Canada: Competition Bureau Urges Provinces to Limit Non-Compete Clauses
Canada's Competition Bureau said on October 29 that Interim Commissioner Jeanne Pratt has written to provincial and territorial governments encouraging them to limit non-compete clauses in employment contracts. Such clauses bar employees from working for a competitor, or starting a business in the same industry, for a period after leaving a job.
The Bureau said OECD research shows non-competes are now widespread and growing, and are often applied where they cannot be justified, including to fixed-term, low-paid and other workers with no access to confidential business information.
Even when unenforceable, the Bureau said, the clauses deter job moves because workers fear being sued by a former employer; that makes it harder for businesses to hire, suppresses wages and entrepreneurship, and slows innovation.
Restricting non-competes is a pro-competitive option that frees up labour mobility, the Bureau said, noting that Ontario and the federal government have already led the way. Pratt said removing unfair non-competes helps workers pursue the opportunities they choose and lets employers compete fairly for talent.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 照片：办公室工作场景（资料图），美国农业部，公共领域 / Office workers photo by the US Department of Agriculture, public domain
