The past year generated substantial interest in the operation of Canada’s principal legislation governing the review of foreign investments, the Investment Canada Act (“ICA”). In particular, attention was focused on the ICA’s national security review process, which authorizes the Canadian government to block investments by non-Canadians that would be “injurious” to Canada’s national security. We…
The past year in Canada saw the Commissioner of Competition, Matthew Boswell (the “Commissioner”), launch a concerted campaign to reform Canadian competition law and policy. The Commissioner’s view is that competition law should play a central role in facilitating the recovery of the Canadian economy following the COVID-19 pandemic, but that the current version of…
Canadian Threshold for Merger Review on the Decline The Canadian Competition Bureau has announced that, effective immediately, the Competition Act’s pre-merger notification threshold relating to transaction size will decrease to $93 million from the 2020 threshold of $96 million. This threshold requires that the target business have assets in Canada or annual revenues in or…
In this article, we highlight the five most important developments and trends in Canadian competition law in 2020 and discuss what to watch for in 2021. 1. Impact of COVID-19 As in other jurisdictions, the enforcement of competition law in Canada last year was affected by the widespread social, health, and economic effects of…
Early Warnings: Canada’s Regulators Issue Warning Letters to Mobile App Companies Anita Banicevic and Joshua Hollenberg, Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP In late November 2020, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) and the Competition Bureau (Bureau) announced the issuance of 36 warning letters to…
Introduction The Canadian Competition Bureau (“Bureau”) has issued a statement (the “Statement”) clarifying its position on “no-poaching”, wage-fixing and other types of “buy-side” agreements between competitors that may affect employees and labour markets. In the Statement, the Bureau expresses its concerns about the possible anticompetitive consequences of such agreements and states that it would be…
The Davies Forecast of Top 5 Trends and Issues for Canadian Competition Law in 2020 Jim Dinning, Anita Banicevic and Mark Katz Here is Davies’ annual forecast of Canadian competition law developments for the year ahead. 1. FOCUS ON THE DIGITAL ECONOMY Given the Competition Bureau’s stated priorities during the tenure of current Commissioner of…
Recent Developments in Canadian Merger Review: Sad Holiday Tidings for Merging Parties Charles Tingley, Anita Banicevic, Mark Katz In his own version of the pre-holiday rush, the Canadian Commissioner of Competition challenged one merger transaction just before the Christmas holidays and entered into a consent agreement to preserve assets pending his review of another. The…
Recent Developments in Abuse of Dominance Law in Canada: When is Anti-Competitive Conduct Justified? Charles Tingley and Mark Katz On October 17, 2019, the Canadian Competition Tribunal dismissed an application by the Commissioner of Competition alleging that the Vancouver Airport Authority (VAA) had abused a dominant position in the market for in-flight catering services at…
Recent Developments in Canada: Supreme Court Expands Scope of Potential Liability in Price-Fixing Class Actions Written by Sandra A. Forbes, Derek D. Ricci ,Chantelle (Spagnola) Cseh and Maura O’Sullivan of the Davies Litigation Group The Supreme Court of Canada has released its long-awaited decision in two companion appeals that have significant implications for class actions…
