One Million Dollar Fine Confirms the Shift of Corporate Criminal Liability From the Boardroom to Middle Managers

On April 17, 2015, Justice Tôth of the Quebec Superior Court imposed a one million dollar fine on a corporation found guilty of price fixing in the case of R. c. Pétroles Global inc ("Global Fuels")^. This case is important because it affirms that corporations will be penalized for the actions of middle level territory managers, even where there is no evidence that the head office of the company was aware of the misconduct.

The sentencing follows the conviction decision of August 9, 2013, where Justice Tôth affirmed that the Criminal Code provisions for organizational liability mark a fundamental change, if not a revolution, in the law of corporate criminal
liability. It will no longer be necessary for prosecutors to prove fault in
the boardrooms or at the highest levels of a corporation: the fault even of
middle managers may suffice. 

Once an organization is liable for the actions of a middle manager who qualifies as a senior officer, it is not acceptable for an organization to argue on sentencing that the sentence should be reduced because the officer in question is not high on the corporate ladder. Justice Tôth cites the Ontario Court of Appeal decision in Metron for this proposition:

"I agree with the appellant that a corporation should
not be permitted to distance itself from culpability due to the corporate
individual's rank on the corporate ladder or level of management responsibility".