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On July 19, 2023, the United States Federal Trade Commission and the United States Department of Justice (together, the “Agencies”) released draft Merger Guidelines (the “Draft Guidelines”) for public comment. Once finalized, the Draft Guidelines, which are designed to help the public, business community, practitioners and courts understand how the Agencies identify potentially illegal mergers, will replace the US Horizontal Merger Guidelines issued in 2010 and the US Vertical Merger Guidelines issued in 2020.Continue Reading United States Antitrust Agencies Announce New Merger Guidelines: Overview and Implications for Canada

On June 23, 2022, Bill C-19, also known as the Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No.1 (“BIA”), received royal assent. As discussed in more detail in our previous blog post, the BIA included significant amendments to the Competition Act (the “Act”), including the addition of new criminal cartel provisions prohibiting so-called wage-fixing and no-poaching agreements, which will become effective as of June 23, 2023. More specifically, these provisions will prohibit agreements between unaffiliated employers to either “fix, maintain, decrease or control salaries, wages or terms and conditions of employment” or “not solicit or hire employees”.Continue Reading Competition Bureau Issues Finalized Enforcement Guidelines for Wage-Fixing and No-Poaching Offences:  What You Need To Know

The Competition Bureau (the “Bureau”) recently released a new volume of its Deceptive Marketing Practices Digest (the “Digest”). The purpose of the Digest is to provide businesses with guidance on how to comply with the Competition Act (the “Act”) when marketing their products and services, and each volume focuses on a few specific types of advertising practices. This sixth edition of the Digest discusses two main topics: (i) the use of scarcity cues in online marketing and (ii) drip pricing and other types of variable fees.Continue Reading Competition Bureau Releases Deceptive Marketing Practices Digest: Volume 6

On June 23, 2022, Bill C-19, also known as the Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No.1 (“BIA”), received royal assent. As discussed in more detail in our previous blog post, the BIA included significant amendments to the Competition Act (the “Act”), including the addition of new criminal cartel provisions prohibiting so-called wage-fixing and no-poaching agreements, which will become effective as of June 23, 2023. More specifically, these provisions will prohibit agreements between unaffiliated employers to either “fix, maintain, decrease or control salaries, wages or terms and conditions of employment” or “not solicit or hire employees”.Continue Reading Competition Bureau Issues Draft Guidelines on Wage-Fixing and No-Poaching Agreements: What You Need to Know

On December 19, 2016, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (Minister) issued Guidelines on the National Security Review of Investments (Guidelines) in an effort to provide foreign investors and their advisers with a better understanding as to the circumstances in which a national security review might be initiated by the Government of Canada under the Investment Canada Act (Act).

Background

In February 2009, the Act was amended to provide the Government of Canada with the authority to review virtually any foreign investment that, in its opinion, could be injurious to Canada’s national security.  The national security review process is an additional clearance under the Act which is separate and distinct from the “net benefit to Canada” economic impact review process for which the Act was originally created.

In summary, if the Canadian Government, principally Canada’s security and intelligence agencies, identifies a potential national security threat associated with an investment in Canada by a non-Canadian, the Minister is advised of that concern and, after consultation with the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness (Public Safety Minister), the Minister is responsible for referring the investment to the Governor in Council (GIC) if he agrees that the investment could be injurious to national security.  The GIC then determines whether a review should be ordered.  If the GIC orders a review, the Minister, after consultation with the Public Safety Minister, then conducts a formal review and, if necessary, submits a report to the GIC with his recommendations at which point the GIC has the authority to take any measures in respect of the investment that it considers advisable to protect national security.  These measures include permitting the investment to proceed with or without conditions or prohibiting the investment or, if already made, requiring the divestiture of the investment.

Unfortunately, little practical guidance was until now provided to foreign investors and their advisers as to the circumstances in which a national security review might be initiated.  This situation contrasted with national security reviews conducted by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States which had issued guidance on the types of investments that might be of concern to it.  The Guidelines which inform investors of the procedures that will be followed in the administration of the national security review process set out in Part IV.1 of the Act and in the National Security Review of Investments Regulations are intended to help remedy this lack of guidance.Continue Reading Investment Canada Issues National Security Review Guidelines