law Spring Forum in May of this year. Through this initiative the Bureau will undergo restructuring to leverage its current resources and enhance collaboration, with the goal of increasing its impact in the economy while maintaining the same size and vision. Creation of the Competition Promotion Branch is the first consolidation of the existing branches. According to the Commissioner, this new branch would be responsible for the Bureau’s advocacy efforts, inter-governmental affairs and corporate compliance, as well as economic and international support and external communications. The Bureau proposes to restructure the other existing branches as follows:
- The Fair Business Practices Branch and the Criminal Matters Branch will be combined into a single branch.
- The Mergers Branch and the Civil Matters Branch will be combined into a single branch.
- The Compliance and Operations Branch would continue to operate as a separate branch.