On August 17, 2022, the Federal Court of Appeal (the “FCA”) dismissed the appeal by Kobe Mohr in Mohr v. National Hockey League. In summary, the FCA found that the decision reached by the Federal Court was correct in its conclusion, and that neither s. 48(1) nor s. 45(1) of the Competition Act (the “Act”) apply to the conduct at issue.
Continue Reading Federal Court of Appeal Confirms Scope of Competition Act Conspiracy Provisions
On June 23, 2022, Bill C-19, also known as the Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No.1 (“BIA”), received royal assent. The BIA was tabled in Parliament on April 7, 2022 and included significant proposed amendments to the Competition Act (the “Act”).
Continue Reading Significant Amendments to Canada’s Competition Act Are Now Law: What You Need to Know
The Trudeau government’s plan for a quick and easy win on competition law reform owing to public pressure to tame the large digital platforms will result in significant changes to the Competition Act being pushed through with little to no scrutiny because there is not enough time to properly consult and debate the proposed reforms under the Budget Implementation Act (“BIA”) process. While Justin Trudeau campaigned to control the use of omnibus budget bills, he continues their use even for significant amendments to economic framework legislation.
Continue Reading Rapid passage of Competition Act amendments through Budget Implementation Act process can cause more harm than good
Recognizing the critical role of the Competition Act (the “Act”) in promoting dynamic and fair markets, Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, announced on February 7, 2022 that he would carefully evaluate potential ways to improve its operation. This included, among other things, adapting the law to today’s digital reality to better tackle emerging forms of harmful behaviour in the digital economy; tackling wage-fixing agreements; modernizing the penalty regime to ensure that it serves as a genuine deterrent against harmful business conduct; more clearly addressing drip pricing; increasing access to justice for those injured by harmful conduct; and fixing loopholes that allow for harmful conduct. During an interview with the Toronto Star, the Minister suggested that this was the first step in a “comprehensive” review of the Act.
Continue Reading Significant Amendments to Competition Act Coming Soon
On August 16, 2021, the Competition Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) dismissed the Commissioner of Competition’s (the “Commissioner”) request for interim relief in connection with the recently-completed merger of SECURE Energy Services Inc. (“Secure”) and Tervita Corporation (“Tevita”) (the “Transaction”). In summary, in its decision made public
The recent Kobe Mohr v. National Hockey League[1] decision of the Federal Court (the “Decision”) provides important jurisprudential guidance on the application of sections 45 and 48 of the Competition Act (the “Act”). These provisions prohibit naked anti-competitive conspiracies and conspiracies relating participation in professional sports respectively.
Continue Reading Federal Court Decision Clarifies Scope of Competition Act Conspiracy Provisions
On July 1, 2021, the Competition Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) ruled that it does not have the power to issue “interim, interim orders” in the context of a proposed merger of two companies in the midstream infrastructure and environmental solutions space. Rather, the Tribunal found that, in the case of mergers, interim relief is limited to that expressly provided for by sections 100 and 104 of the Competition Act (the “Act”).Continue Reading Competition Tribunal Dismisses Request for Interim, Interim Order
